We boast over two million regular users of Ubuntu. Worldwide over 10% of laptops and desktops ship with Ubuntu (it seems the world can sometimes be considered to include places other than the contiguous 48 States, Alaska, and Hawaii). Dell, HP, and Lenovo all ship models with Ubuntu out of the box (Dell even ships them in the US). There are manufacturers who make systems exclusively with Linux (system76, Zareason) and the only way you can get a legal copy of MS Windows for them is to go purchase an OEM disk and install it yourself (good luck, installing Windows from scratch is a pain and not for beginners).

Microsoft obtained their near-monopoly in the US and Western Europe through a combination of unscrupulous business practices (for which they were taken to court and found guilty, with effectively no penalty) and sheer luck (their major competition imploded through their own bad management). They still have enertia on their side.

It's possible to not use Windows. I've never used it (except briefly as a professional doing cross-platform development). I've used Linux exclusively on my desktop, laptops, netbooks, and tablets since the late 1990s and soon I'll have a Ubuntu phone. I haven't had any difficulty doing any of the things most people do with computers -- including software development, music recording, and all the day-to-day things required of a manager in a medium-sized business.

So, what it comes down to, is that there's no reason not to use Linux. It's a choice, like driving a Toyota vs. a Ford vs. an Opel. Some people prefer one, some prefer the other. It's OK, it's a big world.

good luck, installing Windows from scratch is a pain and not for beginners

Yeah, choosing your language, time, and username is extremely difficult...

I somewhat agree with the rest of your post, that part just bugged me. I still don't use Linux regularity though, I just don't like the system. More of a personal preference really.

[quote name='Bregma' timestamp='1357349276' post='5017606']
So, what it comes down to, is that there's no reason not to use Linux. It's a choice, like driving a Toyota vs. a Ford vs. an Opel. Some people prefer one, some prefer the other. It's OK, it's a big world.
[/quote]

Actually, there is, because of (not limited to) these apps:

• MS Office (Really, don't compare this to the buggy OpenOffice)
• Adobe Photoshop (Again, don't compare this to Gimp)
• Adobe Lightroom

Because I use all of these three, and there's little interest to support them in Linux, I can't use Linux, even though I want to.

I have approximately two Windows computers, and one Linux computer.

I just don't get why Linux distros can't implement these features:

-window previews on your taskbar. I find those things really handy in Windows.

-Ubuntu is the most modern-looking distro. Why do other distros look like they're in the 10th century, with no transparency, no modern icons, no eyecandy!

the only way you can get a legal copy of MS Windows for them is to go purchase an OEM disk and install it yourself (good luck, installing Windows from scratch is a pain and not for beginners).

Out of interest when was the last time you installed Windows?

Saying "I don't use windows" and then commenting on the install process is like me saying "I haven't used Linux since SuSE Linux back in 2001" and then claiming the installer is a text based nightmare...

For the record; I installed Windows 8 on my 4 year old Dell laptop just before Xmas. I plugged the USB stick in, told it to boot off it and then clicked a few buttons before waiting and a little while later I had a fully setup Windows 8 machine to use.

-Ubuntu is the most modern-looking distro. Why do other distros look like they're in the 10th century, with no transparency, no modern icons, no eyecandy!

Ubuntu is amusing because it was gaining some traction and then in a recent version some data tracking was found and, from the little I saw, the FSF basically screamed 'freedom! don't use Ubuntu!' and then began firing rounds into their own feet again :D

In our team we all have dual boot systems, but primarily we develop under linux. So basically there is stable community even among end users of PC.

Actually, there is, because of (not limited to) these apps:

• MS Office (Really, don't compare this to the buggy OpenOffice)
  
• Adobe Photoshop (Again, don't compare this to Gimp)
  
• Adobe Lightroom

Because I use all of these three, and there's little interest to support them in Linux, I can't use Linux, even though I want to.

And here comes user like me that is more used to work with OpenOffice and Gimp (I don't compare, your post is subjective and from my subjective side they're both a lot better (and thus imcomparable to garbage like MS Office or anything from Adobe)). On the other (this time objective) side, I can say "Wine" here - it stably runs MS Office and works stably with Adobe Photoshop (and in current version I think you don't even need some tweaking, but I'm not sure). And I've never used Adobe Lightroom. For your information our graphics use also 3ds max under it without any problems.

