Okay...I am not an employee of Microsoft by any means, but I think they get a bad rap sometimes. First, I have no problems with their product activation. So I have to call them to get it activated? No big deal. They have never given me grief, and if this keeps the cost down due to stopping piracy, then so be it. If you really want to talk activation hassles, talk to Symantec. Try activating one of their products after the number of activations runs out, and your screwed!! They won't even help you. I was told after having to load their product 3 times due to a bad hard drive that kept crashing, that I would have to purchase a new copy of the software, even though the original was only loaded on ONE machine, per the EULA. I was so pissed off at them, that I went with a new company for my virus protection, and it has been a good move. I can use their product on 5 seperate machines for the same cost of Norton. If you read most EULAs, Microsoft is no different than anyone else.
As far as security, sure they have issues, but 90% of the world uses them, so there are bound to be some issues.
I admire you guys who use Linux, but I have went that route, and frankly, don't have the time it takes to manage the OS. Linux will never be mainstream until it can find a way to act like windows. When it does, it will probably be subject to some of the same problems Windows has now.
Personally, I have run Windows XP since it came out, and I run it on several machines. I have never had any issues with crashes, security, or viruses, except those caused by my own errors.
Bottom line is use an OS that you are comfortable with and works for you. I am fine with Windows, since it will run all my programs, something neither Linux or MAC will do.
