No more excuses - Forget Windows

You may have seen this at MacDailyNews

"The survey, echoing one from Forrester last week, shows most IT
professionals are worried about Vista and that 44% have considered
non-Windows operating systems, such as Linux and Macintosh, to
 
avoid the Microsoft migration," Dubie reports.

Is there any reason left NOT to recommend a Mac or Linux box to anyone thinking about a new computer? Yes, there are people who absolutely need some Windows-only application, but that's not nearly as automatic as it was a few years ago. In the corporate world there often are Terminal Server or browser based apps that Macs and Linux boxes are happy to connect to, and of course with virtualization, Windows can be kept on the desktop for use when it is absolutely necessary.

So is there any reason to stick with Windows? Obviously the pros see the reality - while some of them publicly sing Vista's praises, they know full well how awful it really is: its only benefit is its increased security. Without that, almost no one would switch from XP or even Windows 2000.

Over the past few years, I have been slowly shifting my recommendations when asked about buying a new computer. Originally, I wouldn't think of recommending Linux to anyone other than the very technical types, and I'd only mention Macs to very artistic people or those heavily into cameras and video. Slowly, I shifted, and would at least mention Macs and Linux as alternatives, though always with many warnings and disclaimers. As Mac OS X became smoother and more sophisticated, I was less hesitant to recommend Apple more strongly, and while I remained more reticent about Linux, that attitude was definitely softening also.

We now have three sea change events occuring very close to each other: the advent of Vista, the release of OS X Leopard, and the amazing sellout of cheap Linux PC's at Walmart. Taken individually, each of these things is a milestone in computing history, when jumbled together in a short period of time as they have been, they possibly may represent the beginning of Microsoft's demise.

It's obvious that for many computer users, especially home users, friendly Linux distro's like Ubuntu are all they need: browsing, email, chat and Google Apps. For a more demanding user, a Mac offers a more polished environment and more support for video and music. And what does Vista offer? Pain and expense,

I see no reason to recommend Windows to anyone now. That day has passed, and I don't mourn it a bit.

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