A recent column on Zdnet, by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, discussed the reasons why people won't change from a retail operating system to a free one. The implication is that Linux can't even give away their software.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has a great post over on Datamation entitled, "Linux...Why is it So Hard to Give It Away?". He addresses the difficulty in getting retailers to sell cheap Linux-based PCs, and decides that the problem is the support burden: It's easier to offload that to Microsoft than to undertake it to save a few dollars:

Sometimes you stumble across an article that makes you wonder whether people are spreading FUD or whether they are really that ignorant. When you take it down, bit by bit, it becomes more and more obvious how ridiculous their statements are. This one is from Adrian Kingsley-Hughes. It is a well written article and it seems as if he knows what he is talking about. Well, since I have an unexpected free half hour as I wait for a call to be returned, let's take this baby apart.

Over the past year or so I’ve noticed an increasing number of newbies (a term which I use affectionately) interested in taking Linux for a spin - for example, the number or emails I’m getting on the subject from zero a year ago to several dozen a week. The reasons for their interest in Linux are many and varied, as is the level of commitment to making the switch from Windows or Mac.

Ok so I was checking my daily digg news and i came across one of the more popular things dug that day which was Is Ubuntu becoming the generic Linux distro?

Jonathan Oxer, the president of Linux Australia, is a brave man. Few people other than him would have even tried to bring together those who pledge allegiance to different Linux distributions - and within the framework of a conference at that.

The first question I hear Linux newbies ask is what is the best distribution to use? I think right now plenty of linux desktop options exist for newbies however a few things set Ubuntu ahead of the pack in my opinion.

I've been a full-fledged Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon user for more than a week now, I'm completely off Microsoft Windows and I couldn't be happier. For some reason, however, I keep getting emails and posts urging me to try other supposedly superior Linux distributions for newbies - PCLinuxOS and SimplyMEPIS, among others. Intrigued, I have decided to check this out for myself.

Ubuntu Linux is one of the most popular Linux distributions, it is especially popular among Linux newbies and windows refuges. Now Ubuntu Linux does come with a decent set of applications, still there is a scope for including some more quality applications and especially games.