This is a response on an article at my neighbor site: http://www.nintenlord.com/x/?page_id=405.
This time, it is not Pro Linux, but Con Linux. I agree with David's article, but many people do not. So I'd like to sum up what most people walk into when trying Linux.

Note: This is written out of the viewpoint of a regular user that wants to try Linux. Not from "our" viewpoints. These are the points most people complain about. Agree with it or not, it is the reality. (At least, for a lot of people).


1. The most Linux distro’s are free of charge (and good). Also, the most Linux software are free of charge (and good). And there are lots of them! So, enough choice. For every Windows software are most likely different Linux alternatives.

Photoshop, Office 2007, Dreamweaver, Fruity Loops, Sony Vegas...
I never can get used to GIMP, I Must say the ribbon is quite nice, Bluefish/Kompozer do not have many add ons, I never have got LMMS installed and running for longer than 1 or 2 days, and I have not yet seen a Linux program with the same features as Vegas.

Now I must say, FOSS developers do not get paid and do it in there free time, which is wonderful, but you cannot do all the work a whole Dev team does in your own.


2. Linux is fast: It also runs very good on old computers, because it’s “lightly” programed.

Linus Torvalds calls the kernel bloated... I have not yet got Mint running fast (with 3 programs open) on my Pentium 4. Antix does the job, but you do not have the nice looks or the fancy tools.
Windows XP will run on my Pentium 4, but with the security products it is a lot slower. At the same performance as mint.
Bu, these days a lot of people have a fast PC. (Which gets slower by vista :P )


3. Open-source: The program code is a transparent house, bugs will appear very soon and will be repaired fast.

8 years != fast, and did you really ever looked into the code of the software you are using?


4. Safe: There are no Linux viruses around. That’s because the security of Linux. Besides, security holes are very soon known and very soon repaired.

As Linux user you cannot write outside of your home directory. But what do you rather have, 3 years of work, photo's and music gone, or reinstall your system and mount your home partition back?
And I see a lot of people just enter there password when asked on Ubuntu, and people find UAC on vista very annoying and they shut it off, so if there would be a Linux virus that asks for a password, I can sum up 10 people who would enter it.


5. Stable and trustful: It’s possible to continue ages (!) working on your computer with Linux, without any reboot. For the most updates, the computer doesn’t require a reboot.

I agree with this point, and I cannot think of a con to this one. The one thing I hate about windows is the continuous rebooting, while on Linux, I have to reboot only once, that is when Kslpice is installed and when I have installed the Nvidia Drivers. +1 for Tux :D


6. Linux needs almost no maintenance: Disk utility en cleaning up the register is not needed.

If I install something via synaptic, and remove it afterwards, I still have all the dependencies installed, and if you do not purge it, all the config files are still in my home directory.
And you still have to apply updates and such, so your hard drive will get full eventually...


7. Friendly free help is available very soon through Internet forums.

People are willing to pay for professional and clear support which works and on which you do not have to wait three days for a response.


8. You can modify Linux fully to your own wishes.

You can also modify a lot with windows, and the only thing most people modify is there theme. I have not seen one of my clients edit a config file yet, if they modify something they want a GUI tool for it.



But, I have been using Linux for almost 5 years now, and I must say, it is a wonderful operating system, and it has come a long way. I have deep respect for all the developers and contributors who work on Free and Open Source Software.