I don’t know where this is from originally, but I found it very funny… The guy who I copied it from does not even really like Linux, which I think is interesting!
There’s an old joke that begins like this: What if operating systems were airlines?
Windows Airlines — The terminal is pretty and colorful, with friendly stewards, easy baggage check and boarding, and a smooth take-off. After about 10 minutes in the air, the plane explodes with no warning whatsoever.
Mac Airlines — All the stewards, stewardesses, captains, baggage handlers and ticket agents look the same, act the same, and talk the same. Every time you ask questions about details, you are told you don’t need to know, don’t want to know, and would you please return to your seat and watch the movie.
Linux Airlines — Disgruntled employees of all the other OS airlines decide to start their own airline. They build the planes, ticket counters, and pave the runways themselves. They charge a small fee to cover the cost of printing the ticket, but you can also download and print the ticket yourself. When you board the plane, you are given a seat, four bolts, a wrench and a copy of the seat-HOWTO.html. Once settled, the fully adjustable seat is very comfortable, the plane leaves and arrives on time without a single problem, the in-flight meal is wonderful. You try to tell customers of the other airlines about the great trip, but all they can say is, ‘You had to do what with the seat?’
(From: http://www.desktoplinux.com/articles/AT3304051309.html)
And it is so true about Linux. Those unfamiliar with it often get hung up on one thing they don’t like, without evaluating that against all the benefits.
I’m so proud of one of my friends who decided she liked the benefits enough to get past the things that maybe don’t work as well as she’d like. She went and bought a System 76 laptop, which come pre-installed with Ubuntu Linux. They are sweet machines!