Linux has become a standardized tool that is pretty simple to use. Linux used to be cumbersome with a high barrier to enter, now it is common and simple to use.

Linux has become a standardized tool that is pretty simple to use. Linux used to be cumbersome with a high barrier to enter, now it is common and simple to use. Some of Linux's incredible innovations have been replicated by competitors. There are now lots of classes about Linux. Windows feature have also become more competitive with Linux features. You don't need to dual boot a PC to use Linux. You don't need to freak out about the refresh rate of the monitor, or build a custom knoppix instance for a kiosk machine, with cramfs and unionfs manually compiled into the kernel. (windows didn't have an easy to install kiosk built into the OS) Instead of ext2, or ext3 (vs fat32) you can now use NTFS. The Linux kernel was way more stable compared to XP. Starting with Vista, when the graphics driver crashed, the OS just reloaded the driver instead of BSOD. The supported hardware for windows has also increased dramatically. (ARM processors, embedded, etc.) At the same time that Windows was making inroads, Java, Apple, and Android have made significant inroads in their own ways. Overall, linux has become more user friendly (reducing the learning curve); training has become common, and multiple companies have become more competitive with Linux. This has reduced the demand for less structured training of LUGs.