Dennis Powell of Linux and Main looks at one of the worst (and most popular) Linux advocacy methods and how it overlooks open source's true advantages. I know people who have embraced Linux chiefly because the alternative (if they are to use Intel-architecture hardware) is to use Windows, and for some reason they're not of a mood to go the *BSD route. For some of them, Linux might as well be named “Not Windows,” because that is the only feature they require. When they write or speak, their hatred of Microsoft (a not unreasonable position, by the way) is quickly evident. Their support of Linux, while rabid, is more a function of their dislike of Microsoft than of their affection for Linux or delight in its power and reliability.
“Fortunately, there are other, better reasons to adopt Linux. For a start, Linux isn't “an even worse really lousy little excuse for an operating system.” It's a very good operating system, and it's getting better all the time. If you think that all the companies around the world that have embraced Linux have done so even though it won't do the job for them, you're nuts.