What is the longevity for XP?

[Skuzzy]

can UNIX run AH?

what kind of system do you need for UNIX, is it Apple only?

No, and that is one of the only reasons I still run Windows.  Games.  I still use if for video editing as well, for right now.  Everything else is done on a UNIX box.

UNIX/Linux runs on just about everything.  It is not an OS for everyone.  For me it is a no-brainer.  It has been around a lot longer than Windows and was the first OS I used.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

People are not "forced" to use anything.  They use Windows because Microsoft has ("had" actually since they have started dismantling it) a world class marketing department who convinced everyone that they needed Windows.

Learning to use a UNIX system is no different that learning to use Windows.  If you are not familiar with either, then you have to learn and be trained.

When I was first plopped down in front of an Apple computer to write drivers for it, I had an Apple engineer help me.  It took a week to teach me enough to keep me from locking it up every 30 minutes.

There is no such thing as an "intuitive" computer system.  My daughter grew up on UNIX and the CLI.  First time she was plopped in front of a Windows box, she just about threw the monitor and mouse out the window.  Her frustration with the "handicapped" way the system operated was overwhelming.

I am not saying Windows does not have a place, but its very design does inhibit productivity.  Yes, you would have to spend more time training someone to be efficient using a UNIX system, but higher productivity pays off in the long term or you can suffer mediocre productivity, right from the start, with Windows.

Skuzzy you're looking at this from a specialist angle Regular users can never handle things like user rights management in linux - way too complicated for every day regular use. I know this from experience after trying to introduce linux to non computer savvy people.

Either you preconfigure the linux box so that the user has everything (and I mean everything) ready and working or you're stuck with endless fix'em up calls.

The second problem is lack of software. Most commercial software is available on windows only, heck some are only available in DOS still.

[Skuzzy]

Skuzzy you're looking at this from a specialist angle Regular users can never handle things like user rights management in linux - way too complicated for every day regular use. I know this from experience after trying to introduce linux to non computer savvy people.

Either you preconfigure the linux box so that the user has everything (and I mean everything) ready and working or you're stuck with endless fix'em up calls.

The second problem is lack of software. Most commercial software is available on windows only, heck some are only available in DOS still.
[/quote]

That is what IT is supposed to be for.  Bunch of lazy chumps these days.  I took a bunch of engineers from Apple to UNIX in less than a year.  Yes, I configured the boxes from top to bottom as the IT guys had no clue what to do . Engineers are the most anal retentive people you will ever meet.

Software will simply depend on what needs to be done and how you want to do it.