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Shoot - I was busy being a geek and missed this thread. If it's not too late, I'd like to toss in my points for Linux being user-unfriendly:
Dependencies - this is a fundamental flaw of the OS. The whole thing is dependent on a number of different projects that release at different times. The result is there's no stable codebasee against which a generation of apps can be built for easy install. Hence the "rpm hunt" when you try to install a new version of an application - a new application wants the new versions of the various applications it depends on.
Cross-distribution binaries - Frequently binaries are published for only one or two distributions, and even then they're usually for specific versions. If I go to RPMFind.net, I usually can only get binaries of the latest software only for the latest version of RedHat. If I'm running Fedora Core 3, I can't get the latest software. If I'm running Slackware, I'm relegated to the popular binaries to be found on Slackware's site.
Drivers - I just tried to install the nVidia drivers on RedHat FC5 and it was a pain. I tried to install them on Ubuntu and it was an even bigger pain. When a person gets a new piece of hardware that needs drivers, it shouldn't require real system-administration skills.
Linux has made strides on the user-friendly front, but it's still not there yet.
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