[bjackman]

The other side of the coin is also funny: I've used Linux for 15 years. There's always been a little voice in the back of my head that says "ah, but one day you'll be forced to admit that these hobby OSs just can't compete with the reliability and product investment offered by a commercial backer like MS".

And then every few years I have some reason to boot Windows and I go "ah, here it goes, I bet this is gonna be slick as hell".

But you already know how the story ends - every single time it's a confusing, hostile, slow and ugly experience.

Also, it used to be that you could say "actually, if you really take care to set it up, Linux is usable for nontechnical people". But nowadays Linux is actually the obvious choice for non-Apple hardware. There's really no reason to leave your family on Windows. Specialised applications are the _only_ remaining reason to use Windows, and most people don't need them.