Linux, The Great Time Waster!! 4101

I don't know why the problems stated are so numerous.

I've installed Linux and Windows on a large variety of PCs. Linux distro was RH 7.2 or later. The distros get easier and easier with every version. I've never heard of Linux not recognizing a hard drive (unless it's something really, really unusual or weird). That's not to say that there aren't occasional extraneous cases out there. The posted problems (if they are real) are certainly not the norm.

The Linux installs I've done have *always* gone much smoother than the Windows (although, none of them were Windows XP, which I understand is better in this regard). With the Linux installs, it's recognized all the hardware and everything's up and running with a couple of clicks and a single reboot. Windows... ugh... many, many reboots required, network cards not recognized unless I remove the driver and re-recognize hardware, etc. It eventually comes up, but with some pain.

Regarding applications, there are numerous, stable applications for Linux. I use Linux almost exclusively (I go to Windows for the rare case that I want a program not supported on Linux, like a particular video game or greeting card maker). Common apps (not inclusive, just what I've used successfully):

Web browsers: Mozilla Firefox Netscape 7.x Mozilla Opera

E-mail clients: Mozilla Thunderbird Netscape Communicator Evolution (an Outlook clone, and a good one)

Office: OpenOffice.org KOffice

Instant Messaging: AOL Instant Messenger (yes, there's a working Linux version) Gnome Instant Messenger

Multimedia players: XMMS (Winamp clone) Real Player

Photo-graphics editing: GIMP (Gnome Image Manipulation Program)

PDF stuff: Adobe Acrobat Reader Ghostscript (for converting PS to PDF and a huge number of other formats)

Development: Eclipse (java) Glade (C-C++) Borland Kylix Delphi Borland Kylix C++

The list goes on... these are all free, very stable applications developed by reputable companies.

If one has lots of trouble with Linux, then they should stick with Windows if that's easier for them. I wouldn't want to push anything on a user that they found difficult to use. If they're happier with Windows, then they should use Windows. I personally prefer Linux.