Ease of use is a main factor in any business trying to buy software for their employees. Most employees are not computer savvy and could not figure out Linux. Even if they learned the GUI, if it had a problem and dropped down to the shell, they would be lost.
Most System Administrators and Technicians know only Windows and don't know how to support Linux.
Some companies use Linux as a server to save money, but not as a desktop.
If a business cannot afford 2000$ every 3 years pr machine they have running, they either have too many useless machines running, or they should not not exist. It's akin to rely on a car, but complain that it require maintenance.
That's the original post I was responding to. In the context of the discussion, I was referring to a business that made so little money they couldn't afford to buy software licenses. The original poster said one option was that they shouldn't exist as a business. I merely said that one possible option for a business in this situation is to use Linux on the desktop. Apparently the alternative is that, much like a dead parrot, they cease to exist.
Obviously, I wasn't referring to an ordinary business, nor am I advocating this approach normally.
I do understand your logic, but my statement was akin to a mechanic buying the cheapest tools, slightly out of tolerance, and and a diagnosticstool that don't quite give them all the correct error codes.
In the long run that descision will cost them more, than buying the correct tools in the first place - so if they cannot afford it, it's hard to justify the existince of that business. Perhaps it's a telling sign of a manager that doesn't understand the implication of that decision, or a dying business.
