Linux users tend to use free productivity applications, so the reduced cost of that software must be factored into it. And on and on. I believe these readers were faithfully reporting their own experiences. User, administrator and developer training are plentiful and cheap for Windows. Device support is much better, so Windows users have a wider range of hardware and peripherals from which to choose.
Initial setup is simpler and less expensive.
All of these factors, and dozens more I haven't thought of, could make an investment in Windows more cost-effective than an investment in Linux. And the open-source community must commit now, before seeing the results, to publishing in full the analysts' findings. Now it is time for them to put up or shut up. J.D. Hildebrand is the former editor of such publications as Computer Language, Unix Review and Windows Tech Journal. Click here to see a complete Column Archive.