reasons why Linux should be on your desktop

Opinion -- In this guest column, technology marketing consultant Kim Brebach, who last month published an essay titled "13 Reasons why Linux won't make it to a desktop near you," discovers why desktop Linux has thrived despite what he terms its "troubled childhood."

"A couple of years ago, the Linux Desktop was a pimply adolescent with half-baked ideas," writes Brebach. "Today we see a handsome, well-dressed grown-up who handles a range of tasks with confidence and even performs fancy tricks. No longer need we make allowances for his dress sense or his strange habits."

"The timing couldn't be better since Vista is a Wagner Opera that is usually late to start, takes too long to finish, and is spoilt by floorboards creaking under the weight of the cast," he continues. "Mac OS X Leopard is the late show in an exclusive nightclub where the drinks are always too expensive. Linux Desktop is the free show in the park across the street -- it imposes some discomforts on the audience but provides plenty of entertainment."

"The first challenge is getting hold of tickets, since you can't just choose your new PC and then tick the Linux box in the list of software options," Brebach adds. "The good news is that installing Linux is no longer a challenge that rivals splitting the atom. With a handful of mature distros designed for simple users, the benefits Linux offers are much easier to verify."

Brebach came up with more than a handful of good reasons to use Linux on your desktop -- 13, to be precise. To read find out what they are, read his complete guest column read his complete guest column here.