Linux rules OK

Yes agree run A/V software on Linux (or any other o/s!) or you may be hit eventually.
Linux fast becoming as user friendly as MS Windows - try Ubuntu.
Not bloatware and not as resource hungry as MS products!
Remember running Office software (Spreadsheet, Wordprocessor, Database, Graphics package on Commordore 64 with 64K (yes K!!) memory!)
Apps now as good as or better than ms - Open Office, Gimp etc etc.
Linux also very useful in repairing breaked up Windows installations!!, resetting passwords and Windows registry and restore point repairs.
Better than Windows for that!!
Linux has its place.
Guess though Windows7 will revitalise MS - The operating system cr*p Vista should have been - Vista=Windows ME, both crap!
Linux (and all Unix for that matter) has a fundamental flaw as a desktop OS - X11. X11, although powerful, and a half decent idea, is too layered to ever be as fast as a monolithic desktop (assuming same local functionality).
There is no need to fit an office app into 64k (or 48k if you had a sinclair

) any more. Build in useful functionality and ease of use. MS-Office has to cater for everyone, rather than just the majority, so does need more features than the competition. I'm not saying Office is the best, but its certainly one of the best, and as my licences cost me £20 a pop, I am happy to use it instead of the competition. Open Office would be a contender if I couldn't get Office at a good price, but lacks a few features that I use. Also, the startup time of Open Office is too slow.
I don't understand the reluctance to Vista. What is wrong with it? Yes, its not perfect, but far more usable and secure than XP. I suspect the majority of people saying 'its crap' are those who cannot handle the changes, and give up on it too early. When the original previews came out (I had access to early, pre beta builds), I too struggled to 'get' Vista, until one day (around the first or 2nd beta) it clicked

. Used it ever since at home. Stuck on XP as my desktop at work, though due to job, obviously have to play around W2K (still!), W2K3, W2K8, KDE, Gnome, CDE, Java Desktop and Citrix which I support.
Linux does have a niche. There are now plenty of better tools than Linux for fixing passwords and other registery issues, based around a more familiar (to most users) PE, so thats not one of them.
Throw enough resources at Linux, and leave the X11 stuff on the DVD, Linux can perform well - I look after a Linux DNS farm that handles in excess of 160,000 queries per second, and has the capability to handle double that. Then look at the OOF server, a fairly simple, small web server, and you can really see its resource management limitations.
So Linux's niche is probably around webhosting sites that need unix style technologies, without the cost, scalability and stability of a proper unix.