Re: " as Linux is very well entrenched there"
> Once again, just because you don't have to pay licenses for it.
Wrong. I know of nobody who uses Linux because it is free, except in business where using it at scale on servers saves a fortune over proprietary offerings.
Remember that desktop Windows for home use is free also.
All Linux desktop users I know of prefer it over Windows, myself included. And the few of us who need the odd commercial app not supported in Linux paid for a Mac and are happy with that too. And I speak as a previously devout Windows fan from 3.1 through to Vista.
Different strokes for different folks; deriding others over their own choice of OS is silly, especially when combined with arguments that don't hold water.
> Think about all those Active Directories goodies for free - something Linux still sorely lacking for whatever is not a public web server....
IPA for Linux just works and is a very fine solution. There's no direct equivalent of GPO though, but plenty of exceptionally capable CM tools out there as alternatives.