[prion]

You got that right, cat (or may I call you revolting?)

The changes also affect Microsoft's plan to make the next version of its Office software work only on Longhorn. The new plans call for that Office package to work on previous versions of Windows as well.

Hence the new Operating System every few years. They not only get to sell us a new OS, but if they do it right, we ultimately have to rebuy all our software to accomodate. Never mind that all these things already do more or less what we want them to, and nobody's crying out for features that couldn't be accomplished by a patch or two.

[PAR35]

They not only get to sell us a new OS, but if they do it right, we ultimately have to rebuy all our software to accomodate.

Not just software, but new computers as well. The Microsoft OS gets so bloated with each new release that you can't even run it on a computer more than 5 years old.

[Oberon]

It's funny...I don't want much out of my computer. I want to be able to have half-a-dozen application windows open at a given time, I want seamless web access and local networking, I want minimal possibility of having other people (read: hackers) remotely accessing or otherwise screwing with my computer, and I want it to work the way it's supposed to all the time.

Power, ease-of-use, security, stability. I am willing to pay a lot for the package that provides all four. At the moment I'm middling happy with a six-month-old Presario and Windows XP Pro, but I've worked on MS and Mac-based platforms...and it sounds as though what I really want is a new Mac.