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Some things from an earlier reply echoes replies found on most of the other articles of this flavor that come out. It's these things that I think makes Linux 'egocentric' to the average computer user (ie. people you'll never see on this site).

"I personally learned how to use Linux through Yahoo and Google and jumping in with both feet. I have never read a manual or book and I have never called tech support. I don't think a lack of information or company backed tech support can be an excuse for not running Linux successfully since information is quite abundant on the Internet (since most people dual boot Linux to start, getting on the Internet should not be a problem either). "

Sorry, but Phil has it right on. It's these kinds of replies that are severely hindering Linux because they don't represent 95% of the users out there. From your reply, you clearly have enough time on your hands and the will to learn Linux. The rest of the world doesn't want to spend more time tinkering with something than actually doing the thing they were interested in the first place. Most people don't have jobs where they can spend hours hunting down internet help and, when they get home, don't want to spend all their free time "working."

"I don't think the author did justice to the large amount of work Xandros has put into their distro to make Windows interoperability as seemless as possible. This may be due to his lack of familiarity with Linux in general. I have to say that Xandros has done the best job at integrating Linux and Windows of any distro I have personally tried. "

Most of the world doesn't give a damn about how much work someone put into something. If it works, they are willing to show their gratitude with their wallet and/or their time. I didn't ask Ford how much time they spent improving my vehicle over the last model and I certainly don't care if someone spent 10,000 man-hours making something that still doesn't live up to my expectations.

"Actually, this depends on who you are. I run Linux exclusively and have done so for several years. My wife isn't ready to make the switch yet, so her machine runs Windows. I think it has more to do with your flexibility than anything else. Are you the type that doesn't mind a different approach to solve the same problem? Or are you the kind that will complain because Linux isn't exactly like Windows? The question of Linux being ready for the desktop is a unique one for each individual."

Again, you make it sound like everyone has a load of time on their hands that they can whittle away on Linux or something else (apparently less important). For most people it's not like that. Work is work and not the time for a crash course on Linux. And home life...well, there just isn't that much time there as it is. And it's not a complaint to say things aren't as easy as they could/should be. I may not like Microsoft or Bill Gates, but until a Linux distro can tie or beat the benchmark that they've set, I don't think defending Linux distros helps one iota.

And for the curious, I work in a shop that uses everything from win98 to win2000 to IRIX to several flavors of Linux (SW and RH). Yet, at the end of the day, I use win2000pro at home. Why? Averaging time spent across all apps including the OS, I get more work done on windows than on Linux. Too much time is still spent chasing down command switches, editing config files, looking for ways around buggy menu systems, trying to guess where menu commands are hidden, and working out file dependencies.