What's wrong with you?

You go to the store and purchase a new computer.  You can't use it.  Not until you purchase a anti virus for it. 

Think about that for a minute.

You spend hundreds of dollars on a new computer and it won't work.

Then you spend another $60 to $120 for Anti Virus so you can use it. 

Then you have to get internet connection.  Another few hundred a year.

Then you get a virus this anti virus can't handle.

Then you have to take it to a geek to get the virus removed.  Another couple hundred dollars.  Get another anti virus he recommends.   Another $60 to $120 and we start all over.

Then there's Apple.  So expensive and you have to buy Apple.  Your hard drive crashes.  You can't go to Best Buy and get a $70 500 Gig hard drive.  No you have to go to Apple and Spend $700 for a 500 Gig hard drive (guessing on the price, but very expensive).

Then there's Linux, Unix, BSD and the like.  Use old computers you have laying around.  Cost's nothing, unless you want to spend money (Red Hat and a few others).  You have choice of Desktops, Software, programming, graphics, sound, video, and you just have to download it.  You can install Linux on your flash drive.  Take it with you. 

Best of all.  if you come down with a problem.  You get on the forum for your distro and within days you have a fix. 

Unlike Microsoft that may or may not send out a fix for your problem in 6 months to a year. 

Maybe it's time to look at learning a new Operating System.

It may take you years to learn it.  But you can use it right away.

Get PCLinuxOS or Mint Linux and all the codex will be installed.  So you can surf the internet, play java games, watch Youtube videos, listen to streaming music, right out of the box.  Best of all.  you can do this with a live CD/DVD.
Never have to install it unless you want to.

You many flavors of Linux.  They are built on either Slackware, Debian or Red Hat.  That means different ways of getting software.  Then you have BSD several flavors there and that is based on UNIX. 

Unix is over 40 years old and Linux is over 20. 

How long does Microsoft OS's last.  3 to 7 years?

You learn Unix you can run Linux, and the other is true.  Just some features that Unix may have that Linux doesn't.  Depends on the Company.

I have been playing with Linux for years, I prefer Debian based distros.  Mint Linux.  I have used Red Hat and Fedora.  Knoppix (I like this too)    Last time I checked Mint was the most downloaded distro.

You want to learn programming.  Linux has all kinds of programming languages available.  (No extra charge)  Try to do that with Microsoft without pirating.....

You have several different Desktops to choose from.  Office Suites, graphics, music, sound, video.  Although Video is not up to professional standards yet it has been used on several major motion pictures.

So next time you want to spend $400 to $800 for a new computer system.  Remember over a hundred of that is for the Microsoft OS.

Next time have a computer built and put a distro you like.  You just may be surprised at what is available.

P.S.  Linux also has WINE, allows you to run some windows programs.  Games. Office suites and the like on Linux.  There are some companies that have made a niche to of it, to run Microsoft window programs under Linux.  So spend that extra hundred or so on more memory.  You will thank yourself later.