You can talk to a clerk, but the clerk doesn't appear to be able (willing?) to forward the message. That was true for several different clerks.

I have 3 Sun/Oracle servers (running OpenBSD), and two AMD workstations (running Devuan). ls, rm. vi, tar, etc all work the same, and I use Mate for my UI.

Most people can switch from petrol manual to EV without much sweat.

Someone is TEACHING people that changing OS is hard, but most manage to switch between Windows versions without tears.
I found switching from Windows XP to Windows 10 very hard. (I never used anything Windows in between).

Windows is a HORRIBLE security risk. I would not want it on company premises.

Yes. There essentially wasn't any feedback mechanism.

Admittedly, it is annoying when things are just a little bit different between systems;

Which is why all makes of car are exactly identical!

Or can you tell a Fiat 500 from a Ford F150?

Have no fear - very soon Europe will do what should have been done years ago, and understand that Word files beocme unreadable after a while so you ahve to pay MS for a new version of Windows.

If your data is important or valuable you should be using open document formats because then they will still be readable when you need them to prove something in courts - like you own your house or something!

Most Governments ought to refuse files in Word format, and fairly soon Europe will do this.

As IBM used to say "THINK!"

You don't have to use a command line to run desktop Linux.

No. But you do need to know what time zone you are in and what your name is, and then make up a password.

IME, most people can't even manage to make up a password, and half of them don't even know what planet they are on, let alone what a timezone is!

Last time I used windows, I think it set the date to "1 January 1970" and I could still use it. How hard would it be for Linux to ask the Internet what timezone it is in, and use that for a default? Hell, for a few more lies of code, it could set the user's name to "Me" and the password to "password", then we could have real idiots on the net. (But I am not convinced it would be a good thing).

" something without commercial support"

Have you ever tried to get support from Microsoft? They just put you on hold till you give up. OTOH I have had Open Source authors email me bug fixes to test with in a couple of days of reporting actual bugs. For anything else RTFM!

The real problem with free software is:
IT DOES NOT HAVE A MARKETING BUDGET

And most people are too stupid to buy anything that is not rammed down their throats by "influencers".

But are you old enough to remember me saying my goal was "world Domination" on a DEC10 over DecNet?

Before Windows was invented.

The truth is It is us oldies that brought you Unix/Linux.
Take your "old people can't do it" and stick it. My mother learned to type on a cardboard picture of a keyboard during WW2 and was an Apple][ user, and later Mac user - til she died.

No, I have never compiled a Linux kernel, and I have used it since version 0.99.

I HAVE compiled many BSD kernels - but that was because I was developing disk drivers for Vaxen, or using Sparc kit.

Don't fall for Microsoft's propaganda.

And it's often the fault of the local businesses. If I want to buy "unsalted mixed nuts", my local store doesn't carry them any more. (It used to, but it stopped.) So now I buy them on Amazon.

One way it's different is that it's a 2 year commitment. IIUC, there's no plan proposed to extend the employment.

Also, considering the companies I heard named in conjunction with the play, I hope it's a total failure.

...Ditch the dammed AI completely and just give us the picture without messing!

If that was true, we would be able to delete Microsoft itself, and not just an app!

Cooperation would, indeed, be better. Unfortunately both sides want to ensure that only they win.

China is the enemy because Realpolitik asserts that there can be only one top country.

I don't know. Having people working there under assumed names sounds sort of like "Manhattan project" level security. I.e. it's a big secretive project with a lot of government backing". I'll grant it's a wildly overused metaphor, but that just means everyone will recognize it.