Actually, I use XP. It's the one that came with the computer. I just like that comic. 

Yeah basically. I had the same experience about 8 years ago. Absolute pain getting anything installed. I gave up on it as a failed project and just left it alone.

I then installed Ubuntu 6.06 and well, everything just worked fine. With 7.04 there was absolutely no issue getting the hardware on my laptop to work (unlike Windows XP, where I didn't have ethernet or USB drivers and the only way I could get the drivers was to download them on Ubuntu and copy them over. If I didn't have Ubuntu installed I would have been in trouble).

Ubuntu installation on a normal pc = 20 mins and about 5times less user input than Windows XP setup.

After these 20mins you have an installed OS, including the whole Office suite, Firefox, and so on...

To reach the same state with setting up windows, installing Office and the other software you need at least 2 hours

so that makes 2 hours vs. 20 minutes. I think that's a real painless user experience

I run the following at least weekly, if not daily: Windows XP, Windows XP 64 bit, Windows 2003 enterprise, Window 2003 standard, Solaris 9, Solaris 10, Redhat Enterprise Linux 3, Redhat Enterprise Linux 4, Redhat Enterprise Linux 5, Centos 3, Centos 4, Centos 5.

I also occationaly use Max OS X (monthly maybe). I've installed Vista and used it a few times, but no real work...

Great thing about Linux, is what works on it, just works and keeps working. Rarely have to reboot, etc... It's hard to keep a windows system up for more than a couple of months, if for no other reason than critical patches will require a reboot.

I spend most of my time directly on XP and XP 64 bit, but remotely connected to Linux servers, and Windows servers. I still consider X windows severe bloat, and do most of my stuff at the command line in linux.

I don't feel like detailing 100 machines I use right now and why they run the OS they run, so let's just say I use whatever operating System is best for the job, or sometimes Windows anyways. You can get most games to work on Linux (especially with the commercial versions of wine), but it's a pain. Not much worse than getting some games to work on Vista though.

I use XP pro on my computer and I also like it because I play a lot of games on my PC.

That said, I've used Macs throughout my years (all the way back to primary school, we learned how to type using Macs) so while I don't like using a Mac as much as a PC, I'm comfortable with Macs and I'll use whatever is available around the college campus (which has an overwhelming number of Macs!).

 Sure Windows takes a few hours to install completely...but that's a once a year or so experience...I'm not installing Windows every day over here...

I just came up with these reasons in half-an-hour to use Linux (specifically Ubuntu, although it's your choice. Most of these benefits, but not all, apply to Mac OS X and BSD too. I've highlighted some of the more important reasons (in my opinion).

1.It has native 64-bit support that is stable and has more application support
2.It is completely free
3.It is open-source and has no freedom restrictions
4.It has no known successful wild viruses
5.Installation can be done from a temporary storage such as CD so you can try it first
6.It is DRM-free
7.Support is of high quality from the distribution providers and online communities
8.It can read Windows file systems but not vice-versa
9.It can migrate settings from other operating systems but not vice-versa
10.Root access is disabled by default
11.Setup does not require online activation and all of its problems
12.The built-in text editor gedit has programming features
13.Setting it up as dual-boot is much simpler and actively encouraged
14.Wireless networking is much faster to connect
15.It has weekly updates with new features as well as bugfixes
16.It has a six-month major release cycle, not five-year and upgrades only require a few clicks
17.Package managers download and install applications in one very fast from safe sources
18.Internet Explorer is not integrated into any system functions
19.Free office software that functions identically to Microsoft Office is installed by default
20.Free graphics software with as many features as costlier software are installed by default
21.Window compositors such as Beryl look far better than Windows can, with more options
22.CD burning is a much simpler process
23.Easy drive mounting and System Monitor (Task Manager) can be clipped to the top panel
24.The desktop has workspaces which can be switched to give double the desktop space
25.It has menus for Applications, Places and System which are less cluttered than Start
26.It has no need for a registry so you know where application data is installed to
27.It doesn't suffer from 'Windows rot' – gradually slowing down over time
28.The terminal (command line) application is much more complete
29.Wine compatibility layer can run most Windows applications faster than Windows can
30.The system takes up less than 500MB of space versus Windows' 15GB
31.Performance of applications is much better
32.It does not ever require defragmentation so never slows down
33.Bugs are fixed very quickly due to open source code
34.Can install several free and powerful development environments for many languages
35.Native multi-core support that is more stable than Windows
36.Networking is much more powerful as you can have true server and client model
37.It runs on many processor architectures and so works on POWER game consoles too
38.It has no privacy issues
39.If you don't like an aspect of it, you can change each tiny module such as window manager
40.It has openly documented interfaces so anyone can write a window manager or file manager
41.It works with Windows networks but doing the reverse requires slow, expensive software
42.Free virtualisation for all versions (Microsoft disallows Vista virtualisation for non-business)
43.It has fully customizable theme and keybinds
44.It's translated into many more languages than Windows
45.You can use open-source MythTV to do everything multimedia fast including live TV
46.Does not require an anti-spyware or anti-virus software that slows your computer down
47.Programs for it tend to use open standards that do not require expensive programs to open
48.If you need a particular feature you can program it in yourself or pay to have it written
49.It is far more stable than Windows and one part failing does not cause a system crash
50.Force-quitting applications always works first time

I could nit-pcik and dispute several of those... but I agree with the bulk of your comments...

 Rendo - yes, my friend was looking for a new computer, and was open to the idea of macs, but wasn't really leaning towards it. But seeing how intuitive the OS was and all the things it could do clinched the deal

As for gaming... I have an Xbox and a DS... I really don't see the need to PC game. Although to be fair, Mac is starting to see an increase in game development as they increase their marketshare, not that it would affect me, as I got one without a graphics card.

@ Redspear. I just find that it's much easier and more intuitive to use. and judging by the "improvements" in Vista, Microsoft seems to agree.

i use both linux ubuntu and windows xp. I use ubuntu because it is faster for doing the main tasks and microsoft because it is better for games(for some of them).Personally, i prefer linux because it's free and they often improve the system.