I didn't think it possible, but yes. I could live w/out Windows. I mean, if they disapeared tomorrow I would be fine. I still use it from time to time for Photoshop, a few racing games, and when Office is necessary. Usually just to see if my OpenOffice docs look right under important circumstances. Otherwise, Linux is just right for me.

I used Mandrake off and on for a year. 8.2, 9.0, and 9.1, but now I am a Slackware convert. I learned enough with Mandrake to feel comfortable with linux and now I want something more easily configured to my exact needs like Slack. Can't wait for 9.1! I pre-ordered it a few weeks ago...

Hmm, well I've been using Mandrake 9.1 for a few weeks now but I have it dual-botting with Windoze XP. I'm in a Medal of Honor gaming clan so I need XP for that, the GIMP is good but just doesn't have the functionality of Photoshop (esp around text manipulation) and my online banking service with Natwest will ONLY log in under Internet Explorer - b*stards! Other than that I am not using Windoze for anything else any more... after such a short time - mind u I did jump on the band wagon some time ago in terms of Open Source - I've been using Open Office and Mozilla in Windoze for ages....

The only reason I keep XP on my laptop is because my wifes job requires her to have MS Office. I realize the the Open Office does work quite well, she can't have any inconsistencies between her slide show stuff.... When she isn't here, I pop in my KNOPPIX cd in and run my Linux like that. Anyone who hasn't tried KNOPPIX needs to. It is awesome, and you don't need to install it. The OS runs directly from the cd. It has over 2gb worth of stuff compressed into the disk, which in turn is continually uncompressing on the fly!!! I have heard of guys getting large usb memory keys and running knoppix that way...

There is now Linux native binary for Medal of Honor

http://icculus.org/news/news.php?id=1607

And to answer the original question.......

YES I can live and I do live without windows or any other m$ product

I am just too much of a geek to feel comfortable in such restrictive enviroment like m$ windows.

Slackware, FreeBSD....too bad I don't have more computers to install any other *NIX OS I can get my hands on.

I , myself(That's *ME* , for those , not in the know), am running my PC entirely M$-free.
My wife , on the other hand , has too much stuff on hers , that wouldn't run on Linux.
I'm still trying to talk her in to at least get rid of that gawd-awfull ME-version of Windoze....

My main box is still a windows box. I only like using linux for more "Techie" things. Like the project Im working on now to develop a car MP3 player...

When it comes to ease of use/installation, and killer apps windows still cant be beat.

If I were to reccomend an OS for someone new to computing, I definitely would not suggest they get linux.

IMHO linux is a Server/Embedded System OS, and Windows is a workstation/user OS.

If windows dissapeared, I would probably buy an X-box.
I only use windows for games. I know some games run on linux and you can hack other games and use wineX etc, but the driver support isn't that good for any decent gfx card (both NVIDIA and ATI). They have gfx drivers but don't fully support all features.
For apps, I could theoretically only use Linux. I am comfortable on a command line though, and can compile programs.
Looking at the bigger picture though, I can't imagine a newbie to computers installing linux and running apps on it. Maybe the apps it comes with in certain bundles, but to download a program and compile it, it's pretty advanced. Forget RPM's, they suck. I have had nothing but problems with those.
Maybe if Windows was wiped off the face of the earth then linux and others would get more support from corporations, therefore programs that are easy for beginners to install.
But let's face it, capitalism would not allow for anything but a monopoly or an ogliopoly to produce a "standard" OS that any program would run under.

I do not know whether i can live without windoze or not coz in my company where i works, all the clients were using M$ product, they don't know how to use it, we need time to teach them user which don't understand about linux.

Actually for myself i am using Redhat 9 in my home and redhat 7.1 for my mail server and redhat 7.3 for my name server.

I can said linux is very interesting platform and the most stable one i ever used unlike windows. i seldom played gamed, so doesn't matter.

Totally i can live without M$, but i cann't live without M$ in company.

I think a new user would be better off trying Linux than those of us who have grown up with M$. Think about it... You spend 5 or 10 years learning things ONE way and one way only, then you try to learn a completely different concept. It's tough for some people. They get so intimidated and frustrated they run right back to windows where things are familiar and they don't feel so 'stupid' (for lack of a better word).

When I first tried linux I felt that way a bit, and I am a computer geek. I wound up not liking it much, but never uninstalled it. Once in awhile I would boot to Mandrake to fool around a bit. Eventually, I learned enough that Linux too was feeling familiar. Now, a year later I am running Slackware with a custom kernel and it is smoking fast, stable as hell, and it's all I use. Now, Windows feels unfamiliar whenever I use it (rarely) to game

<------ Living w/out windows and happy about it

I don't only use pure linux (due to the fact that 'my computers' arn't just mine). But if I needed to I could just use linux (even for my very propriaty HP Deskjet 712C).

And in responce to:
You could use GIMP instead of photoshop, with a full load of it's plugins, it can do almost everything that photoshop can, and a bunch more of the more obscure things.

I agree with:

I'm sure we'll see a lot of computers thrown out the window. Even people who use windows want to do that.

Wine and Crossover Office will run Photoshop 7 and I believe 8.

i have a dual boot with win2k, but i rarely go into windows anymore. i need to keep it around for one program i use, but as soon as i get that to work in wine, windows will be a distant memory. i'll probably keep it around "just in case," but so far linux does everything i ever did in windows, and more (and better ).

When I first tried linux(winlinux 2000) that was 3 years ago and my pc modbo was completely unsupported-no sound,modem does not work,etc. Last year,I 'discovered' knoppix and so found out that my mobo is now supported. So using the same pc which is now considered obsolete,I now use Slackware 9 with a custom kernel.
Unfortunately, I still can't remove windows because of the following reasons:
1. linux is not supported by companies offering internet telephony which I use a lot - net2phone for example.
2. my microtek usb scanner is not linux supported.
3. my present sound chip does not work on 4 speakers when using linux.
Judging from what I experienced perhaps another 3 years will go by before my problems above is resolved. By that time my pc will really be old or might die and it won't matter.