Amen. Personally I wouldn't run a live distro permanently simply because you are at the mercy of your CDROM drive speed when loading any programs up. Saving files may be an issue also. Live CDs are a great way to dable into linux and get an idea what linux is all about though. Doesn't install any files to your hard drive so that you can simply insert the CDROM into your drive and boot right into linux.
I have tried several live distros from SUSE, Mandrake and Knoppix. I think the Knoppix is the best. One other thing very coold with most live distros is that you can install them onto a hard drive if you so choose.
As for Windows. I have dual booted with Windows on my desktop for years now. I have always found linux great for servers and have run several 100% linux servers for a long time. On the desktop though, it was only recently I completely dumped Windows. Although my personal computer has only had 1 virus ever, the constant patching, updating antivirus software and other issues finally pissed me off.
I also have had a good deal of unique software requirements which in the past were more easily filled in a Windows world. Mandrake's latest version has finally convinced me I don't kneed Windows at all. My TV Tuner card was configured upon installation. I can download my digital images from my Canon G2 in RAW format and convert them to whatever format I desire. My scanner was configured automatically. My DVD burner burns with no extra configuration. I can watch those same DVDs just as easily.
Though not immune to hacking it is certianly more difficult. I don't fear viruses, trojans, adware, spyware and a host of other weaknesses of Windows. I've read that somewhere close to 50% of computer users running antivirus and firewall software still have some kind of malware installed on their computer. Fighting spam for a 20,000 user ISP I saw that over half of the spam (average over 1.5 million a day) that we filtered each day originated from clueless regular users machines rather than directly from a spammer.
On top of all this, I don't get the temptation to pirate software if it is free to begin with
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