Linux Fan, Windows User?

A friend of mine has lately been heckling me about the fact that I use a Mac and a Linux box at home. It strikes him as odd that I'm always writing and talking about open source and yet don't wear that Linux on my sleeve, night and day. I use a Windows XP at work and all of my development and day to day work is Windows based.

Anyway, as I explained to him, I promote Linux all day, every day. I just don't personally prefer using it. Were my alternatives Windows and Linux, Linux would win. I sincerely dislike the Windows interface, and don't like the inability to tinker (in the limited sense that I, as a non-hard core geek, tinker with my software). But that is not my choice: Windows or Linux. Because of a fortuitous series of events, I also have the choice of BSD/Unix. This gives me the stability of Unix with the flexibility of open source. What's not to like?

So, to my friend's question, I aggressively promote Linux where it's a no-brainer (data center, edge of the network, embedded devices), and somewhat cautiously promote it on the desktop, where the average user resides. I don't want to have anyone get suckered into using a system that is not yet as easy to use as a Mac or Windows machine. There's no sense in burning that bridge. Linux desktops have a buying audience today (engineering, fixed-purpose desktops), which audience will continue to grow as we make it better. Use it where it fits best.