Quote - kuroyume - you say MS has you by the nads...but surely it's not MS, but the users who have you by the nads? ;0)

With everything else I agree with you - Linux isn't a viable alternative to many software developers, there just isn't the user base...and there is one other reason - support would be a nightmare for software companies if the average home user were to use Linux. One of the reasons as to why Maxon went the Studio only route, of that I am almost certain.

It's a catch-22, really. Mainline developers won't do Linux because the small user base, and users won't do Linux because these mainline apps aren't there. There is, however, a way to break through all that: When Oracle ported to Linux awhile back, it turned out to be a huge money-maker for them, as sales boomed. Perhaps other app-makers can see the logic in this -- that the user base will grow if their products are a part of it? Similar successes have been seen by others in the user arena - Unreal Tournament, Quake... these games grew huge not only in Windows, but their Linux versions made them even bigger. Counterstrike went from big to huge once someone figured out how to run it under WINE. When Valve went strongly Windows-only w/ Half-Life2 (Counterstrike's base game engine), It and CS2 never really caught on. The point? You don't necessarily need a big userbase to make the effort justifiable... you can make the port, and use that as a vehicle for growth. A 3D/CG example? AC3D. It used to cost only $35 for the full version... now the guy can sell it (and does well from all appearances) for $149 or so - you can get it in Windows, OSX, or Linux, no prob. Technical challenges? Depends on the codebase. If the developer uses nothing but DirectX and .NET to build the thing, he's stuck... sucks to be him (same with anyone who relies on a single-platform language...) /P