Hey Est,
I agree with most of your post, but the point I was trying to make is that the drivers may NOT exist, in which case they certainly would not be included. Quite a lot of consumer devices do not yet have drivers for Linux. I can see the situation is quickly changing, but I there are still a lot of devices that do not work. For example, my memory card reader for my digital camera refused to work. I have two, and I was able to set-up one after some work, but it was not trivial. I also have a DVD-RAM camera that does not work, and will probably never work. And not to mention Centrino wireless.. Just recently drivers were released, and are improving, but they definitely aren't included with many distributions of Linux. These are specific examples, but I'm not interested in arguing whether or not these devices work, just trying to show that many devices do not work properly and are not supported in Linux. I mean, you can't go out and just buy hardware and expect it work for Linux, you have to research what hardware is supported. So, if you're migrating from Windows -> Linux, there is a fairly likely chance that your hardware will not be supported, or not all of the features will work (my USB printer's memory card slot for example doesn't work, although it prints acceptably).
Ok, going off-tangent there, sorry. The point I was trying to make, was that computers are already hard enough for many people to use. Switching to Linux will not make it easier, and certainly won't be easier to set up compared to pre-installed version of Windows. It is much easier to maintain a Windows computer than it is to migrate all of your data, and install and learn how to use a completely new operating system.
For anyone who is wondering the proper way to maintain a Windows computer here is a summary:
* Use Windows Update once a week. If you have Windows XP, you can automate this to be daily.
* Use Adaware once a week. Don't panic if it says you have a million things, it also flags fairly harmless things like cookies.
* Install some sort of virus scanner, and have it set to run automatically every day. There are several free ones. Set it to update itself once a week as well.
* Only install software from companies you trust. Realize that many things that are free pay for development by installing ad-software on your computer.
And for people who are willing to go a little further:
* Use Firefox as your browser instead of IE.
* Use Mozilla Thunderbird instead of Outlook Express.
* Purchase a router with a firewall if you have broadband internet.
If anyone has questions about any of that, ask, and I can explain in further detail.
Also, regarding the viruses (actually they are usually worms), the patch is almost always available before the worm spreads. The patch for Blaster was available two months before it started spreading. It spread anyway because of a lack of maintenance. If we start having legions of people using Linux, and not patching their computer, you will start to see similar problems.
Anyway, I'm hungry... Switching to Linux is certainly not a quick fix for security problems. You have to setup Linux for security just as you do for Windows, and there is a migration process that can be painful even for advanced computer users, and beginning computer users will likely fail (without assistance). It is much easier to maintain a current windows installation than it is to migrate all of a person's data, throw all of their current applications, and set up an entirely new operating system.
See ya,
Pat
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