Why I don't run Windows

How to install Windows XP in 5 hours or less

My Windows XP installation has reached its half-life. (You do know that Windows has a half-life, don’t you? Every installation of Windows naturally degrades along a logarithmic curve until it becomes annoying, then unbearable, then unusable. Each successive revision of Windows has featured a slightly longer half-life. Back in the day, Windows 95 would last me about 3 months, while my copy of Windows XP has lasted me almost 9. I’m not bitter; when you realize that you’re measuring on a logarithmic scale, a factor of 3 improvement is really quite impressive.)

Still, the fact remains that my Windows XP laptop can no longer (a) print, (b) sleep, or (c) change network settings without crashing. This is not multiple choice; it can’t do any of those things. It’s time for a clean re-install. [diveintomark]

I haven't spent five hours installing software on a workstation since my first attempt at installing Slackware using only floppies ten years ago. And boy, do I believe that all of what he did was totally necessary.

I actually have a list of things I have to install when I get a new workstation. I suspect I'm not alone in this. My list is fifteen items long, of which fourteen are standard parts of my favorite Linux distribution. Experience suggests I can get a Linux desktop into a useful-for-me state in about an hour, of which most of that time is spent pulling packages down off my network connection 'cause I'm too lazy to use CDs.