Why are so many people Anti-microsoft?

Dude... you must be new here... nearly everbody here thinks that GM are the "bad guys" and think that they are a horrible horrible company with incompetent and/or greedy management, so your point has been torpedoed.

I do not think you understand Microsoft's position here. You may think that the Microsoft monopoly is the best thing since sliced bread, but it's stifling innovation right here in America...

Do you know what OS China is pushing hard with? It's not Windows, so Microsoft certainly isn't the US's best and last corporate noose on Asia... It's Linux, another "western" developed OS, but open source.

Wake up, and don't be so naive... monopolies are bad for innovation, and just because we are in a global economy doesn't change the fact that it is stifling... in fact, i would argue that by continuing to let Microsoft stifle the western software industry, we are letting China and the rest of Asia get ahead of us technologically because they are embracing open source, but we are stubbornly supporting the behemoth that is Microsoft.

 

I certainly agree that people who have problems with Windows wouldn't have an easier time with Linux.

As to the Mac... it depends on the individual -- their experience and their inborn skill set. Switching back to the Mac interface from Windows (after leaving the Mac for 15 years) was not as easy as I thought it would be.

I still think that from the Zero-experience, Tabula Rasa state, it's -- on average -- somewhat easier to learn a Mac than Windows. But it's not a factor of 10 difference in usability (not anymore). (And obviously, my impressions are subjective.)

 

I was under the impression from the last in-depth Windows Longhorn (excuse me, Vista) tech summary I read 1.5 years ago that the registry is pretty much going away.

It's still there for "legacy" apps, but Cool Modern Vista-targetted Windows Apps will store information in XML files in their home directories.

In other words: .ini files, but a better format. Back to the Future!

Not clear on how components are registered, nor if this is still the target -- a year is a very long time for a Microsoft Windows OS feature spec.