@Damien Jorgensen

Sorry, but I'll have to say "Bullocks".

If I buy a Linux-installed system, there is very little extra programs installed ("cruft"), and anything I need/want to install is, literally, a single mouse-click away.

In the case of Ubuntu, it's called "Synaptic". Click the icon, it launches the package manager, & from there you can browse hundreds of thousands of titles to install, each as easy as a mouse click or two.

Install Open Office? Type "Open Office" into the search field, hit [ENTER], and give it five seconds to find the program. Click "Apply" and wait for it to install. Once it's done, that's it. No reboot, no need to restart, just close Synaptic & go.

And it's that way with nearly EVERYTHING you can install.

Games, WiFi, Browsers, Word Processors, Accounting, HAM Radio, CAD, you name it.

If I buy a computer from Dell, HP, Compaq, or Apple, it's FILLED with all sorts of cruft.

Browser bars, "search buddies", trials for stuff you probably don't want (and in some cases, Norton, you can't UN-install without a second tool downloaded especially designed to clean out all the hooks it leaves behind), applications you may never use (hello "Net Meeting"), ap's you can't use ("hello "Windows Movie Maker"), & things you have to un-install before you can get down to business.

Because there is NO single repository for all the supported/compatible Windows software out there.

If I want to install anything new, I have to Google for it, download it, possibly register to enable the download link, run it, agree to the EULA(s), tell it where to install, and wait with fingers crossed & baited breath hoping it installs properly.

What's that, I've installed a new browser & you need me to reboot?

Do it & have Windows BSOD because some random file's been replaced causing incompatibilities with subsystems you can't pronounce, much less find, or have a chance in hell of resolving the conflicts? This is not hyperbole, this isn't "pulling things out of my arse", this is real world experiences of MILLIONS of Windows users over the years.

If we had a REAL choice over what OS to have installed on our systems at time of purchase, you would see a REAL plummet of MS.

Because if you give us the choice of an OS that's secure, friendly, and lets us do what we want, out of the box, cheaper than what MS tries to force-feed you, why would ANYONE want MS?

We have WINE, Cross-Over, & Cedega to run thousands of Windows programs, and if they can't handle it, there's a Virtual Machine environment only a few mouse clicks away that can.

We have Open Office, Adobe, Flash, DVD, & MP3 capabilities.

We have no fears from virii, trojans, or any of the Windows-based malware.

We have money left over from the purchase because we weren't paying the "Microsoft tax".

So, please, tell me again why we would willingly choose the bug-ridden, over-priced, security-holed-like-a-sieve OS over one we can download for free?