Actually, the only reason I use Windows (and yes, I know how to use Windows properly - I keep my computer fairly clean now) is because of the lack of hardware or proprietary software support. I've really tried hard to make Linux work. I've installed Ubuntu various times, various versions, in various ways, and it always ends up sitting there on an ignored HDD partition. Why? Because I'm watching a flash video on Windoze.

First it took me ages to get my wireless usb adapter to work with Ubuntu. When I finally got that far, I sighed in relief as I downloaded a whole bunch of updates. Then - I had to set everything up. My usual stuff - firefox extensions + bookmarks, extra apps, etc. Then I got to the flash installation, I installed it directly from Firefox, and whooo! I have flash. I go to youtube, watch a video or two, and everything freezes up, the whole computer, everything. I'm almost sure this was a flash issue, related to my hardware. I read up around the forums and find out that there's some issues with my sound card, and I give up.

Personally, I think the entire problem with linux is too much variation. There are few standards.... How many distributions are out right now? It's probably not too difficult to get an app working on another distro, since they're basically the same, but it can't be easy to go around making sure it works on each one, right? Things can only get worse as distros become more distant. Looking around distros I find some that support my wireless adapter out of the box, some not at all, and some "with some tweaking." The tweaking is really difficult for a semi-smart kid who can follow directions and has some basic knowledge of linux (I flatter myself). To end users with no knowledge of linux or computers in general, it must be really hard. I know Vista's not perfect with hardware support, but Windows XP has had years to catch up with hardware.