I'm waiting for Windows 37. By then it will be just another Debian derivative.

"We're considering bypassing Vista and going straight to hell , (oops did I just say that aloud), em Windows 7,"

You should use ReactOS: ReactOS® is an advanced free open source operating system providing a ground-up implementation of a Microsoft Windows® XP compatible operating system. ReactOS aims to achieve complete binary compatibility with both applications and device drivers meant for NT and XP operating systems, by using a similar architecture and providing a complete and equivalent public interface.

Please bear in mind that ReactOS 0.3.4 is still in alpha stage, meaning it is not feature complete and is not recommended for everyday use.

:-((( This ain't no technological breakdown
Oh no, this is the road to Hell

'You should use ReactOS'

YOU SHOULD SHUT UP. I'm sick of open-source zealots taking every opportunity to crap on enterprise software. Open-source is great for people who love to research, to tinker, to explore. It's terrible for people who just need it to work or just need to be able to pick up a phone and get more-or-less immediate response when it doesn't. Do you seriously think every user in America wants to Google for random blog entries on how to solve problems? I do - I love to - but I hold no illusions that this is how the majority of the computing world operates.

Technically-superior-but-esoteric is NOT the answer to every question. Open source is not the answer to every question. Stop schilling - it makes you no better than some blue-button-down-shirt Marketing douchebag.

"great for people who love to research, to tinker, to explore" - That's pretty much what it takes to get Vista to run well on a reasonable PC, so what the hell's the difference?

Did you hear me say 'Use Vista'? I don't recall saying it. If I had GM's user base, I'd pass on moving to Vista myself. That wasn't the point of what I was saying, but thanks for using Internet Argument Strategy #6: "Take a piece of the other guy's statement out of context and then attack it".

As our friend above notes, after pushing his own product via Comment Space, this open-source OS is 'still in alpha stage, meaning it is not feature complete and is not recommended for everyday use.'

What the heck is the point of EVEN recommending something if you already know it's in Alpha? That's a Marketing department talking - guys who are just trying to make the sale and not thinking about the ramifications of deploying a product to tens of thousands of users that's not even ready yet.

I'm not a fan of GM or of CTOs in general, but at least I respect a guy who is not afraid to back off when he sees a problem bigger than he wants to tackle. What I don't respect are people who don't think about the real-world users of software and therefore, think it's all about opening their mouth to recommend something without thinking of what it might cost to execute.

I've run Operations in small and large companies for several years, it's exhausting to cope with the issues around Enterprise applications and hardware and then have someone who *should* know what they're talking about run up and go "I don't understand...why don't we use more open source tools?"

I always want to say, "Just stop at the part where you said you didn't understand. You're right, you don't...go learn and then understand and then come back into the room. Then you'll have something to contribute."

It's like listening to good ol' boys wax poetic about Chevy when they see a broken-down Ford. I thought IT and software dev and open-source was made up of people who were more intelligent than that. I'd love to think so - but it's hard to believe it when I see people take every opportunity to present a straw-man, inch-deep argument to a problem that takes so much more to solve.

Damn, dude. Some of the decaffeinated, low sugar drink options available today are pretty tasty.

And believe me, I'm making use of them - Doc says I'm much better now ;)