Internet Freedom?????

[westin]

There is certainly no coercion, but, because reasonably user friendly freeware considerably postdates commercial products, it does require a conscious effort to chose them.

Very well put. There are very few computer manufacturers that offer any Linux distro preinstalled when you get the system. I know some of the netbooks give you that option, and I think Lenovo used to, but I am not sure if any of the other major manufacturers even give you a choice.

So I would agree that, for the most part, it would have to be a conscious effort.

I think a lot of people are afraid of linux. It conjures up images of green text on a black screen, software/hardware install nightmares, much weeping, and gnashing of teeth. When really, some of the distros are almost easier to install/use than their proprietary competitors. Some of it is just a matter of getting used to the OS.