Why should Linux install easier than Windows? In fact I could argue that, since it's a one-time event, the install should be irrelevant.
Once installed, though, I have found that Linux is usually easier to run and operate than Windows.
But that's just my $0.02. :)
Not only that, but most of the applications you'll need are already installed too!
> Why should Linux install easier than Windows? In fact I could argue that, since it's a one-time event, the install should be irrelevant.
Point well made. Most users do not, in fact, install their Windows either -- it came pre-installed on the hard drive. And after a year or two, when their Windows install is stale and corrupt, slow and unstable, and they are faced with the necessity of re-installing Windows, they... BUY A NEW COMPUTER WITH WINDOWS PRE-INSTALLED.
Ease of installation is a canard.
> Once installed, though, I have found that Linux is usually easier to run and operate than Windows. But that's just my $0.02. :)
Depends on what you're doing; I find them about equal overall. As you know from my previous tech posts, I'm a Linux user, also a Mac user, also a Windows user, also a NetBSD user, and my job is as a Sys Admin using them all, plus Solaris. None are perfect.
For the past year my personal systems have been Macs. Before that for 5 years they were Linux boxes, before that, for a long time, they were Windows. Before that, Macs. Before that, DOS, Unix (Sys5), and a variety of homebrewed microprocessor systems.
I have no religion with regard to operating systems.
So two days ago, at a company function, a businessman introduces himself to me, and says, "You're an IT guy, answer me this. I'm just a guy running a business. I need computers to get and place orders with thousands of customers and hundreds of vendors. I am sick of Windows and its vulnerability to viruses. I want something better, but I don't know whether to go with Mac or Linux. What should I get?"
I asked, "What are your mission-critical applications?"
He said, "Outlook, Excel, and a big accounting package. Outlook is essential, most of my customers and vendors use it. Excel helps me organize, and the accounting package runs my business front-to-back."
I asked, "Do you have any computer support (IT) people at your business?"
He said, "No, I just take my computers to the local repair shop when they break."
I asked, "What operating systems does your accounting package run on?"
He said, "Just Windows. Although I suppose I could convert to another accounting package if I had to, but I'd be hurting bad if it took more than a couple of days."
I said, "Sorry to say this, but if you are wedded to Outlook and a Windows-only accounting package, and you don't have in-house IT support, I cannot in good conscience recommend that you move away from Windows at this time. Your situation is that you're stuck, until such time as you can find a highly-trusted consulting outfit that can plan and execute a major shift in your business tools. In the meantime, learn to love good anti-virus and anti-spyware packages."
Sure, I know about Evolution and I use OpenOffice myself on all my systems. I hated to say it, but Linux would not be for this guy -- it could literally put him out of business. Even a shift to Macs would be more risky than dealing with the devil he knows already.
Damn Microsoft. Software didn't have to turn out this way. It sure wasn't like this when I started in the early 70's. *sigh*
After some of the installs I've been through, I don't think so. SuSe 9 (10?), was really great except that the install display was split into four raster images in a quartered display. It was very hard to puzzle out and answer some questions -- the worst install I've had since the original Win95 which hung if the mouse was attached.
Kubuntu 7.04 wins my prize for the most effortless Linux install I have yet seen, equal to the best Win installs.
Maybe, if the drivers work for you. If there's anything involving drivers or device managment, Windows is FAR easier, in my experience.