> (Having said that, it is my sense that there is a lot of denial among 
> Linux advocates. Most of the human race absolutely does *NOT* want to be 
> bothered with the software management that goes with Linux. Microsoft 
> does a much better job than any Linux distro of designing their product 
> to appeal to people who want not to have to think about their computers 
> at all. This is why Windows maintains its greater popularity.)

I think it is important to look at this as a part of a bigger picture.  The 
reason Windows is seen as "easy to use" in comparison to GNU/Linux is because
people in general don't recognize the difference between "unfamiliar" and 
"distaste".  Has anyone read the Gladwell book "Blink"?  He has a chapter
devoted to this concept, but instead of discussing software, he discusses
office chairs.  If GNU/Linux was the most popular desktop operating system, 
it would no doubt be considered the easiest to use.  So, one can conclude that
Windows is not more popular because it is easier to use, but rather, the other 
way around: Windows is easier to use because it is more popular.

-Max