I run three web sites, including a company's site. All of them have shown significat drops in IE usage, including (Thank goodness) IE6. The faster we get rid of that stain the better for Lady McBeth's mind.

- Kc

Although we can dream, yes? :)

They'll pay off some lawmaker like they're doing still.

- Kc

Now before I'm blasted for being a 'Microsoft fanboi' or such, I will say here, I use Kubuntu 8.04.2 99.99% of the time, for the last 6 months. Now...

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3.2 No unified installer across all distros. Consider RPM, deb, portage, tar.gz, sources, etc. It adds a cost for software development.

3.3 Many distros' repositories do not contain all available open source software. User should never be bothered with using ./configure && make && make installer. It should be possible to install any software by downloading a package and double clicking it (yes, like in Windows, but probably prompting for user/administrator password).

3.4 Applications development is a major PITA. Different distros can use a) different libraries versions b) different compiler flags c) different compilers. This leads to a number of problems raised to the third power.

AMEN!!! Repositories is NOT the solution. Many programs arn't on repositories, or within that particular version. OpenOffice 3? Pidgin 2.5.5? Neither are on the 8.04.02 repositories. The only reason I can use them, is by chance I found a way of installing OO3 which worked, as well as working with Pidgin. It's easy, but only if your in the know. Which, I might add is; why the frack isn't the install instructions on the main web site? Why is it someone had to write it up in a blog? I say this. If people want to play with ./configure && make && make installer then that's fine. That's their right. But there should be a 1 (or several click) installer like Windows. Yeah, yeah, I hear 'DLL hell' I've yet to see that, and I've worked with Windows since v3.1. I see more 'dependency hell' even with repositories. I can't even install Gnome to try it out.

5.3.2 A lot of web cameras still do not work at all in Linux.

This is easily solved. Hell with the camera's propriotory junk. A simple card reader from Wal-Mart ($20 or so) allows me to read 3 different cameras (including a 3 year old Sony memory stick) and download the files at USB 2.0HS on linux OR windows.

7. A galore of software bugs across all applications. Just look into KDE or Gnome bugzilla's - some bugs are now ten years old with over several dozens of duplicates and no one is working on them.

Agreed 100%. Not to mention bugs come back in newer versions. 8.04.01 worked like a charm on a IBM T22, with only a minor video problem. 8.04.02, the video isn't working at all, and I've had to go get the correct driver. Bugs should be eliminated, and wiped from the code. Especially from the same company, or distro. Why is it that old bugs are corrected, then comes back?

What's worse; they introduce new things in newer versions that compound the problem. 8.04.01 worked like a charm on 2 computers, because they used a text based installer. However, 8.04.02, uses a GUI ONLY installer, which is slower, and a heck of a lot more of a problem to work with. 9.04.01 won't even WORK on my main system, and again brings back new problems that 8.04.02 eliminated.

Not to mention the upgrader is a major joke. I had to completely wipe and reinstall 8.04.02 on my system after the upgrader totally hosed it.

Linux - even Ubuntu isn't close to being able to be used by Joe 6 harddrive. I won't dare install it on my customer's systems even if requested.

- Kc

Fix the program installing problem for good! Repositories isn't the placenta that the linux community thinks it is. Windows 1 download/1 click packaging is FAR superior. (And I'm a Ubuntu user, folks) Pidgin is at 2.5.5 and it's still stuck in 2.4 or such in the Ubuntu 8.04 repository. Believe me, I gave up on Pidgin and use Kopete now, because it's nearly impossible to install without a repository. OpenOffice is still v2.4!

Also make a place where code that is fixed, is used, instead of old code. I installed Ubuntu 8.04.01 and had wonderful luck with it, it's running on a laptop that I couldn't install Ubuntu on before. Then tried 8.10, Guess what? An old bug that's at least 2 years old (Debian 4) popped up. Why is it, an update should have an old bug that should have been fixed and elimated 2 years ago?

I use Ubuntu to *work* not to spend weeks downloading and installing programs.

Fix the bugs! Fix the programming installing problem!

After that, push Ubuntu to get rid of Winders for good.

I've been running Kubuntu 8.04.01/KDE 3.5 since November, and after Dec 1, I haven't started Windows 2k *yet* Once everything was over, reformatted and reinstalled Linux about 4 times to get the bugs worked out, and Oh yes! It runs on both this machine, and a T22 laptop without a bit of a problem. Now I got a 1tb external harddrive, a 250g external harddrive, as well - all installed with EXT3, and do everything I normally did with windows (Including running XPlane, 2nd Life) and even Dreamweaver. Also I want to add; I can use ALL .5tb of harddrive space on my big machine, (Win2k wouldn't go past 137g without extreme danger), and it didn't cost me a cent. I can see why Microshaft is afraid of Ubuntu. When MS can provide all of this, without the DRM, Bloat, that brainless ULA, and security too, then I'll come back. What do they offer instead? Windows 7; which is nothing more than Vista SP3 (or 4 which ever according to the computer journalists) Maybe now MS will get some serious competition. - Kc

Until 2 months ago, I was a Win2k user only. Until someone got me on Linux. Now I regularly get 35 kbps downloads - yes I have a slow cable (all I can afford for now) but before on Win2k, 30 was *tops*. While I constently had to re-set the connection with 'ipconfig /renew' - to the point I wrote a 1 click button script to do that job. Linux NEVER has that problem. I'm looking foward to a much faster connection now. - Kc

It would be best for them if people viewed the gadgets as disposable and simply tossed them after a few years. Must be nice to have unlimited funds you can just "tossed them". I for one don't have $3,000 to toss away every 2 or 3 years just because some company has to make a laptop with hardwired batteries. Poor exchuse they're giving for the practice. With their genus, they could make plastic batteries, and fix it so they could be replaceable. If they can take out and replace the batteries, then so could a reasonable user. - Kc