Device driver issues are really the only reason I haven't become a convert.
No device drivers just magically work. Someone has to test and ensure that the work; when you buy a computer they do that for you. When you install an operating system on a pre-owned computer your chances get smaller. Most manufacturers upgrade their drivers to ensure they work with the latest version of Windows (and Apple does the same for its computers).
No OS has complete hardware compatibility "out of the box". That's an insane request, of course. So if you want to compare apples to Apple, you have to compare a preinstalled linux box, not some computer you pulled out of your base with 2 inches of dust on top.
Because there are other solutions available where that laziness is allowed.
Current versions of Linux (Ubuntu 11.04 etc) use 2.6.37, though.
All integrated sound solutions have open source drivers.
The only problem spot is graphics drivers.
You're more likely to run into device driver problems upgrading to Vista/7 than you are upgrading to Linux. (although there the problems are older printers and other peripherals that significantly predate Vista).
Suspend / Hibernate still pretty flakey IMO :(
I don't think he's being fair here. Go to the website for a software package that has a version that runs under Linux. You want to install it. What does the website tell you?
Chances are, it says, "Download this tarball ...". Failing that, it generally gives you a list of command-line stuff to type. A big chunk of these are available via the standard GUI under Ubuntu. Why don't the websites mention this? I have no idea.
As a semi-recent (4 years ago) returnee to Linux, it took me some time to learn this: that, when installing software, I almost certainly want to ignore what the package website tells me and just use the Ubuntu GUI.
I can't imagine why anyone expects new Linux users to understand that.
In mobile we have the opposite expectation. We expect to go to the platform's store and get the application.
Perhaps the introduction of the Mac App Store, Chrome Web Store, and (soon) Windows store will change the expectation a bit, and the Ubuntu way (which has existed as long as it has) won't seem foreign to people.
What you probably meant to say is "I'm so old and decrepit
that I can't learn new things so I can't acclimate to an
environment without some shitty Adobe or Microsoft application".
Don't get me wrong, there are some pieces of software that just
don't have an equivalent for Linux (*cough* Ableton Live *cough*)
OpenOffice is great, but it fails way too often at this task.
-With VMWare performance getting better and better with SSDs and multicore processors, I hardly notice a delay when I'm developing in a virtual machine.
-I hate dual-booting just so I can spend 10 minutes playing Angry Birds on my break. So I just stay in Windows.
After a painless install I ended up being at the computer all day and up until 2am, obsessively tweaking and trying new stuff. I can't believe how much I miss it.
Btw, I was into redhat (circa 5.2) and Slackware, reconfiguring and recompiling the kernel over and over. Making the OS wicked-fast. The experience is even better now. Awesome!
Redhat and fedora were always my faves. Love the rpm packaging system. But it seems Ubuntu and it's ilk are the most "user friendly".
Great write up btw Josh!