Linux is not Windows

I attended the BaltoLUG Linux User Group meeting tonight. They had no speaker, but an open discussion about Linux distributions and the features that people liked or wanted in distros. It was a lively discussion with various tangent ramblings.

One idea that came out of the meeting was: Linux is not Windows. More specifically, lots of corporate support sites know how to fix problems with Windows installations and only Windows installations. They are set up with prepared scripts and Windows-specific training; they cannot handle problems for Linux systems, or Mac systems.

Using Linux, as a person, means that you are a pioneer. Linux requires a sense of rugged self-sufficiency, where you can handle just about any problem. Some corporations can handle Linux and Mac issues, but many cannot. (And expecting them to handle Linux is unrealistic, given the demographics of the market.)

Not a happy thought, but a realistic one.