I have approximately two Windows computers, and one Linux computer.

I just don't get why Linux distros can't implement these features:
-window previews on your taskbar. I find those things really handy in Windows.
-Ubuntu is the most modern-looking distro. Why do other distros look like they're in the 10th century, with no transparency, no modern icons, no eyecandy!

Again wrong. It depends on usage - I've never used these "features" because they're distracting to me, especially when I work. Linux lets you configure everything (hell you can still work just in terminal, or quad-terminal on single screen - and it's used (and often used), because sometimes it's like dozen times more effective), and thats its power - Windows or Mac won't allow you to change anything (except backround image), in Linux you can dig deeply into system and adapt it to yourself (technically you can compile it from scratch and thats the best fun).

Shiny windows and these features are the last for effective operating system (did I mention that Linux focuses more on performance and stability problems than shiny windows? - Basically it's goal aren't shiny windows, but stable operating system capable of running for years (and maybe even decades) with just slight maintenanice).

Note: "GNU/Linux" (basically whole desktop is not linux anymore, but software build upon it - linux is actually just quite huge kernel of operating system) can also preview on taskbar (in Qt or Xfce there is plugin for it, I'm also sure there is also for fluxbox, openbox and gnome).

You cant say that Linux as a whole, is focusing more on performance than eye-candy. Some distros use the kernel for creating a lightning-fast secure OS, while others focus on features and a modern looking UI. I just wish one distro would balance those equally.

good luck, installing Windows from scratch is a pain and not for beginners

Yeah, choosing your language, time, and username is extremely difficult...

I somewhat agree with the rest of your post, that part just bugged me. I still don't use Linux regularity though, I just don't like the system. More of a personal preference really.

I've only installed OEM copies of Windows (hardware that comes with customized installs of Windows preloaded don't count as "installing windows"). I found it took hours. Hours to format the hard drives, install the base system, reboot, install the full system, reboot, configure networking (which I found confusing, since I'm not an expert at Microsoft domain management or systems administration), reboot, download and install updates, reboot, reboot, reboot, hunt for and install drivers, reboot, reboot, update drivers, reboot, install basic software, reboot, install more basic software, reboot. Choosing the locale and username were never the problem.

I have in fact installed Windows many times, on real hardware and in VMs. Each and every copy was fully licensed and legal. The experience was always lengthy and frustrating and required many many reboots and on real hardware almost always had driver problems that required hunting down third-party solutions on the internet. Installing Linux in the last 10 years has always been fast and painless. I have heard stories of people having difficulty with Linux on some hardware. Last time I personally had trouble (outside of professional OEM customization work porting Linux to new hardware) was 1999.

I am unlikely to install Windows 8 OEM. If I use Windows 8, it's because it came preloaded on a device. I have no problem with that, I find it quite civilized.

Ubuntu is amusing because it was gaining some traction and then in a recent version some data tracking was found and, from the little I saw, the FSF basically screamed 'freedom! don't use Ubuntu!' and then began firing rounds into their own feet again

There is no data tracking.

There is a feature in Ubuntu that allows you to search the internet from the Dash (the "desktop" home screen). It send your search terms encrypted to a server run by Canonical, which can then send results from various sources back (encrypted) for display on the screen. If you select one of those results, it can open a browser window displaying the results (using an in-the-clear connection). If a MitM attacker is watching your data streams, they could conceptually figure out what you were searching for by scanning the HTTP query sent by the browser when results are selected.

That's what RMS is upset about.

I would argue that his position is in conflict with his other political positions. The search feature can be easily disabled by clicking a GUI switch in the control centre. All of the code on the user's computer is free software (GPL3) so it can be studied, copied, or modified. A warning is posted in the Dash when the search is active so there's no secret scanning, surreptitious monitoring, or keylogging going on. It's simply a differentiating feature in Ubuntu you don't have in Mac OS or Microsoft Windows (yet), and you can disable it or remove it if you don't want it. It's on by default because most consumers seem to want it, out of the box.

Yeah, there are a lot of Ubuntu haters out there. RMS is one of them. There's also a lot of Mac OS haters and Windows haters. Haters are going to hate. Potaters are going to potate. I'd rather find out the truth and make my own decisions based on facts than just blindly follow rumours, but it's a lonely position to take most of the time.