Would you switch to Windows if it becomes free of cost and leave Linux?

[firebirdworks]

Good luck finding this kind of a windows community.

[mytwobears]

No, I would not switch to windows. When I buy a computer it comes with windows and the first thing I do is install ubuntu over it.

I find ubuntu and linux more interesting and intellectually challenging. I enjoy learning about how things work. I guess I'm a tinkerer and ubuntu/linux satisfies that.

[neilneil2000]

I use both Linux and Windows regularly, and for me, they suit different purposes.

I use Windows for my desktop machine, as it is simple to do things. Day to day tasks tend to be easier on Windows for example:

• Drivers are freely available and *just work*
• Microsoft's domination means that interworking and sharing requires very little set up.
• I use MSN, and none of the clones are quite as good (read multiple logins & webcam)

Ubuntu is certainly heading in the right direction, and for servers, there is no way I would choose windows.

I know there are people that disagree with this, but before I get shot down...this is a poll and this is just my view...eek

[Zoowey]

I answered no for the reason that I have been using and continue to partially use Windows for 13 years and ever since I mostly switched to Linux I have found it easier and friendlier to use than Windows. Linux is open source and a lot of software available for it is open source as well which allows a complete control over customability and personal preference.

Windows can be customized but not nearly as much as Linux can be. If your tired of customizing the outside of the software with Linux you get to customize to inside if you wish, something that isn't really possible in Windows.

I have Windows 7 Release Candidate on a separate partition and have used it extensively and still greatly prefer Linux.

I find Linux to be a more stable and a more compatible OS that can be used on literally any computer.

Overall it's just a dream to use. I am very happy with it.

[khelben1979]

I'm using Debian myself and I'm impressed of how good it works. It's a huge relief to use than using Windows which can be a real pain sometimes.

[hazelnuts84]

In Tunisia it's already free of charge!!!

I won't even think about switching to it even if it becomes opensource!!

[Gramps]

As I read the question it didn't say that Windows would become open source, it would be Free.

As with most I don't miss having to scan for viruses every hour nor do I miss the fact that Windows thinks I dumb and wants to control everything and do it it's way no matter what I think or want.

I won't miss surfing the web and being attacked by a milioucious site in a drive by.

What will or would I miss about Winodws? You know off the top of my head I can't think of a single thing.

So would I go back to Windows, not during my life time....

[Ravernomina]

sick of viruses,spyware,ad-ware and all the other idiot things windows has...

[alaya.zied]

I'm using Linux because it's free software not because it cost nothing (in Tunisia windows is already cost nothing )

[Alterax]

No. There's a lot more to free than just immediate monetary cost or lack thereof. For me to call something free (and mean it):

*It has to grant me the freedom to run it as I wish, for any reason (Windows' DRM implementation and Trusted Computing denies me this right).

*I have to have full access to the source code and the right to study it and modify it to suit my needs. (Example--to compile it for other architectures I use beyond the x86 or the x64. Like ARM, or PowerPC, or SPARC)

*The freedom to distribute copies to others, either for or without a fee.

*The freedom to distribute any improvements I make as part of the code.

So even if there's no price tag, Windows still doesn't fit any of these prerequisites--which are important to me as a programmer and as a user.

Now on the other hand, there are open-source operating systems designed to be free implementations of Microsoft Windows. There's no hypothetical "if" to it; they are available now. ReactOS is a reasonably well-known one, and if I'm not mistaken it fits the freedoms described above AND is free of charge. It's an interesting project, and it gets to be a closer and more compatible approximation every day. Still, I really have no reason to switch to it. To me, the GNU/Linux environment is a lot more efficient and a lot easier to understand.