[GonzoGOP]

I ain’t a mac guy but if anything would drive me into the dead arms of Jobs, it is the latest incarnation of all the Windows products.

If you are going to sacrifice using Windows software and don't mind playing with your PC to get it running smoothly try PCLinux or LinuxMint. Both install easily and "usually" run well out of the box. And since they don't cost anything you can try both to see which one works better. Both present a Windows like environment. Being lighter on hardware than Vista or W7 you can run them on older hardware and still have a good web browsing machine. I used PCLinux to turn parts from a couple of old (2003 vintage) desktops into multimedia machine for my living room. For browsing and watching web videos it runs as fast as my wife's vista laptop, and the menus are easier to use.

[freedumb2003]

Linux is cool b/c the older your hardware, the better it runs.

But my HW is corporate-issued and I like to keep my home machines compatible for a lot of practical reasons.

When I am ready to retire the desktop at home I will probably install Linux, which is a great OS that I loved working with (I am a secret overnight shell scripter).