Windows XP still a winner

People want an operating system that stays out of their way when they're trying to get their work done; MS systems become increasingly intrusive and "bossy" over time as the company tries to dictate how people should work, instead of helping them get it done.

I want back some of the stuff they kept ditching with each newer operating system.

I'm happy with XP. They'll have to stop supporting it to get me to switch; which would make me seriously consider Ubuntu.

A smart phone with Windows as the operating system would attract me provided I can get the same deal I now have with BlackBerry service.

Believe or not, I had no problems with Windows ME. Right now I have one computer with Vista and another one with Window 7. I am so confused.

I am still using XP. We have two machines...one for me and one for my wife. We replace each one about every three or four years. Hers was replaced most recently, and we decided to start the migration away from XP, so she got Vista. She hates it. I am thinking about upgrading her to 7, but I agree with Dennis. I will stick with XP until they pry it from my cold dead hands. :>)

I don't care for Vista. Windows 7 I am told is much better, but 8 is available soon I think and perhaps in beta for some now.

Hmmm. Maybe I should wait for 8...but I always like to wait and see with new generations of Windows. Some are successful, and some a soon relegated to history...like W 2000. Who uses that any more? I think Vista will soon join 2000 in the dustbin.

Bert et al.
Linux is nothing to be afraid of, if you can use Windows you can use X Windows. There is a nice little Linux implementation for learning or full use, Knoppix. It runs from a CD (entry level ) or data DVD (full version) so you don't have to commit to it.
Not everyone knows that most systems with Windows preloaded will look to boot from the optic drive first (a relic of the old floppy disk era) as this provides a recovery route in the event of hard drive failure. So just pop your Knoppix disk in the optic drive, switch on and away you go.

Another advantage is the disk is not writable so if you get one of the viruses that attacks RUNDLL32.EXE or svchost thus disabling your system you can load linux and clean your system (getting rid of these pests would cost $$$ if you took your PC to a shop but it really is a piece of cake. Anyone who needs to know how can ask me.)
Knoppix costs about £3 which is really just the delivery cost.

Come on guys, let's get brave and dump "not fit for purpose" Windows. I haven't forgiven Microsoft for taking away my ability to stop VB scripts from running that I had in Win 98. With VB scripts switched off you are 90% safe from malware attack. The other 10% is just common sense.

Bert,
You reminded me: I have an older computer that has Win 2000 and is it best version of Windows I have known. The XP is OK, and I expect Win 2000 may have some problems with the Internet now although I don't know that. When I got a faster machine I accepted XP. The @^* thing with Microsoft is their automatic updates that screw things up and have to be sorted out by you. I have used Linux versions some and considered doing so more.
I think versions of Windows work differently on different machines, which is because of the manufacturers of the computers.

I haven't had any problems with the automatic updates, but I think you can turn them off and do it manually, or not at all if that is your preference.
Newer versions of W use more memory, so if you have an old machine with, say 256Kbytes of RAM or a nearly full disk, that might cause problems.
I do a lot of Photoshop work, so I always buy a big RAM and disk space...currently 4GB and 1TB respectively.

My thinking is the updates may include patches and stuff that protect against "new" threats to security; and Microsoft won't tell you this unless you check on their website, which I don't want to be bothered with doing.

Yeah, they will tell you what each update contains if you want to look it up.