1. Linux doesn’t run a program I use.
In this particular argument, people typically point out that Linux doesn’t run one of the main Adobe products, such as Photoshop or Dreamweaver. They then point out that there’s no swap-in replacement in the world of open source.
This is true. I can’t argue.

The problem is that they’re using specialized industrial tools. Most people neither know nor care what Dreamweaver is. It might seem otherwise in the circles in which that person moves, but out here in the real world it just ain’t the case.

Much of the work that’s gone into desktop Linux in recent times has been to make it better for the ordinary individual. Linux now has a top-notch browser and office suite, for example. But, so far, nobody has got around to recreating specialist toolsets such as high-level Web design software.

The solution is simple: If you need to use a particular industrial tool for your work, then you should keep using it. That means you’ll have to keep using Windows. It’s no big deal.
(more…)