Quoting Simon Hobson (linux@???):

> In part, Linux adoption is held back by its perceived difficulty....

Just a brief comment about this in passing, as this is an antique debate
point ages ago stomped into the ground on comp.os.*.advocacy and other
places: An operating system one must install (not preloaded) will always
be perceived as 'difficult' compared to one already furnished as a
point'n'drool preload.

For decades, I've seen Linux spokesmen get suckered by critics (but I
don't mean you, just to be clear) claiming adoption was waiting for
Linux to become as simple to install as the critic's MS-Windows or MacOS
host. Upon examination, it turns out that said critic did not install
the proprietary OS and would probably have been stunned by the
(perceived) lack of a 'simple' nature to that process. So, the
goalposts were set as making installation at least as simple as no
installation, i.e., simpler than doing nothing (not a discussion but
rather an inane card trick, but that's comp.os.*.advocacy for you).

Said discussion often proceeds to setting of equally ridiculous
but distinct goalpost: 'I'll be glad to use Linux on the desktop as
soon as all applications are exactly like and 100% compatible with what
I'm used to.' The critic might as well throw in a request for a pony
-- and that critic typically makes no objection to occasional forced
upgrades of proprietary code introducing gratuitous changes and
incompatibilities.

I'm not pointing that finger at you, Simon, but just pointing out that
the entire discussion is saturated with balderdash.


> If there were lots more Linux users, and lots less Windows users, then
> that situation would change.

My Kansas-born mother would have said, 'If the hoptoad had wings, it
wouldn't bump its bottom on the prairie.' In other words, if you start
with an implausible premise, you can reach just about any conclusion you
want. In this case, the credibility-challeged premise is 'lots less
Windows users', as that is obviously not likely for the foreseeable
future. The PeeCee OEM preload monopoly is a thing, and even the rise
of smartphones and tablets hasn't made a dent in it. So, talk to me
_when_ (meaning _if_) there are lots fewer Windows users, and we'll see
if the world now looks different.

Anyway, you should free _your_ mind from proprietary-OS assumptions,
too. ;->