Update. I did finally check out Linux. I tried two different popular distros, but in the end it's still not ready for me prime time.
I tried Mint and Ubuntu. Installed Mint 10 first on a laptop as a single operating system just for simplicity's sake. I quickly grew to love it, and then steadily grew frustrated enough with it to switch back to winxppro
I ended up preferring Mint over Ubuntu simply for the intuitiveness of the GUI which is by far, and I mean by FAR, the most important aspect of any computer utility that I use. In Ubuntu I was constantly moaning "why did they do it this way? why put that there" "every time i try to return to previous page the wrong taskbar pops up since it's so close to the return button it's unavoidable." Where the heck is the 'terminal'"?
In Ubuntu it's not as if it's just a matter of reacquaintance, the layout just seems almost purposely hard to navigate. And it's not necessarily the case that Mint is more "like" windows. Mint and Ubuntu's GUI are equally unique in that regard. But with mint you're able to just cruise along and get things done mostly on intuition, where in Ubuntu you're constantly in the Linux formus asking "how do I....?"
That was my experience anyway, but it corresponds with many other comments on the web. Mint is a less well known/popular distro so it gets less attention. It may be that it's not as well put together for the very 'hard core' Linux type once you really get under the hood, but we're not talking that kind of use here for the most part.
In the end, what drove me away was my previous dependence on a few utilities that Linux either had poor equivalents for, or was unable to run successfully with "Wine" (windows program emulator that enables many, but not most, windows software to run under Linux).
There is no easy, well documented and user supported, useful CAD program like Sketchup for Linux. Google has still not come out with a Linux version (not suprisingly) and Sketchup running via Wine is buggy and frustrating.
Microsoft Streets and Trips on a laptop has been, and remains, my favorite travel tool. Been so for almost fifteen years now (I was an early fan). I run it on an HPmini with an ultrabright 10.5 inch screen, a fantastically sensitive USB antenna, and nearly full size keyboard, and it is velcro'ed to a DIY'd adjustable mount emerging from the dash of my car right next to the steering wheel. I'm spoiled and could never live with a tiny magellan sized screen and no full keyboard. I can detatch the whole thing in one second and put in my carry case or luggage when not in use. And of course, Streets and Trips chokes on Wine in Linux. And there are no really good equivalents in Linux.
These were just two of a dozen or so utilities that I kept running into that Linux just couldn't "do" well for me.
Linux, in my estimation now that I've tried it for about four months, is just too much hassle for a very significant number of users right in the middle of the scale of expertise and expectation.
At the entry level of that scale are those who want "plug and play" simplicity for 99 percent of their needs; wireless connectivity, email use, browsing, fun and useful little programs like versions of notepad, screen capture, music burning utilities, etc, etc. I've got friends who I turned on to Mint who are happy as clams with it for its ease of use and speed. Unlike windows, 75 percent of the time that you want a little utility that will do a job you want, it's in the software manager in your Linus distro and a single click of a button will go out into the internet for you, locate it, install it, and run it trouble free instantly. For this type of user, they may never even join a Linux user's forum.
The other end of the user spectrum are those few who are really hard core computer users who are just cartwheel happy that Linux arrives like an automobile with all the factory blueprints and special tools in the trunk to COMPLETELY overhaul, diagnose, and even reengineer the thing to your boundless desire. Most of us just want a dependable car to drive and a mechanic handy if things go wrong. Not these guys. And Linux is made to order for them. They rule the Linux forums.
But I'm among those in the middle who want my system to do more, and there is not a Linux Distro yet that has matched the "average consumer" expectations that Microsoft has catered to. Life's too short to switch just for some vague notion of rebellion, to be 'cool' under the Linux umbrella, or to beat your head bloody trying to get something to just do its job quietly in the background like most of my Windows stuff does. I'm that type of user who can't get far in Linux without participating in the user's forums, and immediately finds himself many MANY hours into the rabbit holes therein, wondering if this is time well spent.
Maybe next year.
Sorry to talk yer ears off.
