[SunkenCiv]

Heh... the problem is, people who use -- and program -- computers (in general, not just Macs) are so visually oriented, they only worry about how things look, rather than how they work. Oh, sure, I can't get the Trash to empty under OS X, but oooh, look at the pretty colors.

[jdm]

I choose the "adjust for best performance option" in XP, myself. I conduct a little tweaking after that as well.

[Swordmaker]

I can't get the Trash to empty under OS X

Sunk... pull everthing out of the trash and put it into a holding folder on your desk top. Put one thing at a time back into the trash and then empty the trash. Find the offending file; it will be the one that won't go away. Then check the ownerships and permissions on that file. This should solve your problem.