[/.]

Linux, or the more correct spelling, GNU/Linux, will never become a viable option for the mainstream desktop. Why? It's clear from administration of everyday computers that people are adjusted, ready, and are used to being able to install things without a hassle- being able to administer their systems without switching users. Solutions such as LindowsOS which just make every user start off as a superuser account are just complete pointless hacks that remove all of the security of Linux.

Linux is not with its share of security flaws. If it were not for patches, your Linux machine would be cracked extremely fast. Windows Update, although claimed to be slow to release stable patches by Linux zealots, is much superior to any simple patching system today. Name me quick and easy patches, and no, going through dependency **** is not the way to do it.

Linux is designed for a niche market: the server environment, and it is also quickly being replaced by *BSD variants: NetBSD, OpenBSD. Even when used as that, the total cost of ownership has been computed to be greater than Windows machines over a five-year period, with the added maintenance that is required outweighing the original, hefty windows price tag.

Conclusion: You get what you pay for.

[/.]

It was researched and created by independent companies. Yes, Microsoft is using these statistics in their advertising, and I don't blame them at all, as statistics that help your company are always preferable to be used in advertisements.

[/.]

On the server level. It's already iffy on that level, and I'm currently talking for desktops.

[Xenocrates]

I'll tell you why MS started the ad campaign: they're afraid of Linux. They see Linux as a threat to their business, and if they see it that way, it must be pretty darn good.

[ADZ]

Did you hear about the dude Mike Rowe and his website MikeRoweSoft? Billy paid him a stupendous ammount of cash and offered to train this guy and get him all his Certs just so he can sign off the license to his domain name, I know this because he lives right by here. What i'm getting at is that M$ sees the tinyest threat - a 17 yr old boy in this case, and they do what they can to remove the threat.

This Campaign is exactly like that imo.

[ADZ]

he purchased a domain called mikerowesoft.com the dudes name is mike rowe and he lives nearby up here. M$ bought him out of his domain. Lemme find an online report for you.

Edit: http://theregister.co.uk/content/6/34955.html

[ADZ]

Thats exactly what I thought. he had like 1/2 a million hits in 12 hrs. The money you coukld make off banner ads and stuff like that would be nice!

[ADZ]

hahahaha just outa curiosity sakes...MICRASHOFT.COM is avalible

[whiteknight]

being able to administer their systems without switching users.

Have you heard of the su command. It gives you root in a shell if you provide the password - easy administration.

[lo_tek]

I don't mind the idea that *nix might never become a mainstream article like ms windows. If it were to, it would have to fxn like ms windows... and in such a scenario, I would have to look into getting a new OS.

As far as cost comparisons in the server role... perhaps a main reason why *nix is more expensive is because you're average joe-blow-amateur-'pointandclick'-computer -user has to be trained and retrained to get any level of work done on a *nix box. So, let the masses use ms windows, the rest of "us" will use linux, bsd and all the other wonderful OS's out there.