What I need to Grok? (Score 1)

I should prefix my comment with this clarification: It was not written with the intent to sound angry. I have this problem when I write. I mean the following comment in the most cheerful of ways. Ok, read on.

This article makes some good points, and Charles Connell is not a pawn of Satan^H^H^H^H^H^H Microsoft just because he questions the viability of Linux as everyman's OS.

However, to be perfectly honest, it is not my mission in life to convince as many people as possible to use Linux or [Free|Net|Open]BSD, or any other free operating system. As I recall, these systems didn't start out as commercial ventures, hungry for customers. It was the industry that came to Linux (i.e. Red Hat Software, VA Linux Systems, etc.) and it is those companies who stand to benefit from Linux becoming the desktop of the future, not me. Perhaps Mr. Connell's article should have been addressed to them.

Admittedly, I do benefit indirectly from a free OS succeeding because it means that there is less risk that I will be forced to use an annoying, buggy, proprietary OS at work. However, I chose to use a free operating system for my own reasons, and it isn't really my business what the rest of the world chooses.

Having said that, I should also say that I am perfectly happy to help people switch to a free operating system (in fact I looove to do this). I have helped friends install both Linux and FreeBSD, with varying results. But it was their choice, and they knew what they were getting into in advance, because I told them up front. Linux (and any flavor of Unix for that matter) is not for everyone, and I will not try to convince those people for whom it is not the right OS to switch to it.