[ShadowAce]

Personally, I like Fedora

[ShadowAce]

[Moonman62]

There are countless users of Microsoft's Windows operating system who become Linux users each year

Countless? I think they are embarrassed to say how few. Linux makes a great rescue disk, but Linux still lacks in hardware compatibility and usability. Only dedicated Linux geeks have no problem with that.

[hosepipe]

Linux is good back up works good.. check out OSL2000 for dual boot...

[CodeToad]

...and back to Windows 7 even faster.

[the invisib1e hand]

i put ubuntu on my laptop last year and spent a total of a half hour with it.

As much as I detest msft, I can't imagine trying to get by with underground alternatives. It's like switching from a Ford to a DeLorean. It might look cool for a while, but...the Ford's probably always gonna get me to work and I can get parts anywhere.

[Bob]

I've tried one Linux distribution (I believe it was Ubuntu but I'm not sure) that boots from a USB stick. I got stuck on trying to find and download a compatible wifi driver for my HP dv6. (Perhaps I just didn't know what to look for.)

Can anyone recommend a specific Linux distribution that will boot from a read-write DVD? I'd like to try it before I put a dual-boot loader on my hard drive.

[upchuck]

Other commenters in the discussion have snide comments. Here's a good example: "I suggest giving showing them Windows 8 first. After that, the change to any of the major Linux distributions will seem trivial."

Now that's just funny!

[Sudetenland]

Linux, in all its forms, is for geeks. Always was, always will be--geeks, IT/database folks, and wannabe rebels who just hate corporations. It will never be as accessible or usable as the commercial products. It will never support as much hardware as commercial products . . . and it will never-ever provide the wide selection of native programs that consumers need.

The profit motive works. Commercial products are better because those who produce them get paid for it.

[Random_User_250]

I’ve got a Zorin/Ubuntu/Win 7 triple boot on my netbook. Personally I like using Linux but I don’t think I’ll ever make a total switch away from Windows.

[EricT.]

In this post, we covered a die-hard Windows user's immersion in Ubuntu...

Oh good lord! Ubuntu has been unusable since version 10.10.

I gave it a good long try, upgrading from 10.10 to 11.04 to 11.10-- all stunk on ice. I went back to Ubuntu 10.04 and disabled updates.

[ElPaseo]

Thank you for this.

marked for later.

[rawhide]

My large IT company next laptop refresh is soon coming with Linux OS, (Redhat I believe), with Windows running underneath it. Some guys are already testing this platform and they love it.

[expat1000]

Amazing the first paragraph doesn’t mention cost as a reason.

That may not matter a whole lot to westerners, but software is the same price in Asia as in the west, therefore a much higher percentage of disposable income. Windows Ultimate costs more than most people here (Thailand) make in a month.

[Vide]

Tried, liked and used Ubuntu Fiesty (7.04) but found myself increasingly dissatisfied with succeeding versions. Finally, the 12.04 upgrade did me a favor by breaking my installation.

I switched to Mint 13 MATE (polished Gnome 2) and I’m loving it. I’ve gone from using Linux for a couple of days every six months (to fix stuff broken by the semi-annual Ubuntu upgrade) to pretty much full-time use.

Will 2013 be the “year of the Linux desktop?” Nope. But if Microsoft doesn’t come out with a quite radical service pack for Windows 8 P.D.Q. I can see Linux getting to 10% of a static/declining market in a couple of years.

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

Fedora user here as well - aside from having used it going all the way back to FC2, I live in the Raleigh NC area where Red Hat also makes its home. Seems only fitting to use Fedora.

I think for new entrants it’s likely that Ubuntu or one of its variants would make more sense as I think that its selling point is its ease of use and ease of getting started.