"If you really just want Windows without the malware and security issues: Read up on good security practices; install a good firewall, malware-detector, and anti-virus; replace IE with a more secure browser; and keep yourself up-to-date with security updates. There are people out there (myself included) who've used Windows since 3.1 days right through to XP without ever being infected with a virus or malware: you can do it too. Don't get Linux: It will fail miserably at being what you want it to be."

If you really want the security and performance of a Unix-based OS but with a customer-focussed attitude and an world-renowned interface: Buy an Apple Mac. OS X is great. But don't get Linux: It will not do what you want it to do.

It's not just about "Why should I want Linux?". It's also about "Why should Linux want me?"

Here is a link that might be useful: Source.

I really don't want to get involved in this debate, but I do have to support Z's position regarding self-protection. Also, I have to recognize Z for his "replace IE with a more secure browser" approach.

For all too long alternate browsers were promoted here as "safe and secure" when in reality they were not. They were just better. That's why the FF v3.6.3 is out so quickly, "Fixes a critical security issue that could potentially allow remote code execution (see bug 555109)".

I went to and read the "linux.oneandoneis2.org" site, and....
gee, don't take it too personal, but, what a crock of s^^^.... It really doesn't have much to offer, other than to act as some sort of a mouth piece for a large proprietary OS systems vendor, there is very, very little useful to offer there....
Dang Zep, have you ever actually installed and/or used a Linux variant in the past say....year and a half, maybe?? Or even ever?

And then there is this:
>>>> "If you really want the security and performance of a Unix-based OS but with a customer-focussed attitude and an world-renowned interface: Buy an Apple Mac. OS X is great." The MacOS, while pretty good and a more secure by design system than MSWin, is damn sure over priced, though not as over priced as MSWin-anything, and, is neither the "user friendly" nor the "security" solution panacea that it is commonly believed and yak yakked about by folks who really don't know what they are talking about claim it is.
And as to:
>>>> "But don't get Linux: It will not do what you want it to do." If you want to appear to be actually informed and knowledgeable about a topic...Try another.... your ignorance on this topic, is little more, nay, nothing more, than an embarassment
>>>> "But don't get Linux: It will not do what you want it to do." Do whatever you wish to, just don't pretend to know anything about something you obviously have liottle to absolutely no knowledge of.......

I'm done with this subject, aw heck....I'm done with the whole GW thing....well, maybe a few garden forums, but when it comes to such subject matters reliant on common sense and actual knowledge of a subject, especially any such requiring anything requiring any sort of actual knowledge or use of any engineering type skills, this is damn sure NOT the place to be

Good luck though with all the wonderful issues and problems that folks using a Linux system never get to experience.... Pretty much makes you not anywhere near as smart as you wish you were, doesn't it?

My intentions were to rattle your feathers! and I have been successful. You try to promote Linux on a windows forum it almost comes across as spam. I have no problem with Linux and use Ubuntu frequently. Thank heavens for all the Linux tools that help window users too.

As I said this is not an issue that I wish to position myself. It just seems I'm reading, "I'm taking my ball and going home".

And in the interest of fairness, I don't see where this is a "Windows" forum. 99% of the questions are Windows dedicated, but the forum receives occasional posts regarding Macs and even other issues which are at-a-stretch computer related.

DA

Aww c'mon Spunbond, you know you like this place and show up every so often touting some flavour of Linux. You can't be leaving now for goodness sake.

One question. Why would anyone who has bought a computer with a working operating system installed remove that expensive piece of software to load something else? There for me is the crux of the situation. You also know this is not a high tech forum but mostly populated with people struggling to understand what they have yet you want them to discard that for another headache.

I have been using Ubuntu for several years ... went from Win2K to Linux and it's really nice.

If you are fed up with the whole virus/malware Windows thing, download an Ubuntu ISO and install it. Ubuntu will keep your existing Windows partitions intact if you want it to, and you can boot from one to another.

I have a couple of programs that need Windows: for that I have it installed inside a VirtualBox "virtual machine" (think of it as a playpen for Windows). Why would anyone who has bought a computer with a working operating system installed remove that expensive piece of software to load something else?
Because it's a piece of privacy-invading, temperamental crap? Because you don't want to have to call Microsoft every time you change hardware so your expensive OS will continue to run? Because Linus Torvalds has pretty blue eyes?

Anyone wishing to check out Linux can download a "Live cd" version that will boot your system into Linux (personal preference openSUSE) if you configure the primary boot device to be the optical drive in the bios. While technically you would have access to your actual o/s hard drive, it should not affect it (unless you navigate to it and start working there).
Linux has become much more user friendly and device compliant, it's basically just another operating system. Vista motivated me to actually install Linux on my current PC (as opposed to previously installing on a clunker) and no regrets.