More people would switch to Linux if...

Based in part on a conversation with my husband a few days ago, I've decided to compile a list of things that I think would help the Linux community gain dominance over alternative operating systems.

I shall begin with things that Charles and I have discussed recently or that I have thought about recently. Please note that I have used Debian and Ubuntu, but by far more Ubuntu, so my observations are with that bias.

1. Pre-install a package manager by default. I know "apt-get synaptic" isn't hard for most of you, but how are us noobs supposed to know it's there? The package system in general is great, esspecially coming from a Windows background, but it needs to be more visible.
2. Get behind communities building "killer apps." For me, GRAMPS, the open source genealogy program was my killer app in that it got me to switch to primarily using Linux (in the days when I was dual-booting). Things like that are great for niche markets like genealogists, graphic artists (Gimp- do you know how expensive Photoshop is?), etc, and enough to push some people over that line. However, there also have to be replacements for mainstream software. See below.
3. Get behind communities building software replacements. Sure, once in a while we need to have new bright ideas. However, most of the time we don't need to re-invent the wheel. Everyone wants an office suite, done. Everyone wants internet communication, done. Everyone wants internet browsers and rss readers, done. Everyone wants pop mail clients, done. What's not done?
1. I used to love Access for work stuff, and I worked at a swimming pool. I can only imagine people with real jobs, with more real shoes and less water. (But again, don't re-invent the wheel. What we need to do is optimize Open Office and enhance support for Access there.)
2. I know for a fact that I'm not the only person who strugged with an M$ Money replacement. No one's quite there yet in what I've seen, but if I was to make a wager on it, my money (no pun intended) would be squarely on kMyMoney. They're not quite there yet with reports, but boy are they close. The workflow is similar, the features are almost there...
   
4. Get these software replacements into the hands of Windows users. Imagine the day when instead of paying for Office and Photoshop, everyone downloaded Open Office and Gimp. Then instead of downloading YIM, AIM, and MSN Messenger, they downloaded Gaim. Now, imagine when all of those users, those OOo/Gimp/Gaim-using users, switch to Linux. Suddenly things don't look so foreign, and they realize that there's even more free software out there. The shock is reduced, kind of like tranquilizing an animal when putting it into a new environment! (I know some people are resistant to the idea of creating Windows binaries for Linux software, but this is the upside.)
   
5. Do things right. One of my major annoyances has been sound lately, but I'm sure that there are other things out there. I have a sound icon on my toolbar that has ultimately become useless. I can slide the master sound over, but programs such as Gaim and Flash (on MySpace profiles) override the master sound on the computer. Useless! I have the computer muted and things are dinging at me and throwing music at me, it's not the OS's fault, but it certainly ruins the experience. (Another example is accessibility being turned on causing my genealogy program to crash. What's with that???)

I'll come back to this when I have more, hopefully I'll keep the numbering right. =P