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I hope the buyers have more luck with Linux than I have.

I've tried 4 different distributions, with NONE of them installing properly so far. Most of my problems have centered on getting the Mickey Mouse but essential app X-Windows to operate properly.

The level of configuration required by X-Windows is utterly ridiculous. What program nowadays can't properly deal with a standard PC display (laptop in my case)? Everything else I run, from 1980's utilities and programs through year 2000 CAD programs have no trouble at all. MS-DOS, Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 all can do it - but the latest Mandrake and Red Hat distributions couldn't, and neither could older Caldera and Red Hat.

Linux is for masochists.

I'd been hoping for something to match all the "lean and mean" and "high performance" hype. What I found was an unfriendly '60's mainframe OS with a poorly glued on GUI that ANY version of Windows could beat, performance-wise.

For servers it may be great. For the desktop, it's definitely not ready for prime time. Perhaps the late, late, late show, for those with nothing better to do with their time.

I've tried 4 different distributions, with NONE of them installing properly so far.

jimt, which distros and versions did you try?

I sympathize with you; not all my installations went well either and, like you, most of the trouble centered on getting X going. But nearly all of that occurred in the time from Mandrake 5 through Red Hat 6. I've had no trouble with RH7.2 or 7.3, and Lycoris (formerly Redmond Linux) was the easiest install ever.

I'm running RH7.3 at home on my primary machine. (The Win machine rarely gets booted up now.) Linux is still "expert-friendly," but it's getting better.

For servers it may be great. For the desktop, it's definitely not ready for prime time. Perhaps the late, late, late show, for those with nothing better to do with their time.

... Or for saavy users who are willing to spend the time to configure their boxes exactly the way they want them. But since most people could care less about their choice of OS, Linux on the desktop will remain a niche market for a long time.