Thank you for missing the point and not reading the entire post Steve.
Let me say once again. I am talking about an average person. Your mother, grandmother, your aunt who has trouble holding the mouse. While the people who read this site are probably savy enough to get a linux distro for free and probably even install it these aren't the majority of computer users.
If everyone were as smart as you obviously are then we would all have free software, the $100 billion dollar software indsutry would be non existant and maybe the French would even be able to win a war.
That isn't the case however. A lot of people need the ability for the computer to do everything for them. Insert disc and the song or video plays, or the game loads, or whatever else they do. THESE people are the ones that can't find free linux distros easily.
Steve, why is it I should send you thousands of dollars for linux distro? Are you implying that is the cost of Windows or OS X?
Linux: $0-$79 for an average distro. RH 5 ES is a lot more but comes with support. Patches are free but depending on the distro can be difficult for the average person to install.
Vista: ~$100-$400 depending on version and upgrade eligibility. New versions released every 4-5 years and require a new purchase. Intermediate service packs are free.
OS X: $129 new versions come out every 12-18 months and require a new purchase at $129.
If linux does ever take off as a desktop OS expect to see companies migrate to Apple's business plan where they use a free kernal and add their own code on top of it then charge a lot for it. (a lot being relative to the $0 of the kernal and underlying OS)
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Linux Distro cost
Thank you for missing the point and not reading the entire post Steve.
Let me say once again. I am talking about an average person. Your mother, grandmother, your aunt who has trouble holding the mouse. While the people who read this site are probably savy enough to get a linux distro for free and probably even install it these aren't the majority of computer users.
If everyone were as smart as you obviously are then we would all have free software, the $100 billion dollar software indsutry would be non existant and maybe the French would even be able to win a war.
That isn't the case however. A lot of people need the ability for the computer to do everything for them. Insert disc and the song or video plays, or the game loads, or whatever else they do. THESE people are the ones that can't find free linux distros easily.
Steve, why is it I should send you thousands of dollars for linux distro? Are you implying that is the cost of Windows or OS X?
Linux: $0-$79 for an average distro. RH 5 ES is a lot more but comes with support. Patches are free but depending on the distro can be difficult for the average person to install.
Vista: ~$100-$400 depending on version and upgrade eligibility. New versions released every 4-5 years and require a new purchase. Intermediate service packs are free.
OS X: $129 new versions come out every 12-18 months and require a new purchase at $129.
If linux does ever take off as a desktop OS expect to see companies migrate to Apple's business plan where they use a free kernal and add their own code on top of it then charge a lot for it. (a lot being relative to the $0 of the kernal and underlying OS)