Learning Linux is a problem, I use mandrake, and am new to Linux, using on and off at time, over the last 2 years.

I just want to recommend a site here, this is relevant to the learning comments made here. mandrake campus and as you would all expect it is free.

Also after reading some people comments, and reviews online, I find that people (market research companies) are saying Linux will never make it big on the desktop market. They reckon that it would be probably start to dominate the embedded systems market, such as mobile phones, washing machines, microwaves, ext.

Linux has its ups, and downs, but I take this as an insult, eventually Linux will be one of the choice operating systems in the future. But what do you people think.

For those of us that are not scared to give MS the finger and start to use the alternatives...Linux is already a choice operating system. I do firmly believe that in the future, hopefully, people will be given a choice as to which OS they have on their shop-bought computer - I also believe that this is probably the most crucial way to break MSs monopoly.

Yes, the computer consumer does currently have a choice as to which OS...but only if they think about it. If they were to be given the choice right from the outset, out favourite OS would potentially be a much bigger presence on the Desktop. Kudos to Walmart for at least tipping their toes in.

I hope I don't repeat anything. After reading 8 longer posts i gave up reading anything.
Now, I have the new SuSe 8 distro. I must say, it is even easier to install than Windows. Also, I tried out mandrake 8.1. Which was not a problem. Installation is not an issue anymore.
Ease of use? Well, even if KDE is big, slow and bloated, it is very easy to use and has a nice user interface. So, basically, we have a user friendly desktop as well (Of course, Gnome is also great and all (most of them) the other too). Office programs? Well, of course, Microsoft Office is still a lot than KOffice, is much faster than Open Office, but if you look what 99% of the people need, then KOffice or all the others do the job without problems. I don't really know about professional sound programs like logic or cubase for Linux.
Games? well, the Linux games list isn't as large yet but I was surprised how many games there were awailable at tuxgames.com, also well known ones like Tribes2, Wolfenstein etc.
Upgrading is still a big issue. I don't know how many times I messed up my system.
Administration of a normal system is still quite complicated. And most people don't have a system administrator in their house.
Drivers are sort of an issue. It is not that hard to find Linux-supported hardware, but the set up can still be very tricky.
I think the biggest issue are the people. Imagine: my mother thinks, that you can't earn money without doing something with windows! This is the most important and most difficult problem that Linux has.
I am not sure if Linux is going to become the choice OS. Of course, I hope so. I mean, the penguin is soooo cute

eits0, i hope that linux neverdoes what your winME is doing re: "updates". if you checked how much garbage is being patched onto your system, and how much of your personal info is being uploaded to M$ you would likely faint. that is actually beside the point.

Firslty, if a system is written properly in the first place it is less likely to need patches. Secondly, i am sure linux does have this autoupdate feature already, am i right? also i think it uses some anonymous secure scenario (unlike the system update situation for another popular operating system), can somebody correct me on this and fill in the details?

Also, i was thinking about the installing dilemma and i think what people have been saying is spot on, but you guys know about this LSB thing, don't you? i heard about it in the same LFX as mentions that cooltown thing. It's an organisation set up to define the standard things that people can expect from an LSB compliant operating system.
They have decided for example that all LSB compliant linux systems will support rpm installations. This does not mean any other methods must stop, just that if you get an LSB distro, you will know that you can use RPMs, and that the version you get of rpm will be LSB compliant (with a standard set of commands/strings/operators/whatever they're called)
RPMs do suck though, and i really hope that somebody will come up with a better scenario, especially for uninstalling, ie it'll check no dependencies are broken, and each program will have uninstall info so that nothing gets left behind. I am sure all this stuff is already implemented in one form or another, but it needs to be easy as well as work properly.

Lastly, who cares if people can't be bothered learning about the differences between linux and windows? it does not hurt linux to not have a monop[oly in the marketplace, i think i would like it less if it did. I advocate choice, and that means that if the dumbass majority choose something they will not be able to make the most of, then that is their choice. you can not tell people what is good for them, they need to decide for themselves. I do not think linux should compromise any of its features, to be more windows like, and i do not think it should change its filesystems or any other thing just to make people think it is easier to use because it is similar to windows.
How easy/hard would it be to learn how to use windows from scratch? it is not a logical OS. people make the mistake of thinking linux is harder, but it is simply not the case, it's just that people already know how to use windows.

I honestly think linux can keep going the way it's going, it will continue to have a growing number of users, it will continue to improve in areas where it is lacking, and all the while it will be totally unnaffected by what goes on in the marketplace, which will allow it to grow unhindered by blips in it's income or economy.

good to know, they do like their exaggeration though, don't they?

I think linux can compete against windows very good

its become better every day

the main point is the driver compatability
if linux gets the hardware manufacters behind them to make special linux drivers, than the most problems are solved

and linux can defeat windows