[codedivine]

I mostly agree with you. I do recommend Linux to the more technical audience but stay away from recommending to non-tech friends and family.

I think part of the problem can be solved if there was some nice hardware that came with Linux preinstalled, with all the driver configuration work already done for you. That will still not solve the printer issue you described, but the "install graphics/sound/wifi driver" issue can be dealt with that way. Sure Linux is not properly compatible with every wifi device out there, but neither is, say, OSX. OSX gets around the problem by the fact that it only ships on Apple hardware. It would be great if we had Canonical computers for example.

edit: FWIW, I do commend companies like System76 and ZaReason that ship linux based systems but we need bigger players in the space to make a difference.

[spurgu]

"I think part of the problem can be solved if there was some nice hardware that came with Linux preinstalled, with all the driver configuration work already done for you."

Something to think about: How many percent of the non-tech people you know have installed a fresh copy of Windows by themselves? It's always the tech savvy family member who does it

[tikhonj]

And installing a copy of Mac OS X is not only questionably legal but also significantly more difficult than installing Linux :).

In my experience, ~90% of all the problems I've had with Linux are at install time--missing drivers, complicated partitioning...etc. Once I have the system running, I've actually had less problems with Linux than either Windows or OS X.

[freehunter]

What System76 needs to do is become an Amazon partner (as well as their current business). If I could go on Amazon and order a System76 laptop with the backing of Amazon, I would be much happier.