On Wed, 27 Nov 2013 05:50:20 -0800, dave wrote:

On 11/26/2013 05:58 PM, Trevor wrote:
"dave" wrote in message


If there is a task there is an application for it.

Agreed, unfortunately they are often rather poor for consumer applications,
and drivers for a lot of hardware in current use by consumers is often
lacking also.
For server use Linux is king, for consumer applications, definitely not.
I've been hoping for a decade or two that will change, still waiting
unfortunately.
No one is stopping you using whatever you like though, but your fear of
Windows is not shared by everyone.


I don't fear Windows, I refuse to pay for an operating system, without
which a computer is not really a computer. Microsoft has all the charm
of an East German policeman in 1979. I have an XP netbook. I am going to
get a refurb Win7 box when XP support goes away in March. Just to
program my iPod, if nothing else. It would be way too sluggish for my
social routine, however.

The Kernel has thousands of drivers already installed. Please name a
consumer device (other than Apple) that you would like to use with Linux
that had a driver issue. I have found Linux to be way more plug-and-play
than Windows, and this has been getting moreso in the past few years.
Usually you need to boot a CD to install something to Windows; virtually
unheard of in Linux.

I have occasional issues using Linux with the very latest video cards,
iPods (for obvious reasons) and weird industrial connectivity (serial
usually TIA-485) cards. Other than that linux is very plug and play, and
has very noticeably better support for legacy printers and some scanners.

MS is currently getting serious about abandoning ALL older devices. It
may be enough to drive industrial use to linux.

?-)