There was a time, not long ago, when GNU/Linux was only for hardcore geeks. Whatever distro one used (or made from scratch), a fair amount of programming knowledge was required. Linux was almost exclusively a "back end" server system. Of course it's still very popular for servers, but there are more and more desktop distros available that are ready "off the shelf."
When someone buys a computer with Windows pre-installed there isn't much to do. Just turn the computer on, adjust a few settings and that's it. If you have to do the installation yourself, that's somewhat more of a pain. In my experience it can take a couple of hours to install and then register Windows. By comparison, Ubuntu, a Linux distro, can be installed in minutes.
You won't hear much about Linux in general or Ubuntu in particular in computer stores. Though Windows and Mac fanboys would have you believe that's because Linux "isn't ready" for the popular market, I really don't think that's the case. I currently use Ubuntu 9.04 on my laptop, and Ubuntu 8.10 on my family's desktop computer. I receive regular security updates for both and there is a wealth of software applications available. I can do everything and more with Ubuntu that I could do with Windows XP.
How much does Ubuntu cost? $0. You can download the latest stable release, burn the image to a CD and either boot it as a live CD without installation or do a full install (dual boot is also an option), all at no cost other than the CD you used. If you try it out as a live CD you'll be able to get an idea of how it works without actually installing it on your computer. If downloading the operating system sounds too technical to you, don't worry. You can request a free CD of Ubuntu, and it will be sent to you via regular mail.
GNU/Linux isn't just for "do it yourself" computer users any more. Give Ubuntu a try and see what free, open source software can do.
