jkinkennon wrote:I had my fingers in UNIX admin and TCL programming prior to my retirement so I've felt compelled to try a couple of the popular Linux distributions once every year or so. I still give it a "not ready for prime time" for ordinary consumers and cannot imagine the added support that would be required for all but the most popular hardware. Just my opinion...
I find this opinion a little perplexing; hopefully this is not an insult to you?
Not meant as such. But I hear that once in a while and I just don't see it. In the case of my mother / sister / aunt / whoever is calling me on the phone for help; either linux or windows, they need my help. They can't configure networking, setup their email, fix a printer-wont-print issue, or install / configure a router. So what difference does it make? I see tons of support questions for all 3 os's on the net ranging from very simple issues to very complex ones. Clearly using a computer still requires a fair amount of click-and-pray, preferably with a buddy on the other of a phone, regardless of your choice in OS.
Bottom line is, when you need support, you need support and you will ask your techy acquaintance. If they know linux, and are supporting you on linux, how is that different than supporting you on windows? Since I've already converted several family members (one being my mother with no prior computer experience) to linux, I get asked for help far less often. No virus, no anti-virus junk gutting the performance of the machines, no crummy windows drivers (how often don't you see 130 meg drivers for a printer / scanner / etc; got to be kidding me.).
My mother is a great example; no previous windows usage, she operates her linux computer just as well as anyone else using windows. Icons on the desktop, a start menu, clock in the top right corner, firefox + thunderbird + some other minor apps, automatic updates (for the ENTIRE os and all your programs, not just a piece of it; this is a huge benefit of linux right there), what more do they want? When it's time to configure something, they'll call me.
This idea that "linux isn't ready" is just a myth propagated by those too entrenched in their previous way of doing things
It was true maybe 10 / 15 years ago but with ubuntu / mint / fedora and friends, there is just no truth to that anymore.
Edit: jkinkennon, being a Canadian, you must know what happened the last time someone claimed "X is just not ready"...