Reply #7: Ahh, but let's say you give a user a linux box [View All]

A new computer user, if they encounter a bug, do they know how to report it? Unlikely.

If they get a patch, will they be able to install it? Equally unlikely.

I suppose they could rewrite the code themselves and recompile the kernel, uber-unlikely.

So the open-source aspect is pointless for "most" computer users, who want to "surf the web" and "read their email". They are better off letting M$ update their stuff with patches. Much less headache than command line patching.

(The other day I spent a solid hour teaching a user about how to copy files within a GUI, we didn't even get to just moving them, if she encountered a bug within linux, she would be just as screwed if she encountered it in Windows.)