I agree with ezra143, my primary gaming rig runs only XP Pro and I never have problems with virii/spyware/adware/bsod or any of that. I guess it just comes down to the fact that 95% of people running Windows are computer-illiterate n00bs. My computer is proof that Windows can run properly, I guess most of those problems are the fault of the user and not the OS. All my other computers are pure linux (except for my laptop which is dual boot). I spend more time in Linux than Windows, but I spend a lot of that time fixing problems or trying to figure out how to do things without creating problems. Linux is great, but I've been working w/ it for 4 years and although it can do most things as easily or easier than in Win, when I run into problems they are much more challenging. And to be honest, both OSs suffer from a lot of poorly written/implemented code.

I like to run Internet Explorer in Windows.

There is nothing like the satisfaction of using an open browser. I mean what other browser can allow installation of software on my PC? Can take advantage my my 'local zone' to make system changes for me? Let others benefit by utilizing software that allows my keystrokes to be saved for later use? Not being a student of the University of Souther California or a citizen of Greece, I was a bit reluctant to open my computer to Trojan's, but I have learned from history that good things can come from them. Liking seafood I figured that worms would lead to something better, not necessarily fish - but something better, and I like the calm I get from knowing that I am getting into the whole open thing that all of those geeks at work keep talking about.

The best reason for using Internet Explorer is the ability for all of the above items to let the world backup my computer. I mean if they want to store my bank account info, my mothers maiden name and photos of my childhood info - It's okay if it is all 'open' right?

The only reason I dual boot into Windows XP is because I play many PC games. Other than that, I use Linux for everything else. If only game developers pushed for Linux, then I would have no need to boot into Windows XP.

Micro420: you are aware of Cedega right? it runs most windows games flawlessly. at lan parties people can't tell I'm not running Windows.

Couple of questions about Cedega. Is it free (can it be found free for Slackware?) Can it be used to run almost any game? (ie. Call of Duty, Medal of Honor Allied Assult, Stronghold, EA Sports Games) Is it easy enough to configure? If it'll work for me, I could fully convert within a year!

yes, it can run those games. ive never configured it, so i wouldnt know.

it costs money, but the CVS version is free. since this prog is updated so much, youre probably better off with cvs anyway. heres a link

http://www.transgaming.com/sources.php

If you want to pay Transgaming you can (I do) but you can also download it for free. It is an opensource project (I believe it's on sourceforge). As for what it supports, you can check the official list on www.transgaming.com but I'm pretty sure all of those games are supported. I know Call of Duty and MOHAA work. If you subscribe to Transgaming you can use their GUI, called Point2Play, which makes it very very easy to install/configure Cedega and your installed games. There are also 3rd party GUI front-ends availible (search SourceForge/Freshmeat). As I've posted before, I believe in Open Source and Free (as in freedom) software, but I also don't mind paying for software which I feel is wourth the price. For example: I *could* pirate games off the internet, but if it's wourth my time to play the programmers and artists who worked on it have earned my dollars. I feel that way about Cedega.

There are a few games though that won't work on Cedega, the one that most of my friends complain isn't supported is GunBound. In my opinion, most of the games that aren't supported are really no loss to most gamers.

actually, sourceforge doesnt host it anymore cause its not a "true" GPL project.

Yes, I am aware of Cedega but I don't want to pay for this software. I used to have WineX before they changed the name, and I found the performance and compatibility of games to be very poor. Maybe they have improved now, but there are pros and cons to supporting Cedega that I have read about.

why dont you download it and find out?

It is rare that I boot into Windows anymore. I just switched from Quicken to GnuCash - and after taking the time to read the documentation so that I understood what I was doing I really like the program. It makes a lot of sense. Gaming, but I'm looking at the Linux options. Corel Painter, but if wine runs it that'll be great. Other than that some of my Palm apps are the only reason I'd go into Windows. I do sync under Linux but some of the apps have desktop apps that won't work under Linux. But that's rare.

At this point I'm keeping Windows around as an option. I can still use that partition under Linux so there isn't a big push to dump Windows out yet. I just don't tend to boot into it often. Eventually I figure I'll clear it off.

Madden 2005
Need for speed porsche unleashed
Sports car GT
X-Wing Alliance with the darksaber Ultimate Craft Pack patch

That's the only reasons why I continue to need windows.

Superbase www.superbase.com is deeply embedded in my business. So I need windows.

Also, there are some financial websites out there that don't work well with anything but IE and I haven't tried to run IE using Wine because of all the plugins etc.

So, although my system dual boots, I never boot the windows side anymore. Instead I have several versions of windows available using VMWare. Presently my Mandrake 10 installation is booted, VMWare is running, and in VMWare there are two versions of Win2K running; my development environment and a clean (that is: brand new) install that is configured to be nonpersistent. I develop in the development Win2k, then install on the clean environment to test.

ARE YOU CRAZY ?!

Internet explorer is what is WRONG with windows. Outlook too. IE and outlook are a couple of the BEST ways to break security holes. . especially for script kiddies. Half life 2 works on Linux.

Kazaa SUCKS. This is not an opinion, it's a fact. For example, lets say you want EVERY song by eminiem ? Doing it with Kazaa is hard. Use Azureus, on suprnova.org, someone types eminem, in 4 hours, they have 12 cds (including underground), or so I have witnessed.

Programs need to be able to depend on others. Lets say that because of some blah blah liscence, developers were required to make their own libraries.
A package would be anywhere from 50 MB to 100 MB for something like a toolbar !

Don't excuse me sir, because I don't need your excuse to point out that the average person in North America is a moron. (Maybe because I live in California I percieve this.) Most of the "hackers" out there need to keep their tutorials handy for everything they try (not "do", try).

The average user is an idiot. They will believe anything. I won't even bother to back this up. As long as people are stupid, microsoft will last longer, and people will always be stupid. Hopefully enough smart people will be able to overthrow this. Point is, until people think for themselves (which my not happen as long as we have compulsory schooling, which I have a right to talk about since I've been a victim of it), microsoft will be around.

Internet explorer and outlook are things this world will never miss. Firefox and Thunderbird, were superior to them in beta.

Just when you say things like THAT you are a part of the problem :-\.

I am one of those people who have Windows on the computer ready to boot, but I never use it. I spent most of last summer figuring out how to do tasks I felt my computer should be able to do in Linux, so now I never boot into windows (I have 98 SE, 2000, and XP running alongside Fedora Core 2 and Knoppix).

In the last 4 months I only booted into Windows once to verify that my ten year old Gravis Gamepad actually works (I found it difficult to get linux to recognize, let alone work with, the game pad). After verifying that it works, and after looking at a million different webpages, I finally got it to work.

The other thing I keep windows around for is to buy music legally through iTunes. Of course, I haven't done that since august (I guess I prefer having the actual CD). Are there anyways to legally download music in Linux?

Anyway, basically Windows is just sitting there wasting space. I guess my life isn't that exciting.