I downloaded and burned a copy of the
Knoppix bootable Linux CD a few weeks ago, decided to try it out now since Windows is forcing me to reboot (grr) and all I can say is "WOW". First off, this thing is running from my CD, not an install, so the test is virtually painless but I expected very little since a) it is Linux, b) I haven't touched Linux in over 2 years, and c) it isn't an install, it's a live CD.
I was wrong. First off, it looks great. I think it looks better than Windows XP Out Of The Box, easily. It's no OSX, but it is
dang purty. I can easily browse to any file on my system, which would be a lifesaver if I was using this for emergency recovery. I intentionally did no reading nor research, I don't want to have to figure anything out and, other than a very few things, I didn't have to. I wasn't able to figure out how to get to files/folders on other machine on my network and my existing playlists didn't work because the file locations aren't recognized. The music files play perfectly, though. Definitely a Good Thing. The thing that surprised me the most was when I opened Mozilla, typed in cnn.com, hit Enter and it worked. I have a USB modem and RoadRunner broadband, so I assumed that I would have to do some sort of driver install at the very least but I didn't. It worked without any install, config or pain. Very nice.
I finally realize the real fear that MS must be starting to feel. There are really only a few bugs to iron out before Linux will be Good Enough (and let's face it, that is all Windows has ever been: Good Enough). Sure, Longhorn may be a huge leap forward but if Linux progresses as much in the next 2 years as it has in the last 2 years, I have to wonder if Longhorn's 2006 or 2007 release will find MS late to the party.
I also think that Mono will be crushed soon. If I can install Linux (gratis) and NOT recompile my kernel and all that carp people say makes it great, then install Mono and MonoDevelop and create ASP.NET and/or desktop apps that will run on OSX, Linux, and Windows without spending a dime on an MS product, Microsoft will have lost a great competitive advantage. I can not see MS letting this happen. If Linux were still ugly and hard to use, this would not be an issue. That just isn't the case anymore, though. Microsoft has been very careful about not letting anyone give any official word on Mono, that was a good move. Now they will be able to stop it before it is too late. I think they'll let the OSS world get a good free taste of C# first and then pull the plug, hopefully bringing some more talent to the .NET world when it happens. A word of advice: download the
Knoppix bootable Linux CD and run it. No, it isn't on par with Windows XP, but it looks better than Windows XP and it works better than Windows 98. If, like me, you are/were basing your Linux opinions on something from 2 years ago, you need to refresh those opinions. And if you're a Longhorn developer, steal all the good ideas. :)