Alright, maybe they didn't exactly trick me, but I sure hated it after I got it. I suppose some may like it, but I certainly didn't. According to their website, getting rid of it should have been a simple matter of uninstalling the update. It wasn't. I needed support, but after contacting Microsoft I was told that my options were to pay them an exorbitant amount of money for the assistance, or figure it out myself.

This is when a friend of mine entered, and asked me what I was still doing using Windows. "What else am I going to be using? It came with the computer."

He explained as best he could that there are options to using Microsoft products. He told me about an open-source operating system called Ubuntu Linux. I'd never heard of such a thing. Within the day, I had downloaded and installed Ubuntu and I was in love.

First, Ubuntu doesn't have problems with viruses. It may happen from time to time, but I've never gotten one and I've never even heard of a Linux user getting one. For one thing, viruses are usually written for Windows but more importantly, it takes a password to get into the Ubuntu program files. So even if you downloaded a file with a virus, it wouldn't have anywhere to go.

Ubuntu is free. Did you catch that? It's free. You can just go to www.ubuntu.com and download the latest version. Burn it to a DVD and run it. It's a live and install version, so you can load it and try it out without having to install it or you can just install. There are also install options. You can partition your hard-drive for a dual Ubuntu/Windows boot, or do what I did and say goodbye to Windows forever.

Upgrades are free too. If you're running Windows XP and decide you want Vista, you're going to pay a few hundred dollars. Microsoft Office is going to put you back at least a hundred as well. In Ubuntu, none of it costs you a cent. Upgrades come out every six months, and the download is not only free, but simple as well. And, it comes stocked with all the office software you could need, which is compatible with Microsoft Office, for all your co-workers who haven't yet seen the light.

Linux runs faster, too. The operating system only occupies about two gigs on your hard-drive, and only runs what you're using. In fact, the entire OS can be loaded onto a USB flash drive and loaded from that, if your computer is configured to boot from the USB port.

It's compatible with your Palm or iPAQ PDA, and there are several projects that claim to have a solution for syncing with a Blackberry device, although I haven't tried it yet. It also has Bluetooth capability for connectivity with compatible hardware, such as printers.
New software is always available without cost through the Synaptic Package Manager. Everything from games to utilities to word processors and spreadsheets. Whatever you need can be downloaded and installed without having to leave your desk.

As for support, there are endless forums online waiting to help you with whatever issue you may have. An entire community of happy Linux users who have thrown off the shackles of Windows bondage and are more than pleased to assist a fellow open-source user.
If you've been having problems with Windows, I hope you try Ubuntu or any of the various distributions of Linux. Perhaps you'd prefer Linux Mandriva or SUSE. You'll find more than 25 distributions at www.linux.com, and it's certain that one will work for you.