I disagree with Bob on this completely and I am a bit taken back by his statement and him being one of the well known in the technical hierarchy of it all, this surprised me. Linux, mainly Ubuntu has been striving to be a user friendly OS and has done quite well. I have been in Linux for 6 months now and haven't much gone into Windows, with an exception here and there for my wife's stuff I'm too lazy to pull off the drive. I think Bob's view is way off on this one for a couple of reasons...
1. Testing hardware in linux is fine, however, most complaints are of hardware incompatibility with Linux OSs so not always the best alternative nor the only reason for people to run a Linux OS.
2. Plenty of people use some Linux distro for their main OS, especially with Ubuntu on the rise. Dell was dishing out computers with Ubuntu AAMOF, I would consider this a switch from Windows.
3.While Linux is not Unix, MS did get the idea of a shell from Unix, had there been a patent on the shell as it seems you can patent any software aspect, the shoe may have been on the other foot. So people can thank Unix for Windows being "user friendly".
Explanations:
The main issue with Linux distros are codecs and hardware incompatibility as mentioned. But Windows has it's hardware problems too. The codecs for your basic DVD watching pleasure, like libdvdcss2, and others are patented and illegal in the U.S. and Cuba that know of but legal to use in Linux in other countries where they refuse patent laws.
I have no problem with patents but they are being abused and were handed out by people who don't understand software. It's not hurting just Linux distros but many programmers who have to have a patent war trying to develop anything.
So this means you need to download illegal codecs to have a somewhat complete Linux OS that will do what Windows can do.
My opinion, I can do anything in Linux that I can do in Windows and have been. This said, my reasons of good and bad are...<remember, this is my opinion along with some facts>
Linux good: Most distros are free, I don't have to shell out 600 bucks to be told how to run my OS and how many installs and when. While I still take secure measures, for the most part I am virus\spyware\malware and rootkit free and don't worry about updating 15 security applications or bog down with Norton just to make sure I don't get infected. Linux is stable, handles most applications without a hitch and solidly. Provides enough software to make up for anything missed from using Windows. I am in Ubuntu right now AAMOF. Doing graphics work is great in Ubuntu or any Linux distro, it takes far less resources to run Ubuntu than all the Windows clutter. There is a lot of driver support currently.
Linux Bad: Well, first the codecs as mentioned which many still download anyway but it is illegal so that's a choice up to the user. Also, it's a different world using Linux, it is NOT Windows by any means and you have a whole lot of learing to do,mainly if you run into trouble. It can be very frustrating trying to install some things, working in a terminal very often, not having support for some hardware. It's not close to "user friendly" as Windows but is getting there. Once again, it's different, you either suck it up and learn or drop it, it can be easy for some and harder than heck for others. Most applications are made for Windows, not Linux so some of your favorites may not exist for Linux but there are replacements in many cases to be fair. While there is a lot of driver support, some you may have to track down and it can be a bear to get them installed.
Windows Good: It's user friendly and has support for many drivers, software, and user needs. Has some good applications and is compatible with a lot of hardware and other software. It's easy for anyone to use and takes little effort to install an application or little effort to find what you need. It's also easiest for most to connect to the internet , wi-fi, home network, whatever and easily shares files and folders. Basically, it's an all around user friendly "sometimes solid" system.
Windows Bad: Needs a restart every time you install something it seems, you have to activate and if you decide to change certain hardware and it doesn't agree, you must contact MS yet again to activate your copy. So MS does know when you change your hardware, I can't say i agree with that. It costs $$$$ and you can only install on one system. Security is rough. While many advanced security users can keep the OS from being infected, many users simply want to use the PC, this is what it was intended for but have to constantly worry about attacks. Many have to pay up the nose to get their computer cleaned up or re-installed. With the security software, it can eat up system resources slowing your computer down. Windows is not as configurable as Linux and is becoming more locked down. It can get tiring worrying about being infected, hacked, charged, updated, and other typical issues that arise.
That said, I find Ubuntu to be a huge step in the Linux world. Ubuntu is closer than most other distros to being complete right out of the box so to speak. I have been using this and Fedora for some time. PCLOS I had nothing but problems with but do like the interface. But regardless, Ubuntu is still the most user friendly Linux distro I have found and very solid.
With synaptic and other package managers, it's becoming quite easy to install from a very wide range of software. I haven't NOT found anything I needed and as stated, haven't even been into Windows in some time. The support at Ubuntu forums are excellent. I am partial to the people over at PCLOS though, a great group there. So after using Windows for over 10 years, I have made a switch and find it quite comfortable but it took effort and learning but not impossible.
Just this last week, I installed Ubuntu for 3 people, they are plenty satisfied with it as well. Our local college now has an Ubuntu class and many have been drawn in and admit to liking it more than Windows. Even my wife likes it and she doesn't like computers.
It still boils down to being in two different worlds but of course the decision is up to the user. I think Ubuntu has started something and the more user friendly it gets, the better chance Linux is going to have.
Cheers,
Paul