Windows XP or a Linux program?

1. ok, many , many, MANY other p2p cross-platform clients exist other than limewire. Many are superior to what limewire offers but I'm not going into detail again otherwise I will get reported.

2. OpenOffice is cross-platform and is compatable with MS Word documents. Justbe sure to use a universal format when saving word l files, for word - save as ".RTF" Pretty much everyone can open RTF files, there isn't any silly macros like DOC files can have. PDF is also another universal format.

3. ok good, linux wasn't exactly designed with games in mind anyway, unless you like programming in buggy OpenGL a lot.

4. Umm, ok this isn't 2001 anymore, we got more more efficient hardware now that is multi-platform supported. Just yesterday I bought 6 gigs of corsair DDR3 1600 dominator ram, only $150.

5. I applaud you for hating on Apple. It's good that people recognize that they're constantly being ripped off from the (modified linux kernal) OSX and iPood players. Winamp is the best for Windows-based OS'es and many exist under the Debian flavors like Amarok (extremely well-done music library) or winamp cloness like XMMS.

6. False, Apple has plenty of vulnerabilities waiting to be exploited, but since Windows dominates the market share, it is ALWAYS under the vuln microscope. Linux you get a more controlled and open-source environment, so it is exponentially harder (but still potentially possible with packages.) If you want a security auditing distro, try backtrack3, a livecd so there's no need to install it on the hard drive.

7. Good. Make sure to go the extra step and load the following add-ons: "noscript" and "ad-block plus."

8. ? It's best practice to allow your OS to connect with its mothership every so often to see any latest updates. Don't be a pansy and say "Ohhhh, well I'm gonna wait until everything settles down now before I update..." - they are the ones who usually get pwned first.

9. Grub is your answer. Partition managers couldn't be easier.

I'm not an expert on all the issues, but I'll tell you what I know. I have worked with XP, Vista, and Ubuntu Linux.

1: There are a bunch of freeware programs & bittorrent clients for both.

2: Office, obviously, is better on a Microsoft OS, but if you don't have to use the actual program, OpenOffice.org 3.0 does everything Office 2007 can do.

3: games are easier to configure on Windows, but you don't care, i guess...

4: A well-configured Linux OS is almost always faster, because there's less clutter on the hard drive.

5: I'm not sure, actually...

6: In general, you don't even need an anti-virus program on Linux. The firewall protects you out of the box.

7: Firefox FTW!!!

8: Updates are about the same for both OSes, however installing programs is easier on Linux.

9: It sounds like your problems aren't with either OS, but with partitions. They're tricky, so I'd just choose one and stick with it, maybe use Ubuntu Portable.

1. illegal

2. openoffice

http://www.openoffice.org/

3. you can run WINE for Windows programs as well as games but the performance is not the same. If you're a hard-core gamer dual boot with Windows

4. Ubuntu will run that thing like a breeze

5. VLC is the best

6. No virus on GNU/Linux. Well, if you're paranoid there're Snort and ClamAV. But virus simply can't survive on GNU/Linux environment.

7. Firefox is good but there're lots of other alternatives such as Epiphany, Konqueror, Lynx, Opera..

8. Yes, there're free updates

9. Ubuntu or Linuxmint. Linuxmint is the easiest linux distro for users migrate from windows

Ubuntu 9.04

http://www.ubuntu.com/

Linuxmint 7

http://linuxmint.com/

If you want to try Ubuntu without messing up your Windows partition, WUBI is the way to go

http://wubi-installer.org/

Download and install it like a program in Windows, if you somehow dissatisfy (you won't) with Ubuntu, just go straight to 'Programs and Features' and uninstall it like any other app.

[Edit]

You don't need to add much programs. All the necessary programs that you need for everyday tasks come bundled with Ubuntu or other popular GNU/Linux distros

You can Ubuntu 9.04 within windows using Wubi installer

http://wubi-installer.org/

You keep Windows as it is, Wubi only adds an extra option to boot into Ubuntu. Wubi does not require you to modify the partitions of your PC, or to use a different bootloader, and does not install special drivers. It works just like any other application.

Wubi keeps most of the files in one folder, and if you do not like it, you can simply uninstall it as any other application.

Installing Ubuntu From A Windows System With Wubi

http://www.howtoforge.com/wubi_ubuntu_on_windows

UBUNTU USER GUIDE

Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) User Guide

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Jaunty

INSTALLING SOFTWARE ON UBUNTU

The use of the Terminal in most cases is not needed as Ubuntu has the Synaptic Package Manager which allows you to easily install and remove software

Here is the Official Ubuntu Synaptic Package Manager Documentation

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SynapticHowto

If you do need to use the Terminal

Here is the Official Ubuntu Terminal Documentation

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UsingTheTerminal

To install individually downloaded deb. files then Ubuntu has the GDebi Package Installer (already built in to Ubuntu) which automatically starts up when you try to open a deb.file

http://allmyapps.com/app/gdebi-gdebi-package-insta...

Ubuntu Installing Software

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallingSoftwa...

Guide to installing software on Ubuntu

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/installingsoftwar...

Ubuntu Applications

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Applications

LUg.

Linux, for downloads it has the Transmission Torrent Downloader built in, like you said firefox is the ****, built in, you can get and use OpenOffice, its free, and has all the Microsoft Office Programs in similiar versions, you using Linux is a no brainer, there are some games but, if you want to play anything hard core in the future, then dont switch

go for ubuntu 9.04 u can request free cd at ubuntu.com (btw firefox is not the best! google chrome ftw!!!) and ull b fine - trust me but u may have to customize it a bit. if u need any help just email me

but no, microsoft office wont work with ubuntu unless u have some special software and special computer hardware but open office by sun is free and is compatible with microsoft office files.

Have both on your computer, windows XP and linux.

Use windows as base and have linux on the side.

Read up more on linux I'm sure you'll find a way to do it.

ubuntu is your best bet. its so simple to use. and way better than windows