Why don't more people use linux?

I use it on dualboot on my work netbook, Ubuntu 10.04. It's fairly nice nowadays but it's just not as polished as Windows or Mac, just like OpenOffice is, in my opinion, horrible to use in comparison to MS Office.

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Originally Posted by danzooo

I reckon people are too scared to wander off from their traditional Windows/Mac OS's that they're so familiar with, either that or they can't be bothered learning how to use Linux.

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Interestingly, while playing around with the desktop effects, I noticed they'd added lots of features, very similar to Mac's exposé, spaces and Vista's aero (+ some stupid ones as well :))

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I have tried many times to simply install a graphics card driver in Ubuntu. I had to go through a long process of typing things in the terminal to get it to work.

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Yeah, I think this is probably one of the big things holding it back. Although if more shipped with a distro pre-installed, they'd probably come with them :P

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Originally Posted by Apolva

Yeah, I think this is probably one of the big things holding it back. Although if more shipped with a distro pre-installed, they'd probably come with them :P

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Indeed, just makes it a problem if you plan to install anything afterwards, which quite alot of people do. Linux is more of an internet and server sort of OS :/ Only time I've seen the OS used for anything else was for a Media PC, where it had some sort of Media Center program installed, and that's about it :P

On an interesting note, Mac's "Network Utilities" appear strikingly similar to Network Tools in gnome, perhaps Apple "borrowed" it ;)

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Originally Posted by Apolva

On an interesting note, Mac's "Network Utilities" appear strikingly similar to Network Tools in gnome, perhaps Apple "borrowed" it ;)

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The graphical user interface Microsoft and Apple use in their operating systems looks strikingly similar to Xerox's. Perhaps they "borrowed" it as well ;)

Guess the ubuntu people condone piracy then...

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With Windows when you want to try a new program you usually have to either pay a lot for it or else use a pirated version, a "cracked copy". With pirated programs you can never be sure of what extra stuff has been added and may often end up getting malware or viruses. Even if you do get a legit copy then you will be often be expected to search around the internet to download it from a site you have probably never seen before.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Antivirus

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Originally Posted by Stephen

I like to play games.

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Same here, but I love the simplicity of Linux, and plan to run it on my old rig.

To be honest i think most people use Windows because its what everybody has been taught how to use.
I personally have better things to do, like having a life, going to work and being generally busy rather than learning how to use a different computer operating system.
I'm quite happy using Windows.

Because windows sells,

People seriously over-rate Linux, it has many faults and disadvantages (gaming etc)

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Originally Posted by Soy

Because windows sells,

People seriously over-rate Linux, it has many faults and disadvantages (gaming etc)

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Don't really get you there... people use it because they have to pay for it?

But anyway, I find linux is generally better designed than windows, just that its tiny consumer market share is hindering its use (less programs etc.)