Renowned Linux/Open Source Evangelist Complains About Poor UI

In this tremendous post, John Gruber comments on an article Eric S. Raymond wrote regarding his trouble connecting to a network printer through Linux. The writing is entertaining, but the underlying implications for Open Source UI development, as well as for the feasibility of Linux as a mainstream consumer operating system, are very serious. Bottom line - there's a long way to go:

"It’s common for the Linux hacker set to poke fun at Windows’s wizard-style configuration tools, but the entire desktop Linux user interface is a pale imitation of Windows — much, much more of a rip-off of Windows than Windows ever was of the Mac. But the resemblance is merely cosmetic; functionally, desktop Linux is nowhere near as usable as Windows."