> Correct me if I\'m wrong here ... but ... lack of supported hardware is > part of the reason people don\'t migrate to *nix operating systems; and > another is the frightening complexity involved in doing anything with > *nix which the OS and its software inherits from the relatively small, > disorganized, underfunded community. Minor correction: More hardware is supported in linux then in windows/mac as far as I can tell. For example when I bought my 64 bit laptop there was already a kernel and it took about 1 month to get most of the devices working: one exception - Ralink rt2500 (just recently because of GPL release of drivers). Everything else basically works. My Webcam doesnt work because the driver was pulled from the linux kernel because of no full GPL compliance. http://www.aproximation.org/application/AMD64laptop.html You are correct about the problem with complexity of setup and operation. One problem with Windows/Mac; if you make the interface simple to use the user of the computer becomes simple as a consequence. If you know about your hardware, are forced to learn, then you know something and are wiser. People are generally either lazy or too busy for linux. Fedora core rom the default install could do many of the things *most* people do with their computer though. Word process, web surf, instant message, print, email. Its just the hardcore people like us that find and overcome the difficulty because of the power it offers. Finally to address your issue about RME: It sounds like a short term solution. Sure they release drivers, it works now. What happens when something new comes along and thoes drivers need to be rewritten or modified? You have to wait for RME to get around to fixing it, and who knows what the quality of their solution would be? We would be sacrificing that power we gain from having a worldwide distribution of coders pouring over the code and constantly evolving it. My 2 cents, -thewade