If there is one Linux myth that must be put to bed, it's that desktop Linux has terrible hardware support out of the box. This is compete nonsense. As a matter of fact, there has been talk that to the degree of mainstream support for hardware, it rivals anything seen with Windows or OS X. Again, this is with mainstream hardware.

While you can still download many free versions of Linux online, for convenience sake, several vendors offer user-friendly versions and charge a fee for support. Red Hat and Novell are the primary desktop Linux vendors, but another Linux distribution for the desktop is on the rise — and it is completely free.

Many people now believe that Linux represents a viable alternative. Today, with mainstream hardware vendors like Dell offering Linux installations and some folks thinking a major shift is about to happen, it's time to take another look at Linux on the desktop.

Desktop Linux has floundered for three main reasons: too few applications, limited desktop hardware compatibility, and too few tools (not to mention skilled people) to manage a boatload of Linux desktop systems.

Dell has revealed more details of its upcoming Ubuntu Linux launch. In a move sure to please open-source enthusiasts, Dell has committed to working with vendors to improve Linux hardware compatibility.

Desktop Linux has floundered for three main reasons: too few applications, limited desktop hardware compatibility, and too few tools (not to mention skilled people) to manage a boatload of Linux desktop systems.

For years, device and peripheral builders could get away with ignoring the Linux desktop market. It was too small to matter, they would say. Things have changed.

If you buy Linux, you’re not only keeping money away from Microsoft, you’re telling OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), that you really do want Linux. And, if enough people do that, the OEMs will support Linux on more of their systems, their vendors will make drivers for Linux components, and the entire Linux desktop world will be the stronger for it.

Support for certain classes of hardware has often been problematic for the Linux kernel, and 3D graphics chips have tended to be at the top of the list. Over the last few years, through a combination of openness at Intel and AMD/ATI and reverse engineering for NVIDIA, the graphics problem has mostly been solved - for desktop systems.