Actually it's because I'm a "Power Graphics User" that I got the Mac. The Graphics apps on the Mac have had far more time to mature than on the PC or UNIX (many of them actually date back more than ten years, i.e. the period of computing we should be discussing), that is why I'm more productive. I will say though that a Photoshop clone is now available for Linux, for free, that really surprised me when a friend showed it to me the other day! So Linux is fast catching up in even this area The rest of what I do, I could do with Linux, and to a certain extent do (some of it REQUIRES Linux). That's my point, the average user can get everything they need from Linux, and not end up paying Microsoft a small fortune. There are several WYSIWYG Word Processors available for Linux, and all the other programs that the "average" user needs. By using Linux the "average" user could save hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Using Linux I was able to produce documents that printed out that looked far nicer than anything I've used on Windows or Macs with the exception of Adobe Pagemaker or QuarkXpress. Your arguments were initially true back in '92 and maybe '93, but since then are totally false. I'm not saying Linux is for everyone, but it's ease of use is increasing while Windows is decreasing. Oh, and as a UNIX "power user" I tweak my scripts so I can go have fun and let the computer run, knowing it will page me if there is something that requires my attention. Let's face it, every OS has it's advantages. With Windows95 it's the number of programs available (don't mistake numbers for quality). With the Mac, ease of use. With Linux, Power, and freely available. The Amiga is just plain cool! The Atari ST provides a graphical OS in ROM so you don't waste space storing it on disk. The Apple IIe is actually a good computer for the "Average" user, especially since your argument seems to be that all they need is word processing. The IIe through IIgs give you good hardware at what is now a very reasonable price, you can even use it for going online. Many people still use Commodore 64's or TI-99/4A's and the ilk, even going so far in some cases as to surf the web. The point here is, just because YOU don't like something you shouldn't condemn it as being of no use to the Average person. After all a lot of people using these old computers are 'average' people that either don't see the need for a better system because it does what they want, or else they can't afford better. Still it would appear you would condemn them because they don't fit your narrow view of the 'average' user. Personally I'd say that the 'average user' is someone that uses a computer to accomplish some task that they wish to do, and it's up to them to decide how they will do it. Zane | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator | | healyzh(a)ix.netcom.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast | | healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector | +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ | For Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | | see http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ | | For the collecting of Classic Computers with info on them. | | see http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/museum.html |