My opinions on ease of installation:
1. Linux can beat Windows anyday on ease of installation if the vendors
want to. Observe StarOffice's install. Most developers don't go to this
length, unfortunately. Geeks can always continue to use make, the
command line installer, etc. Nobody is going to take that away from you.
2. Beyond that, gettng apps to cooperate needs work. Linux desktops are
getting there.
3. Dan's points about training after install is very valid. It's often
not the install, but what next.
But...
4. The desktop is still not friendly enough. We need more information
appliances. There's this surfer box called the Netgem with Linux
embedded. You wouldn't know it if you hadn't spotted Tux on the box
though. Plug it into your cable modem, and go (well there are a couple
of fields to fill in the config form). Has an embedded mail program and
web browser. Simple, but sufficient for quick tasks. This is the sort of
thing grandmothers will want to use for email. Forget Lookout, forget
Eudora, forget Nutscrape, those are just too hard.
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