I've installed Linux and it identified all my hardware corrrectly. Next, next, next, next, next, wait a while while it installs. I don't use it though because then I would have to either emulate or or buy linux versions of all my games. And I'm too lazy. So I'll stick to windows as long as I don't have to buy a new one.

And I've never had to format, never had an actual virus and never had enough spyware to be visible without scanning with spybot.

You do tend to get radicals on both sides of this issue. I have an M$ Universal Subscription through work... which means access to all their products for experimentation and development, so the price issue is a non-issue to me. If it WAS an issue than I have no doubt I'd be running Linux… because I’m cheap when it’s MY money I’m spending ;) . I've played with Linux (Redhad, SuSe), but for me Windows is a MUCH easier environment to deploy and support. Additionally, Windows has proven more stable than those environments on my machines… primarily because of drivers I tend to think. If you think Linux doesn’t crash you haven’t seen it running on one of my computers. I’ve had a Windows Domain running at home for about 5 years… these days the servers are 2003 AS boxes. Before I bought a Wireless Broadband Router I ran an ISA Gateway system, and I’ve got a 2003 AS/SQL Server 2005 box running in a lab here at work. Contrary to popular belief, these systems don’t crash at the drop of a hat… In fact I only had one box that ever crashed, and that was because it was running out of memory (an old 256 meg box). It would lock up every 8 weeks or so… like clockwork. Once I upgraded to a gig… no problems. They also don’t get viruses every 5 minutes, as long as you keep them updated (virus protection and patches). I do hope M$ gets their security architecture in order, which will help the situation… but there is no magic bullet; there will always be ways to defeat even the best security if you’re determined.

I personally like the open source paradigm, but it’s not for everyone. The lack of a party who is ultimately responsible for a product can make support issues tough… and if you DO get a company accepting responsibility (like with the 64 bit version of SuSe Linux I’ve got), you end up paying for it (I seem to recall paying almost 500 bucks for that copy of Linux) and it loses some of it’s attractiveness as an alternative to Windows.

Ultimately competition is good, and Linux is the ONLY competition out there for Bill and company… it’s in ALL our best interest to see to it that Linux remains and continues pushing M$ to improve its product offerings.

[ 09-28-2005, 09:24 AM: Message edited by: Thoran ]

yeah, I have the same thing going for me, so I may be a bit biased, though I have always felt this way.