@Lionel

"i dont really have any issues with linux except it doesnt just work :("

Then you have selected the wrong one for your hardware, or goosed the install. You can do that with Windows too. Try VirtualBox and install the Linux distro of your choice there, just to learn it.

"I really wish i could just install it on my system play all the games i normally play."

Linux does still lag Windows in the gaming scene it must be said. Some games play very well (better?) on Linux through WINE or similar, others just vanish up their own arse. But then my Windows games don't really run on my xBox either, can't really moan about that.

"Linux please stop making so many different versions"

Linux is not an OS, it is a kernel. To pick one distro, Ubuntu, they make three main "versions"

Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu

The only thing that really changes between those is the desktop (to a new user anyway).

There are server/special variant, but you get those with Windows too.

So if you don't want to be swamped with a bazillion versions - just pick on. Anyone. Doesn't matter. Then stick with it. You can always change it later.

As for hardware support - the only big failing I have found is the shocking lack of printer support. Well, let me put that the correct way round. The only big failing I have found is the printer OEMs' shocking lack of Linux support. Some OEMs play nice (they make drivers, release their source or generally help out), others are just sods.

"just stick to 1 and make it usable for everybody. and then get all these people making multiple versions to make drivers instead !!!"

Can't I am afraid. Linux support far too many hardware variants. Got a really old PC you want to use as a (say) firewall/router? Then you need something like EasyPC. TomTom run a Linux distro. PVRs are almost certainly Linux. The utility I used to fix my xBox was Linux based...the list goes on. How can all there needs possibly be satisfied by one distro? They can't.

Now it is daunting when you first start. "OMG...what do I need? Slackware? Debian? Fedora? Mandriva? OpenSUSE? ARGH!" Just do what I did, pick the "Linux for dummies distro" (Ubuntu) and just start. Stick with that one until you know enough to think "I don't like this because of X" and then find the distro that scratches that X-itch. And don't fear the terminal. If you use Windows in any serious way, you will be a regular at the command line or in writing batch files (these are called "scripts" in Linux). I wrote a batch file on Windows to defrag and compress my virtrual machines on a schedule. You could to the exact same with a script and a cron job on a Linux distro.

My Linux laptop is a Vrbis Highscreen Green (yeah, go look that up). German keyboard, ancient ATI graphics card (fixed by me with milk bottle tops - I kid you not), obscure multi-media hardware and it "just worked". Getting Compiz Fusion and other doo-dahs to work took some effort - but these additions are not central to the fact that it booted, displayed, found my wireless, and was rather happy. Samba was a complete sod until I worked out that it wasn't the fault of Samba at all....CheckPoint VPN Client on my Windows box was breaking networking. Once I "fixed" Windows, it all went honky-dory.

I am no Linux expert and I *HATE* the elitist fanboi attitude that you see an awful lot (even here) "Read the man page FFS" is not very helpful when you don't even know *what* man page to look up!

Just remember, your Linux distro is not Windows. What it does it not "wrong", just different. And some of the things it does are, IMHO, "better". There are some Windows things I would like to see copied over, but on the whole Linux is easy enough to work with.

I do feel that I need to go to night classes or something to get the most from it, but that is mostly down to a lack of free time on my part (and a decent reference book - anyone know one?) to learn the ins-and-outs. It took me years to get to grips with Windows thoroughly, but I don't think it will take as long with Linux. Once I find the time.....