I'm well aware of Wine and ReactOS. They can never become permanent alternatives because you never get full native integration and the Windows programming model clashes with the Unix philosophy of having lots of tiny applications you and your programs interact with via the command line. Also it means being dependent on MS moving first, and there is always the threat of a patent suit.

Virtual machines are not an option because you need to pay for a full Windows license which means MS still gets the money (so Linux isn't replacing Windows).

That said, both options are better than nothing for the time being.

You know what? OK. Fine. I give in to the Linux fanatic. (Not the Linux user, mind you; I'm one of those.)

Yes, Ubuntu will rival Windows. Yes, the Linux community will get together to hash together a consistent set of 3D graphics APIs. Yes, the Linux community will pick a particular shell to be the standard shell. Yes, the Linux community will choose either KDE or Gnome. Yes, the Linux community will standardize their distros. Yes, the Linux community will allow corporate interests to decide how to shape their future OS.

For God's sake, all the incessant bickering drove out Torvalds, who finally got fed up with the warring-camp mentality of the Linux community and has largely left the community. Why do you think ANYTHING is going to change, when the Linux community hasn't even adopted a freaking standard shell?! (bash is the closest, but it's by no means "standard")

P.S. I've been around long enough to know that in 5 years, there will be some new amazing distro that you all will be claiming is the Second Coming. Linux. Linux never changes.

I lol'd. 

Ubuntu 8.1 is really slick. If you modify the software sources, you can have it download and maintain Open Office 3.0 which is really quite good. If you configure it to auto save in MS Office format, it's really almost a complete replacement for a windows machine.

I've installed it on two machines out of the 5 in my house and it is going primary on one that I use regularly. Samba allows me to share drives on my server and it works seamlessly with my wireless network.

Great stuff -- everyone should try it as it can co-exist on a windows machine and is free of charge for all comers.

Linux has been a couple of years away from mass adoption for over a decade still. The market doesn't want an Office clone, they need to be able to use Microsoft Office and they changed the layout which essentially makes Open Office irrelevant for people who must learn it, which is most people who must use the software for whatever purpose.

Linux still costs more than Windows, if it was viable it would be viable. Theres no catch-22 here. The support costs are keeping Linux away from being viable with the OEMs and when you factor that into the equation it only makes sense for people who can support themselves, the minority.

squilliam: linux still costs more than Windows, if it was viable it would be viable. Theres no catch-22 here.

wait what? last time I checked you can download the distro for free. Even if you order it, it still cheaper than buying Vista (since you can't really find xp much anymore) off the shelves.  The mainstream just has been slow to move away from windows.

Viable for mass adoption.

Linux won't be viable as a desktop unless microsoft allows OEM's to install linux as an option on every computer (not just special linux only models with bad hardware). And not requiring OEM's to pay for a licence whether a computer has windows or not(not sure if that is still the case, i know it used to be).

People use the OS thats comes with their computer about 98% of the time because most people don't know or want to know how to shrink an NTFS partition and setup linux swap and an ext3 partition. Thats the sad truth, becuase i've seen people who have computers that can't even defrag them (more people are like that than you think).

Based on the title I thought this was a Carmina thread!