Linux is not hard, it's ignored

"We've all heard the complaint: "Linux is just too hard to use". Very often it's not defined in any more detail than that but it is enough for most users to write Linux off.

"So, is Linux too hard?

"Honestly, Linux used to be hard to use. Ten years ago I could regularly be found sweating and cursing in front an unresponsive PC, willing the Linux software on it to do something, anything to validate the many hours I had sunk into getting it to run. It was a thankless task with little obvious reward but it somehow made sense. And when something did work right it was like being part of a secret club; a group of insiders who knew something more important than anyone else. Which probably has a lot to do with the way Linux is perceived now.

"Today I run Linux on a couple of desktop machines, on my laptop and on a netbook. I also run it on my phone, thanks to Google's Android operating system. I do also have access to Mac OS X and Windows but, after ten years, I am too familiar with Linux to really be bothered with them."

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