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Software patents have been promoting this type of activity, and it's doing way more harm than good. It's undermining fair competition. It's time we get rid of software patents once and for all. I'm rooting for the Supreme Court to do just this. http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux

This statement is scary: "this agreement demonstrates our mutual respect for intellectual property as well as our ability to reach pragmatic solutions to IP issues regardless of whether proprietary or open source software is involved." The fact that they brought in open source is scary. And the fact that Amazon is paying Microsoft, only adds to the fire that Microsoft started with their software patent rage. Hopefully, software patents will eventually go away, as it is now being revisited in court. Software patents are giving Microsoft uncompetitive advantages in many areas. It's essentially giving Microsoft monopolistic advantages all over again, after the anti-trust cases of the 1990's. http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux

The thing to remember is no matter what path you take sometimes, there is a learning curve. For instance, using Windows XP and needing to migrate to Windows 7. Or using Office 2003 and upgrading to Office 2007. In both of those cases, there's a learning curve. So, migrating from Windows to Linux, there will be a learning curve. The size of the curve depends on the amount of software they need. But, for operating system only, learning Linux is fairly straightforward. I've deployed Fedora to users that were on Windows XP, and they were instantly at home because they were familiar with Firefox and Thunderbird. They navigated the Gnome menu easily, everything is laid out logically. Next thing I knew they were totally comforable with Linux. Other programs like OpenOffice they had to learn where things are, but it's straightforward. In the end, it should make things easier because you can practically eliminate viruses, spyware, and the everyday nuisances of Windows. http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux

Unfortunately, this happens all of the time. Organizations get locked in and they cannot afford to switch to something else. However I find it interesting they concluded that there was no cost savings by switching to open source over the long term. Yes, there are resources put in and costs at first to switch, but in the long run you should be in better shape as you will not ever have to switch again. There are a whole list of hidden savings with open source that many times are not taken into account. Not only cost savings of the software itself, but cost savings from being on an open platform that allows customization and compatibility. http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux

I've used Red Hat Linux since 1997. It's never let me down. Today, I continue using Fedora which is still very well done. It is however cutting edge so it is released every 6 months, so it does have quirks. However that's where Red Hat Enterprise steps in. It's rock solid and has been for years. Red Hat is leading the way with enterprise Linux. It's no wonder that many are making the move from Windows. There are a huge list of reasons why, but I think the bad economy has really pushed companies and individuals to start looking at less expensive alternatives like Linux. How can we forget that just a few years ago, Microsoft actively published reports stating the cost benefit of using Windows. Now that people have a reason to cut costs, the real everyday truth comes out. Microsoft will say anything to make the sale, just like a salesman at your front door. I think more and more are waking up and realizing this. http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux

Linux should (hopefully) dominate on more lightweight hardware, like netbooks. The reason is plain and simple: Windows is too bloated to run on these devices. Microsoft has scammed its customers by stripping away features in Windows 7 Starter Edition to make it less bloated, but is allowing the purchase of another Windows Edition for a price. Shameful. You can count on any Linux distribution installed on a netbook to run efficiently, and be full featured. http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux

I really hope these are true. It's time that people realize that Linux runs FAR more efficiently on hardware than Windows does. Windows is bloated, and as a result cannot run on netbooks nearly as well as Linux. Microsoft has tried to scale down Windows 7 Starter Edition for netbooks, probably to try and trim some of the fat, and also to make more money by making the users pay for more features. It's time that users stop using this plagued Windows software, and use Linux which can do it all. Linux is efficient, free, and does not have any restrictions... it comes with all of the features you want. http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux

Gimp is for serious graphics users... F-Spot is for organizing and doing basic editing. I can see the logic here. Give the users the basics to start with, and let them add to it. That seems logical. Personally I use Gimp and it's a great program. It's been around for a long time, and is extremely powerful. The issue is the learning curve for those that have used Photoshop and other proprietary programs. But, once you get over the learning curve hurdle, you will realize that Gimp can do what the proprietary programs can do. http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux

This really isn't news, many companies, organizations, and even individual users are using Linux because of the slew of issues with Windows. Just look at the huge list of 34 issues that came out this month from Microsoft. Granted, there are many issues with Linux, too, but when you look at security issues with Windows/Linux, the number for Linux are far fewer. Personally, I use Linux for both my personal business and at home for everything I do. I only fire up my Windows XP VM in VirtualBox when I absolutely need to, which is hardly ever. I've found an open source program for each and every proprietary Windows program I used to use, and I couldn't be happier. Now, I can focus on using the computer instead of maintaining Windows and wasting time/money. http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux

Hopefully this is an example for other large organizations to move away from the expensive train of Microsoft. I own my own personal business that started in 2001, and I use Linux exclusively. It has kept me in business, and I have been able to keep costs way down because of this. Also, I can focus on the business rather than maintaining Windows servers. http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux

These companies need to give credit where credit is due. The whole thing about being "scared" to mention the word "Linux" is preposterous. My personal opinion is that when I hear that a device is run by Microsoft, I instantly think it will be unstable and riddled with bugs. When I hear Linux, I think of stability, reliability, and efficiency. It's just the conception of the users, and I think these companies should look past that and give credit to Linux. They obviously chose to use Linux for a reason, so let's give it credit. http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux

While the experience of the OP may be disconcerting, there are a lot of colleges and universities that ARE using Linux very heavily. I am a graduate of Michigan State University, which is very heavily vested in Unix/Linux. The labs include Windows/Mac/Unix-Linux. However, many of MSU's services are hosted by Linux servers. Linux on the desktop is another feat, and hopefully MSU and other schools will begin to pick up the slack in this area. They should be offering more courses for Linux though. Learning Linux is a VERY valuable skill, it's like learning a second language. Unfortunately Microsoft has a grasp on many governments, schools, companies, and a long list. Hopefully these entities will open up and adopt more open source technologies. Many many foreign countries have already done this, and are way ahead of the U.S. --apexwm http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux

I think Microsoft has been feeling the heat from open source for a while now. But, since their failure with Windows Vista, users are finally seeing the light that there are better alternatives out there. Considering Linux is still less than 2% of the desktop share, it can be set up by any moderately technical user and maintained. Which, hardly requires any maintenance. I am a sys admin for over 12 years running Windows and Linux side by side. I choose to use Linux because it doesn't fail, is always FREE and has no licensing woes, and just works better and is simpler to run. http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux