One of the things I do in my work is custom build desktop computers. While talking to clients, they've all danced around the issue of having Windows 7 installed on their systems, suffice it to say, every Windows user (I built systems for) opted to have WinXP installed? What About Linux?

Why are we not using Linux? Considering the advantages for geeks as well as non-geeks, Linux should be at a preference over the traditionally popular propreitary operating systems.

If you have installed openSUSE with the default selections of choosing one of the available (say KDE4) then only the selected Desktop environment is installed. However, should you later choose to install and use another desktop Environment say (GNOME) then this can easily be installed and as always just a few clicks away.

A value-added reseller of mobile computers and PDAs has ported Linux to a ruggedized, "military-grade" PDA. SDG Systems is offering the "Nomad" from Tripod Data Systems (TDS) pre-installed with Angstrom Linux and Qtopia PDA Edition, and bundled with a toolsuite and build environment based on OpenEmbedded.

I have read a rather sad story today. Apparently the Best Buy Geeks squad refused to service the machine of someone who had purchased an $80 extended warranty for its netbook just because he had installed Ubuntu Linux.

We, the undersigned, urge all computer makers implementing UEFI's so-called "Secure Boot" to do it in a way that allows free software operating systems to be installed. To respect user freedom and truly protect user security, manufacturers must either allow computer owners to disable the boot restrictions, or provide a sure-fire way for them to install and run a free software operating system of their choice. We commit that we will neither purchase nor recommend computers that strip users of this critical freedom, and we will actively urge people in our communities to avoid such jailed systems.

Many operating systems can already be booted over the net, especially so for the installation systems of the major Linux distributions, but the netboot.me web service offers a universal boot loader which presents them all in one menu. The boot loader can be installed on a USB stick, burned onto CD, or on a floppy disk.

When it comes to file systems, Linux® is the Swiss Army knife of operating systems. Linux supports a large number of file systems, from journaling to clustering to cryptographic. Linux is a wonderful platform for using standard and more exotic file systems and also for developing file systems.

My first experience with mobile Linux was with a Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 I bought back in 2003. It was very customizable with apps and functionality and you could change the ROM on it rather easily to fit your needs.