[Mike Fieschko]

When I get the time, I'm dropping Windows and will go with a Linux based OS
If you can boot off your cdrom drive, you can test drive Linux:

Knoppix is a Live Linux CD based on Debian GNU/Linux that boots and runs completely from cd. Or official Knoppix site. Latest is v3.7.

[First_Salute]

O'Reilly now publishes a book entitled Knoppix Hacks.

[general_re]

You know, I use Linux CD distros to test various machines from time to time, in all different flavors, but never once have I had a Linux liveCD detect and properly enable onboard sound. Not once, no matter which distro it was based on - I always had to spend time farting around with ALSA and what-the-hell-have-you to get it working. Imagine my surprise when I booted up a FreeBSD liveCD and the sound was working right off the bat ;)

[MissouriConservative]

I've ordered the CD...a friend of mine from school suggested it too, but somehow it slipped my mind.

Thanks for jogging my old memory.

[EricT.]

I have tried a few Linux distro's and I have to say that I'm NOT impressed. I wanted so bad for it to work better than Windows, but I was disappointed. Boot time was very slow, operation was slow, hardware support was iffy at best, and who wants to take the time dinking around with command line adjustments every time something does not work quite right? There is also the problem with software support. Yes, supposedly you can run Windows programs using WINE, but that's like trying to fly in an airplane constructed from a '74 Pinto and duct-taped wings.

Linux is better than Windows 3.1 and maybe even 95, but it is no match for WinXP. If some enterprising Linux guru would put out an OS that is even competitive with XP, he would be a billionaire. I would buy it, and I loathe buying any OS.