Why one journalist can't use Vista

[mdlbear]

Microsoft Vista is not an option

What it all comes down to is Microsoft is turning the screw on me too hard. I can't legitimately use its software without becoming a criminal or spending tens of thousands of dollars. If it gives me a truckload of free copies, I will still be spending the majority of my time on the phone with people in Bangalore typing in licence keys to stay legal.

It simply is not worth it anymore, I can't use Vista. Believe it or not, I was pretty neutral on XP, it did what I needed and usually worked in a mostly acceptable fashion. It has been mostly secure because I was not abjectly stupid. I had no reason to switch, but Microsoft has given me the choice of becoming a criminal or going to Linux. In a few weeks, I don't plan on looking back.

Admittedly, he appears to be a hardware reviewer -- not everybody swaps out their motherboard every couple of months, and their graphics card every couple of days. But a few upgrades per year aren't too unusual even in a household like mine where the tendency is to throw a machine into a kid's room and never see it again until the CPU fan dies from an over-accumulation of lint.