Apple is gaining marketshare, Microsoft is loosing. Linux is great, but it is not noobproof yet. Well, either is winblows.
That's what I mean. People where happy with 2000, the same way they were happy with 95 when 98 came out, and it was so bad Microsoft had to make the 98 SE. Now it's the same. Sure, Vista has some major changes, but it's kind of working. Microsoft is pushing it, and at the end everyone, willing or not, will use it. Without a good alternative, you will be assimilated. That's monopoly
"...but how many people do you know who don't use microsoft? I am under the impression that Linux is more popular in Scandinavia and Western Europe than in the U.S. Linux's market share in the U.S. is steadily growing, particularly in the server market. It is only a matter of time. And let it be noted that the TOS platform (which is a great Java platform by the way) runs just fine under either XP or Linux. Though Microsoft had the the talent and knowhow to produce an XP OS years before they did, it took the threat of competition from Linux to get them to finally produce their first really good operating system. Without Linux we would still be reading: "your computer will be shut down." Microsoft's anti-competitive and just plain nasty behavior has made it very easy to hate them. In the long run, this can not be good for any company.
This has probably been posted already... http://news.softpedia.com/news/French-Parliament-Will-Switch-from-Microsoft-to-Ubuntu-49186.shtml