Originally Posted by joele
Sorry didn't mean to exclude those high end apps, they are just a bit beyond my basic photo editing needs.. In this area windows is spoilt for choice, linux has a few opensource solutions but very few commercial choices..
I highly disagree.
Linux has such a mainstay in industry now that vendors cannot avoid releasing a Linux port.
Only where there are political considerations do vendors hesitate.
E.g., Adobe would have the Microsoft "Gold Books" yanked from under them if they released a native Linux Photoshop port, just like Corel did years ago.
Side Note: You can thank Disney for getting Photoshop to run well under WINE, it was their only, major CGI app not on Linux some 5 years ago.
As far as "SOHO" consumers, agreed, Microsoft controls much of the distribution channel.
They even try to muscle out Apple as much as they can.
I don't see Linux breaking into the "superstore" market anytime soon.
But in reality, Open Source is "incompatible" with the "superstore" profit model anyway, where vendors get SOHO users to upgrade every 2-3 years.
All other arguments are "economies of scale," and when it comes to industry applications, it's just as costly on either platform once you move away from SOHO.