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Response to scooter rider (Original post)
Here.
Judging by browser's connected, only about 50-55% of the users who bought Win 8 are actually using it. Here.
They seem to have missed the fact that most people don't create content, and those that do tend to be more sophisticated, discerning, and Win 8 isn't for that crowd. Among those Linux has made great strides, much improved from earlier years (the word "amazing" comes to mind). And free of cost, which doesn't hurt at all.
days, before the Internet, when you had to buy a cd from the local computer geek store, later for one of the first ISPs, and then working as a network admin for several years through iterations of Windows products, I am absofreakinlutely amazed at what that product puts on people's desktops.
Most people live in a browser anyway, and Firefox is easily as good as Explorer. The free version of Libre Office on Mint works really, really well, far better than Open Office on Windows, and one can get the whole shebang for the time spent in a download. One can even put it on a thumb drive, plug it in to a USB port and run the "Live" version to see how it works on their computer without even getting rid of what they have. Virtually every important piece of the user's desktop experience has been addressed in Mint. If it is a corporate office and they need support, Red Hat is the first linux company to have revenues into the billion dollar arena, I think, so that is available. But for ordinary users, it's really hard to beat "no cost to you", and there is a lot of help out on the webs.
When I was working at the old ISP, they were Unix gearheads, and thoroughly convinced that the superior engineering of Sun would be where the future was. I watched, however, as mom and pop got a copy of Windows 95 (3.1 and even Workgroups was still too clunky, but '95 changed that) and could pop in the cd, install, and be more or less up and running with our instructions. The boss (fool) used to lambaste his own customers when they called in with Windows, but he was so caught up in what he thought he knew that he couldn't see things changing around him. They thought I was crazy to pursue learning about Windows, (actually more like pitied me) but it was clear that even though it was hardly the best software, it was adequate, and, most importantly, didn't required the digesting of several manuals to run. In my experience most people are more like network admins, who are generally more pragmatic and just want to get the job done, put out the fire, vs programmers, who will spend hours arguing over the most elegant solutions 
.
I have put several Windows onto Linux Mint, and, frankly, not one has wanted to spend the money to switch back. And the bonus is that their older hardware from 3 or 4 years ago runs it like a champ most times.
And given how Bill Gates is hurting a lot of teachers, and by extension students, in many people's opinion, here, and here, and here, with his money giving him the power to create "foundations" that keep him in the background, like the Koch brothers and the Teabaggers, I am quite happy to find that there is a decent alternative to supporting his agenda. And one of these days I may be able to get completely away from it.
undercut your neighbor's job so they can't pay the taxes to support your community, while Gates and the Koch brothers reshape our country.
No, it doesn't have slick packaging, and it doesn't have the administrative tools that take care of networks like my last one with 26,000 users. But it does a much better job of providing web services and DNS, and it is good enough for the vast majority of users. Interesting, with the improvements to Powershell in Server 2012, the pointy-clicky people get to re-enter the world of the command line in a way that wasn't easily done for many years. I actually think it's good for them, they will learn more about what is underneath.
But as far as the above, users don't run the OS, they run applications. Windows is good if they have the money, or if they need to run a consumer-grade app like Quickbooks, although much of that stuff can now and is being provided across networks, and linux/unix does a very reliable job for less cost. Gamers are a different story, and I don't deal much with them. Thank goodness.
Snobs may not like it, and people who make money from it while screwing others may not like it, but users don't give a flying fuck about what OS is underneath as long as their browser or favorite app is working, and for the majority of users, once they find that linux does it I have never seen one want to break their wallet open and lay down the money for what they now know is far less value than they used to think. Windows users also proved, this year anyway, that they prefer not to have to buy brand new hardware just because a new OS hit the scene, which is why MS is having to spin the language about their sales of Win 8 instead of looking at actual installed users, even having to come out with an 8.1
to keep the shareholders happy - we will see if it fares any better.
Thus, arguing about much of the above is mostly suited to wasting time and impressing people who are led around by flashy tv commercials. The rest of us are quite happily running our applications and providing services. And reducing the tribute paid to people who are screwing our neighbors.
ymmv.
in one form or another is in so many devices you use daily and probably aren't even aware of, I think Linux is doing great! 
From machine control systems, industrial automation, and medical instruments to car computers to set-top boxes like the Roku to Android cellphones and gaming consoles, Linux runs on all of these safely, cheaply, and openly. 
Anyone remember Danger? MS killed them pretty thoroughly after purchase. MS is about 5 years late buying Nokia.
Danger was the company that powered the TMobile "Sidekick"
