"Let's face it: The app selection for desktop Linux --
especially those designed for regular folks -- is very thin. You
won't find BI tools, database apps, media creation apps, and so on,
as you would for Windows or the Mac. If you think the Mac has too
few apps to be used in business, you'll downright dismiss desktop
Linux.
"There is the beta Wine app that runs many Windows apps, giving
desktop Linux wider reach, as well as the commercial CrossOver
version from CodeWeavers. But the list of supported Windows apps is
not huge. Moreover, supported versions are often one or more
iterations behind what's currently available. But Microsoft Office,
Project, and Visio 2003 are all on the list, as are Internet
Explorer 6 and Intuit QuickBooks. I tried to install three
unsupported apps -- Adobe Acrobat Pro 9, Adobe Photoshop CS4, and
H&R Block TaxCut 2008 -- but had poor results. Acrobat 9
managed to install, but the license confirmation dialog box would
not close, so I could never use the software. CrossOver claimed to
install Photoshop, but it did not. And it couldn't install TaxCut.
So don't count on Wine or CrossOver for more than Microsoft Office
and supported apps."