While I have always had an open mind about the "evilness" of Microsoft (and I have always refrained from calling it Micro$oft or Microsucks or some other derogatory name), the release of Windows XP along with any partnership with the RIAA/MPAA after the DMCA was passed made me want to use something that was a bit more Free.

So if I can help it, I avoid using Microsoft products because there is no reason why my word processor needs an Easter Egg like Doom or pinball, and there is definitely no reason why my Media Player needs to ping out to the Internet without telling me.
Installing Debian GNU/Linux helps me even more because I am not dependent on the Windows OS, which is always being exploited, along with certain programs that I have to watch out for.
At least with my GNU/Linux systems, I have the option of looking at the code myself and deciding which programs to install. I have the option of registering with the distro group if I so choose.

I have to admit though, the main reason I started using GNU/Linux was because I was curious about it. Open Source was an amazing thing when I first heard about it, and it still is. Not relying on giving my information to a company to use their products is just a nice side feature.
I still use Windows 98SE on my fastest (read: gaming) computer, only because I don''t trust Windows 2000 in terms of stability and I definitely don''t like the idea of Windows XP with its activation/registration/privacy-killer system.

I think it is wrong to bash a company without looking at what it did good. I like to hear both sides of an argument before deciding on anything. I used to think that Microsoft was being bashed because it was just an easy target. Enough has been documented and enough has been done to believe some of the critiques. Palladium is not a good thing. Who knows what is being done on the computers now? And why is full read-write access given to anyone on the network to regular users? At university, I have found a number of computers on the network using Windows XP that allowed me full access to their systems without a password.
Other companies like Disney and Sony aren''t any better. I have heard about horror stories like Sony products not letting the artist play his own music (as in, he made it) more than a set number of times.
Windows Media Player doesn''t let you rip CDs to MP3s at higher quality sound levels. It won''t even play some MP3s because they''re "copyrighted" but doesn''t really give a nice error message to explain it, making the sound file appear to be corrupted.
There is enough to complain about that I didn''t see anything wrong with the claim that Microsoft is a bad company. Naturally, any company can be said to have some egg on its face, including Red Hat, but again, Microsoft is a bigger and easier target.

Kindly read my Forum FAQ. I have an aversion to the discussion of whether Microsoft is good or evil as I consider it a non-productive subject. Use what you consider useful; do not use what you consider morally/philosophically/technically wrong/immature/incorrect, and do not bother to tell us about it.

tHiSiSbOb: Congratulations! Mandrake is a very solid Linux distribution. I hope you enjoy it.

I was messing around with different linux distros and I found that Mandrake 9 is well set up. Try to play an audio stream from shoutcast using RedHat8.. it won''t work..well when using a freshly downloaded iso. You have to go to the xmms site and download the required rpm files.. what a drag. Actually mandrake does rock! Enjoy your newly found OS =)