Which OS would you prefer?

Here's a general question... other than the OS you're primarily using for your desktop work, which OS would you prefer?

Please state both the OS you would be intersted in, and the OS are using now. Note, different versions of the same OS don't count... Different Linux distros count as OS's

Perhaps explain why, too.

Windows 2000 is still my favourite.

Can I say one that works?

I'd say Linux. I just wish I had the time, patience and knowledge to tweak it to be exactly what I want.

Retrospectively, I did like OS2... it's a damn shame that IBM cut it loose the way they did.

Have you checked out eCom?

I use winxp (with the win2k theme though I hate the default stuff)

The only other OS I use regually is FreeBSD I use it on all our servers.

If I had to choose another OS, it'd be some linux distro I suppose but *nix and macs etc.. aren't good for gamming (which I do a lot of) so I'm sticking with windows until more stuff is ported over.

ReactOS might be of interest to you, Viper.

I switched myself to Linux (Ubuntu) for a year, but found that Linux isn't as user-friendly as they try to make it seem. There is still some giant gaps... so since then, I've fully embraced OS X.

I don't believe I'm anti-Microsoft, although I love to poke shots at them, I just don't feel like their operating system is currently allowing me to do what I like to do... I like having full control over the operating system... I like easily scripting something I do regularly to help me do it more often. Meanwhile, MS is working hard to keep DOS under the covers.

Just found out Slackware 11.0 is out... downloading that as my alternate OS.

Once I figure out how to get my wireless to work with it, I'll be largely XP free (theoretically).

Mainly XP. Because it works most of the time amd when it
doesn't I can usually fix it.

I have another machine running SimplyMepis 6 which seems
to be a reasonably good Linux distro. And I have just managed
to get a LAMPP setup running.

Intresting, I'm going to check it out thanks.

NP... I'm here to help, despite all appearances to the contrary.

windows of course, which windows version do i like the best, well that's easy Windows Xp.

i used to hate it, but over time it grew on me and i've been using every since, because i was so used to windows 2000, to where i really didn't like the changes done in xp.

now for a linux distro it would be ubuntu all the way. it used to be redhat/suse that were my favorite linux distros, but the debian/ubuntu community has won me over, and i plan on never going back to any other linux distros. i've been redhat-free for almost 2 years now, and i thought i'd ever say that.

I always evaluate an operating system on whether or not I would be comfortable letting the rest of my family use it.

Linux, definitely not... no matter what the Linux fanboys want you to believe. Even "Linux for Human Beings" still has a lot of geek-jargon that I would never expect my grandparents to use.

My parents are currently using Windows XP, obviously, because it's frankly the what they've known... It's clearly the most common and because of that it feels like it's the easiest. Unfortunately that means I find myself heading over there every few months to troubleshoot/format because of some virus. No matter how many times I tell them to not open those email attachments, they still do.

I think that's the problem with operating systems... How can I convince my family to not open attachments from other people when, quite frankly, they're usually pretty funny. An operating system should be smart enough, and safe enough, to manage security on its own.

Enter OS X. OS X has the ease-of-use of Windows, and the secure-permissions of Linux. I don't believe OS X will remain virus-free, however I do believe the potential impact of an OS X virus would be less than the millions of high-threat viruses that exist for Windows.

Operating systems are still in their premature stages of development. Once we work out all these kinks, balance usability with security, and negotiate an honest cost; I think then we'll start to see the true beauty of personal computers.

END RANT. =)