One of the advantages of Apple Macintosh computers is that simply by not being Windows, they are immune to the plague of malware (malicious software) that constantly strikes at Windows based machines. Linux has this advantage too, plus it's cheaper. A computer running Linux may be ugly compared to a Mac, but it can cost in the neighborhood of 20% as much (more on this later).

The classic knock on Linux, when compared to Windows and Macs, has always been that it was harder to use, and indeed it was. But release after release it kept getting easier. How easy is it, now, for a Windows user to move to Linux? According to one blogger, it's easy enough for his mother. See Why My Mom Can Use Ubuntu.

My consulting practice puts me in contact with people with little computer experience, some who struggle just to use Windows, let alone deal with the care and feeding of anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Linux offers the opportunity to use an operating system where the user doesn't need to to deal with anti-anything software.

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