"This new OS has major changes under the hood, it will require yet another replacement of your hardware and rewrites of all your favourite software." I doubt it. There's still old DOS software that runs on today's WindowsMicrosoft isn't foolish enough to think that everyone is going to rush out and buy new systems just to run a new OS version. Would they love for everyone to upgrade in mass, of course, but they realize the reality that there are still a lot people running Windows 98. Sure Longhorn is going to require more horsepower but I'm sure that OS X doesn't run well on old Macs either. Go to a freeware site and look at the requirements. Most of the programs will say something like: "Win9x/NT4/ME/Win2k/XP." These are applications created by individual developers like me. For the most part, from a developer's perspective, unless you get into specifics like NTFS or XP themes, the 32 bit Windows platform is consistent. Are their occasional incompatibilities, of course. Apple is always going to have an advantage there as long as only Apple controls the base hardware--they assured that when they killed the Mac clones decades ago. They are two different philosophies and each will have it's strengths in terms of price, software availability, development tools, peripherals, etc. Which one is "right" will always be an individual opinion and decision. Unfortunately, like all complex subjects, it's easy to take one point and assume that it sums up the whole story. We all agree that Linux sucks right :-)

"Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H. L. Mencken