Well, I certainly do not qualify myself as a Linux zealot. I do however believe that Linux has a place in any network. I also believe that Windows will be the most commonly used desktop OS for some time to come. That is despite the fact the modern distributions are almost effortless in install. There is just not enough desktop application software in wide enough use for Linux to have higher popularity.

All that having been said, I will not make a prediction of how much the userbase here will increase with the availability of a Linux client (as I had noted earlier). All I know is that I personally will be able to add at least 8 more machines when it is made public.

Also, I would make an appeal that any flaming regarding this topic be confined to other forums where it may be more appropriate.

but linux is free and sliced bread isn't!

I stand corrected!

I fully agree that Linux is harder. Harder does not always mean worse though. Sometimes something hard is worth the effort.

I would also like to point out that in my "walking out of a hangar" analogy, I did hint to the concept that Linux can be daunting. Opening a door is much easier and safter than walking around an airfield strip. I also mentioned that part of walking out the hangar is having no clue which direction to start.

When refering to the options available for Linux, the primary ideas running through my head were of the amount of different places Linux can function. Sure it works for Intel, PPC(some distros), and other platforms you would expect. However, you also find Linux in security cameras, ATM machines, PDA devices, consumer media players, military humvees, and more devices then I'm able to list. The flexibility to go from average file server to embedded device and everything inbetween is nothing short of impressive.

Two weeks ago a family member's XP computer began showing the message "NTLDR missing. Press Ctrl-Alt-Del to restart." This obviously prevented it from booting. I could have pulled out the XP recovery cd. However, Linux also works excellent as a bootable operating system right off a cd. I had a copy of Knoppix on me, which allowed me to have a full Linux OS in just an average boot time without saving anything to the hard drive. I was able to connect to the NTFS partition, connect to the network, and download the file from another computer. The raw ability for others to customize Linux the way they want allows for new technology options like boot disks able to repair Windows. Using a XP recovery cd could have reset numerous settings my Uncle did not want changed. All of this was not perfectly easy to do, however even with my limited knowledge I was able to repair the computer's boot process. I do not know of any Windows equivilants of Knoppix.

The number of programming languages available in each OS may be equivilant. However, I do not see the ability to customize the OS itself being equivilant. You cannot easily strip off integral Windows functions for performance sake or for space constraints. Windows will not even allow you to uninstall Internet Explorer.

Linux and Windows both have their place. Try both, and you find options you did not know existed.