... because I run Linux.

I stayed with Windows 2000 even when XP came out. The writing was on the wall then. I never migrated to XP either. Win2K did the job just fine.

My desktop box, a 1997 vintage P3/500, was way overdue for replacement. I had updated it as far as it would go and it was still slow. I needed more memory.

It was time for a new machine, I had a whitebox built to order from a local independent computer store, with the parts I wanted, at a fair price, with NO Microsoft software installed, especially the non-standard Windows Vista pre-installed by the vendors (Dell, HP) that won't run anywhere except that machine. Even better: no crapware installed by the major system builders: no I don't need a trial subscription to AOL; it's free now anyway; whyTF should I pay for it?

When my new machine arrived, I installed Ubuntu Linux. Everything worked perfectly out of the box.

You could do the same, you know. Save you a lot of hassles. You don't need as much hardware to run it. Save yourself some money. Have some sense that your machine is secure from the bad guys. Some sense of security knowing that Microsoft won't update your computer without your permission, possibly resulting in your nice computer becoming a door-stop, not to mention the data loss.

But then, you bought into the MS hype. Double-digit twit.