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Linux isn't ready for mainstream distribution. Ubuntu is the closest to achieving this, but the learning curve is too high for the casual user (the non-tech savvy person who uses their computer for web browsing, music playing, picture sharing, ipod maintenance and maybe hearts / solitaire) For these users (and they far outweigh the rest of us) even Ubuntu is just too much of a change of climate.
The problem isn't that Linux is somehow inferior to Windows - it's because these people are constantly exposed to Windows and get little-to-no exposure to Linux. It's the same reason why learning a new language is more difficult for adults than it is for children; adults think in their native language, and tend to try to translate to/from foreign languages instead of retraining themselves to think in and comprehend the foreign language directly. Casual PC users "think" in Windows-terms, so when they try to do things they've been accustomed to doing, like double-clicking INSTALL.exe, they're suddenly confused why their application doesn't install.
Now, with all that said, the answer to this is extremely simple: go with whichever costs you less.
Yes, I know Linux is open-source and most distributions don't cost any money to obtain, which makes Windows comparatively expensive, but what you have to realize about Linux is that it's only really free if your time is worthless. As I stated before, there is a heavy learning curve and while Ubuntu eases it, it doesn't completely break it.
I personally prefer Linux because there's really only one PC game I play anymore (WC3) and that can run via wine anyways. Any other gaming I do is either Linux-native (Quake 3 Arena, which owns counterstrike btw) or is on a console (either old-school consoles which Linux emulates just as well as Windows does, or on the DS. I don't do much nex-gen gaming)
Whereas everything else I do works much better in Linux than in Windows. Linux is a superior development environment for all things not .NET, and as such it's worth it for me to learn how to get things done in Linux than to fiddle around with a bunch of different shareware applications in Windows. And before anyone mentions pirating all the big software for Windows, keep in mind that may get overlooked on your personal computer but on a work machine you're pretty much begging for a lawsuit.
So with Windows you're paying for commercial software or putting up with extremely limited shareware, whereas with Linux just about everything you need is freely available from the community.
I could go on and on and on but I have an interview in the morning so I should stop right here.
The problem isn't that Linux is somehow inferior to Windows - it's because these people are constantly exposed to Windows and get little-to-no exposure to Linux. It's the same reason why learning a new language is more difficult for adults than it is for children; adults think in their native language, and tend to try to translate to/from foreign languages instead of retraining themselves to think in and comprehend the foreign language directly. Casual PC users "think" in Windows-terms, so when they try to do things they've been accustomed to doing, like double-clicking INSTALL.exe, they're suddenly confused why their application doesn't install.
Now, with all that said, the answer to this is extremely simple: go with whichever costs you less.
Yes, I know Linux is open-source and most distributions don't cost any money to obtain, which makes Windows comparatively expensive, but what you have to realize about Linux is that it's only really free if your time is worthless. As I stated before, there is a heavy learning curve and while Ubuntu eases it, it doesn't completely break it.
I personally prefer Linux because there's really only one PC game I play anymore (WC3) and that can run via wine anyways. Any other gaming I do is either Linux-native (Quake 3 Arena, which owns counterstrike btw) or is on a console (either old-school consoles which Linux emulates just as well as Windows does, or on the DS. I don't do much nex-gen gaming)
Whereas everything else I do works much better in Linux than in Windows. Linux is a superior development environment for all things not .NET, and as such it's worth it for me to learn how to get things done in Linux than to fiddle around with a bunch of different shareware applications in Windows. And before anyone mentions pirating all the big software for Windows, keep in mind that may get overlooked on your personal computer but on a work machine you're pretty much begging for a lawsuit.
So with Windows you're paying for commercial software or putting up with extremely limited shareware, whereas with Linux just about everything you need is freely available from the community.
I could go on and on and on but I have an interview in the morning so I should stop right here.
