I don’t do Windows (anymore)

Well I finally did it; I dumped Microsoft Windows from all my personal computers.

Truthfully, this has been a long time coming, and this week I finally figured it was time to move on. Let me explain…

My main computers have been Apple’s Macintosh line since 1988. I feel like I spend more time on the Mac working with my computer; while Windows requires more time working on the computer. But, I’ve always kept a DOS/Windows machine around for compatibility and game playing.

Unfortunately, things have been changing in the Windows world. Windows has always had more viruses, more bugs, and more annoyances, but lately Microsoft has actively become hostile towards its users. With the release of Windows XP, Microsoft began requiring activation of every copy of Windows. I wouldn’t mind, since I own more XP licenses than I know what to do with (six by last count) but, every time I do any major hardware hacking on my system, I have to go back through the activation sequence. My University provides me with an enterprise license and copy of XP, so I can even avoid that annoyance, but the concept still bothers me. Microsoft requires law-abiding consumers to jump through hoops; essentially penalizing people with legitimate copies of Windows, and the pirates figured out how to circumvent the activation requirement almost immediately.

That last fact led to the creation of the “Microsoft Genuine” program. Now every time you go to download a Windows update Microsoft checks that you have a licensed copy of Windows. Again I might not mind, except that Microsoft has seen fit to give themselves total control of your computer. Once you install the “Genuine Advantage” tool, if Microsoft chooses to install a program and run it on your computer, you can’t stop them.

Now, Windows Vista is on the horizon (pun intended), and the outlook is pretty bleak (yup, again). Microsoft has been paring back features from Vista, and adding more and more DRM/HDCP/Trusted Computing nonsense that, instead of making the computer safer to use for the consumer, makes the computer safer for the RIAA and MPAA.

So I’ve deleted every install of Windows on the three computers I use most often (well, the Powerbook doesn’t really count). The Shuttle XPC got a cool OS install that I’ll write about shortly. The ultra-light laptop got a quick install of FreeBSD 6.1 and Gnome 2, but I’m not really sure that’s a great fit since the power management functions don’t really work, and the interface is awkward and somewhat ugly.

So does anyone have any suggestions for a good (non-Microsoft) OS for a laptop user? Is Linux better than FreeBSD for this application? Which distros should I try?