I disagree - it's just not a very technical article

And I think most regular readers of LWN will find little new in that article. But then, I suspect most readers of LWN can remember installing software from floppies, or probably even starting programs from tape.

But we should remember that El Reg is read by many more people than LWN.

There are people leaving universities that will have been taught C#, that will have had heavy educational discounts on the entire stack of MS development tools, and that may be sold on the integration that their stack appears to provide. People that look down on Linux and its ilk.

Within a decade, those people could be contributing to - or making - management decisions in large companies.

As such, I think that this article is valuable. Its real message when comparing Linux with Microsoft Windows is that Linux is cheaper, and does what it says on the tin.
Whereas Microsoft is more expensive, and comes with a glossy brochure about the future of Microsoft Canned Goods. What you have right now should do what Microsoft put on the tin, and I'm not disputing that.
But if you plan your strategy against that brochure it came with, you're probably going to experience pain. Microsoft does not have a good track record on delivering their Brochureware...

Not being technical doesn't make it a bad article. If articles like this change the perceptions of people that are entrenched in the culture of Brochureware Fixes, then I think it's worthwhile.

Not to mention the trip down memory lane it gave me. Ahhh, Windows NT on an Alpha. The first, the last, and quite possibly the only responsive Windows box in my life... ;-)