IMHO, wanting to twiddle and code stuff doesn't make you a nerd, or even abnormal.
hmmm.... I disagree I think, at least at home. If you mean adjusting your desktop wallpaper and having themes for XMMS/KDE/Sawfish/etc. then I agree. If you mean fiddling with config files, for days and days and days (not to mention recompiling kernels etc) just to get one peripheral working, then I disagree.
In respects to business/research use, no it is not abnormal at all. Other than my left of left wing politics, my frustrations with administering Lotus Notes/SQL Server/NT, led me to Linux. "But WHY can't I change it??????"
Any fool can program, and most do.
You're trolling, right? The only way I can make sense of this statement, is that you find programming easy, and that you only hang out with programmers. Outside of ALUG I only know 2 people who program, both of which are professional programmers. I know at least 100 people who use computers... (not to mention the 300 users I have on my network)
The idea is making the -option- of Free Software available to as many of the 'want out of box solution' crowd, while making it clear that you don't really need to be a 'nerd' to work with a Free system.
I was never disputing that. Most of this tweaking wouldn't be needed if you could buy a pooter with a GNU/Linux installation pre-installed and preconfigured for your hardware.
What I am disputing is the assumption that everyone will find GNU/Linux easy to use, install and maintain. I am only now confident after what, 7 months of using it. I install debian, and realise I'm gonna have to spend more free time learning *that*, cos everything is sufficiently different from my last distro. (If the weather gets better then that's just not going to happen!)
And anyway, being a'nerd' is "cool" these days. ;)