Two companies that pay Microsoft for Linux remain close to Microsoft and fail to attract positive attention

I'm sure we have all seen error or fail messages while ubuntu is starting (server or desktop version). Because Ubuntu really loads fast sometimes we don't have enough time to actually read what module fail to load or what is causing errors.

"We had two reports last week that gave us the reason why DRM and WGA will fail in the long run..."

What drives users to try Linux, only to fail to make it work for them in the long haul? Once you get past the fact that there is no concrete way of tracking desktop Linux usership and all indications based on existing trends indicate that there are potentially millions of us worldwide, it would seem that while some fail to stick with it, others are making it work.

Critics say vendors such as Sun are not doing enough regarding interoperability to make the standard a viable competitor to Microsoft.

"...Microsoft is too big to fail, but in the end it will likely become another AOL - a company that tried to create a walled "web-like" partition and failed, and that is now becoming increasingly irrelevant as a consequence...

If one was to believe IBM, the days of the Microsoft desktop are numbered, soon to be cut short by a combination of Canonical's Ubuntu Linux, IBM's Lotus range of office applications and a virtual desktop from Virtual Bridges. The trouble is IBM's solution is nothing new and addresses none of the issues associated with moving away from Microsoft.

"What's more, Red Hat could help Microsoft gain OSS street cred almost instantly. To me, this would easily become Red Hat's most important contribution to the software industry." Isn't that a fabulous quote? Seriously, read the rest of the article, it's... no, words fail me. Of course, the best bits are the outraged comments at the end...

You should backup many things: the files in your home directory, configurations files in /etc, (and there are many excellent graphical tools to do the job) but one of the simplest and best things you can do is to backup your boot master boot record (MBR).