The hinging question is, is Linux ready for the desktop? The simple answer is yes and has been for years. What do i mean by that? I guess it depends on who is asking and who is answering. More to the point, who cares to know and why? The first mistake is to compare a Linux desktop with a windows desktop. But so many do and I for one understand why.
I have used Operating systems for a long time and in 97/98 opted to use Linux as my full time desktop OS. For a short time I always felt like I needed windows on hand for something. Dual boot? lol.. Oh yes I did and how about more than two to boot from? DOS,OpenDOS,OS/2,Linux,Win,..etc. If one is used to using an OS and the apps ported it’s hard to switch. Call me a geek! It is also what I do and I wanted to be able to work on any system. Linux users used to say “Linux is user friendly, it’s just picky about it’s users!” Today it’s a matter of interoperability between operating systems and applications. Hardware is Cheap! and Linux is easy to use!
The Desktop:
KDE or Gnome? It’s a matter of taste. You can install and try both and or other window managers. You can customize and detail your environment. Most everyone knows about Open office. Try KOffice and a few others too. Use Scribus for desktop publishing (PDF). There are nice messaging clients. Kontact and Evolution for collaboration. Opera or Fire fox and more for browsing. P2P Sharing, Mplayer and Xmms for Audio/video play. Adobe reader,Flash, and Java. K-wifi for wireless networks. Plug in your Camera and load up your pics. Burn with K3b. I could write 10 pages.
Linux is ready for the end user and corporate user desktop. I am not saying it’s ready to replace Windows. I am saying Linux is more than ready for everyday desktop use.
