"I first came across Linux some seven years ago. A technophobe friend had been persuaded to buy a Windows PC and was spending many a happy hour tinkering with its settings as he is wont to do (he's also a Harley-Davidson enthusiast, which may explain things).
"One night, he casually mentioned that he was trying out Linux. As I had spent the previous four years learning the ins and outs of Mac OS as well as Windows (I cut my journalistic teeth working on tech mags) I couldn't see what the fuss was all about. Linux looked extremely clunky and very hard to use. Moreover, it also seemed completely pointless..."
