Linux is Poised to Take Over the World

When chatting about my operating system of choice (Ubuntu), I will often hear this question: "Ubuntu? What's That?" When I explain that Ubuntu is a flavor of Linux, I will invariably get one of two responses. 1. "Ew... Linux; I don't know if I'm ready for something that hard," or 2. "Huh? Linux? Wuzzat?"

Unfortunately, fair or not, that is about where most of the computing "world" lives, with regards to Linux. Either a computer user will have no idea what Linux actually is, or else they have an idea of what Linux is (be it ill-formed or not), in which case the reaction is often times one of fear or concern.

In this article, I hope to explain and illustrate that Linux is not as hard as people think it is. Linux is not so different from Mac or Windows that someone who's never tried Linux would be completely lost. Linux is not just for geeks, and - despite the conventional wisdom, Linux probably will be able to interact with most of your peripheral devices, such as monitors, external drives, printers, PDAs and more.

So. In my opinion there are three big reasons why Linux is on the verge of taking over the computing world. Okay, that's undoubtedly a stretch, but "taking over the computing world" sounds a whole lot better than "doubling its market share from 10 percent to 20 percent," so I'll go with a bit of hyperbole on this one. But it's true, in a way, and Linux could be right for you. So prepare yourself for the top three reasons Linux is about to hit it big.

1. Linux Is All About "Free"

For many users, this will be the biggest reason of all to switch from Mac or Windows. Linux is free, in more than one sense. First of all, Linux is (almost always) completely free to acquire. There are a few versions of Linux that cost money to purchase (just like Mac or Windows), while others are intended for the corporate environment, and have high-quality, certified technical support available for purchase. But if you go to the largest source of Linux distribution information - Distrowatch.com - you will find that of the top 10 versions of Linux, nine of them are completely free, and one of them has a free version.