hhemken said: "Your points on the cosmetic differences are not that important. I don’t think most users really care about them beyond a brief fascination with the novelty and show-off value. Once they realize they are a drag on the system, the honeymoon is over." I completely agree. The problem, though, is that by the time Joe Consumer realizes what a drag those features are, he's already bought the computer, hooked up the wires, and thrown away the box. Now he's stuck with the hardware AND the OS. And he'll complain and whine about how bad Windows is or how expensive Macs are. But the deed is done! Olwe Melwasul says he feels pandered to in a new BMW or using a Windows machine. True enough, but realize that Joe Consumer LIKES to be pandered to. Hence, all the new BMWs on the road. Personally, I don't like being pandered to, and I LOVE the power, flexibility, and downright fun that Linux gives me. But like Olwe Melwasul said, I'm very rare. The important thing is that Linux gives us choice. Ubuntu is trying to make itself easy to use, add better support for (just about everything), and in effect pander to Joe Consumer. They're trying to fix Bug Number 1. Good for them. At the same time there's Frugalware, KnoppMyth, PHLAK, and dozens of other distros I've never heard of. Good for them, too. They're providing the choice, the vibrance, and the evolution which Raymond called "the bazaar." Even Vista fits into the bazaar. As much as I hate to admit it, Microsoft does some things right. (After all, 1,000 monkeys banging on 1,000 typewriters will eventually write the complete works of Shakespeare.) Yes, Linux should examine and improve upon a number of innovations from the monkeys in Redmond. »

SCO the wicked witch? I think not. At best (worst) they were one of the flying blue monkeys. »

Joe, I'm glad you asked the question about the witch. That part went way over my head. The only OS witch I know is Microsoft and it's going to take more than a bucket of water to melt them. Anyway, the whole point of open source is that it's a bazaar not a cathedral (credit Eric Raymond). The variety and choice is necessary because what open source is really doing is innovating. The best way to innovate is to just try a whole bunch of stuff and eventually you'll get something that's better than what you have. Open source isn't about toppling Microsoft or your favorite proprietary nemesis. It's about innovating. Yes, it's inefficient and messy and uncoordinated. That's the point. »

Try this: http://www.pendrivelinux.com/2007/01/02/all-in-one-usb-dsl If you have enough ram on your Winblows machine and enough swap on the usb drive, you can actually run DSL linux inside Windows and have both available simultaneously. »