We all know how far open source software has progressed, but has it come so far to not only challenge Windows, but replace it? Can you really install Linux and open source software in place of Windows, and want for nothing?

Today I was reading about the “Reduced Functionality” capability of Windows Vista. According to that article, Microsoft has now enabled this capability, which renders a “nongenuine” copy of Windows essentially unusable.

So you're switching from Windows to Linux? Great. Like other users and organisations who've taken the plunge, it's likely you're making the move to take advantage of Linux's stability and reliance on open standards. Now all you have to do is prepare carefully for your move.

The Year of the Linux desktop may never come. Instead, there will continue to be significant encroachment into the territory that Microsoft believes to be its own. This will happen for all the reasons you might expect. Linux is cheaper and more versatile and secure than the alternatives, and most of the arguments for not installing Linux don't hold much water.

Linux has long been held in mystique as an operating system for hard-core techies or hackers. Yet, this is far from true for today’s distros. A modern version of Linux is as easy to setup and use as the Macintosh is legendary for. Here’s reasons why people stick to Windows and how those factors can be solved in what we like to call a ‘gentle’ approach to Linux.

I was a bit amazed last week to note that someone who wrote that the continued piracy of Windows was affecting the spread of Linux on the desktop was described as raising an "unusual" argument. No guessing where this kind of non-logic gained its mileage - it appeared on the site that provides "news for nerds, stuff that matters."

I wanted to write 5 reasons to dump windows over linux, but soon I was so overwhelmed by rush of reasons that I could find, that I ended up making a list of 50 reasons.