I have never used Microsoft products...

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except for the Mac version of Office, and Internet Explorer during the interval between Microsoft killing Netscape Navigator and Apple introducing Safari. Aside from that, I have either used proprietary software for Apple computers or (more recently) open-source. So, what am I missing out on? What is all this great software I hear about that non-Windows users can't use? Oh, I know that Rybka (the world's strongest chess engine) is only a Windows product, but I currently have on my computer Crafty, GNUChess, Sjeng, and Fruit, each of which is plenty strong enough, and Shredder (another top chess engine) is available for Linux or Mac if you're willing to pay. Games? For video games, why not get a Wii? I've never been a huge gamer anyways. What else is there that's lacking outside of the Windows world?

The biggest compulsion to use mickysoft OS is hardware, drivers are often only available for windows and to run an apple OS you need an expensive apple computer (allright you can have a hackintosh but that has its own problems).
I am a lifetime devotee of IBM's OS/2 but nowadays support for modern hardware sucks big time

Mostly Games, and A lot of programs.

The Blue Screen of Death!

Do not want to get into a heated discussion about the benefits of open source or Apple vs everyone else or Linux vs Microsoft or whatever, but one realm of software that is primarily available under Microsoft are strategy games. From what I have seen, on a console like the WII there is no keyboard so that limits the number of commands available at the programmers and gamers fingertips. Plus, there are so many Microsoft OS systems out there that it makes sense for a game designer to develop for that platform because there is a greater probability that the game will sell more copies. If you are not a big gamer then I do not think you are missing out on much except some really good historical strategy games.

However, Sharepoint seems pretty good. I don't know if there is an open source product that does the same thing. It may be possible to get Sharepoint to run under W.I.N.E., but I have never tried it.

Microsoft has two major things going for it:

1) Home user: Games and home use applications are far easier to get and run under Windows

2) Enterprise: Microsoft offers the whole gamet of enterprise software and it all just works. No compatibility issues, no having to check 900 places for updates/new kernels/etc.. sharepoint is an amazing app for collaboration and so much more

those the two major reasons.

Also, comparing M$ to Apple... M$ runs on anything and is steadily increasing its support for open source. Apple is about as proprietary as it comes, a true dinosaur that hangs on because their products look pretty.

For corporations, a legacy application may be a part of some mission-critical business process; even if a newer, open-source equivalent exists for Linux, the cost in data conversion, retraining of staff, and lost sales/opportunities during the transition window could be too much. This is why you still see COBOL jobs advertised.

For many home users, familiarity trumps ideology. The archetypal grandma has been using Print Shop Deluxe for years and,being old, would have trouble adapting to new software.

Finally, there are niche applications. These are applications specific to a task or occupation, and there may be little to no competition. If an open-source project exists, it may be a joke in comparison and not usable for the majority of users of the niche application who have to rely on it for their job or for some specialized hobby. Adobe PhotoShop is sort of an example of this, but it is relatively more mainstream and not quite niche; The GIMP and other raster image editing software exists, but often they do not compare for professional users.

Apples are toys that are only good for graphic and multimedia specialists. Very expensive toys, Once this IPod craze is over with Windows will once take up 99% of the market again.

I don't trust half the Linux users due to the fact that some linux programmings also do illegial activities like Decompileing and are absolute slime. [How do you thing WINE an Sambi work.] Also one of the founders is a serial killer. A lot of eliete pirating organizations use linux to hack software and files the windows os simply won't let you hack into.[ Like a Vista Home Ultimate copy you want to put on pirate bay reactivated with a crack.] However i do like the operating system itself.

Microsoft- Won't let you pirate your ass off w/o tracking your ip and giving it to the police. [Even people innocently downloading free music on LimeWire.] Locks files so piraters can't decompile $400 software, tweak it and call it their own. Microsoft also simplfies everything for the common folk. Monopoly my ass, Microsoft earned every bit of money they have because they know how to market their products and their products work.

You're missing out on building a PC with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 and playing Crysis at 1440x900 with everything on Very High plus 16x Anti-Aliasing, but aside from that there's not much else you're missing out on.

Orwell, I find that what you are missing is very specific small company applications. A lone wolf programmer develops something that isnt open source, but its probably free. The programmer doesnt have the familiarity, interest or patience to develop versions for other operating systems.

The only thing that holds me to windows xp is a program called game editor. Other than that, just some games I particularly like. I'll probably keep xp and possibly get vista, but only because I want a piece of every operating system. I particularly want a mac.