Windows 10.....

[ralphy]

Is Windows to remain a viable Operating System.....?.

Yayyy, ranting time  ;D

Windows is and it has been a viable Operating System; also expensive when it comes to businesses licensing - but it is considered and investment for many reasons. For once, employees are usually accustomed to Microsoft software and Active Directory is as good as it gets when it comes to managing networks deployments where Windows is prevalent. Microsoft has a massive grip on the Enterprise; make no mistake about it, therefore I do believe Windows will remain relevant irrespective the cloud trend and the SaaS explosion we've seen in recent years.

My personal concern about Windows is not instability; Windows has evolved to become a stable in my opinion, both clients and server versions. I'm not talking about maintenance or resources usage, I'm simply pointing out that it works and it works well in most cases, just like everything else in Linux or Mac OS X that works most of the time. Connect your toaster to a Windows machine and it will recognize it, download drivers and butter and make you some toasts.

It is an endless discussion and everyone has an opinion about it; but the fact is that it works for most people so Windows does most things right one way or another; irrespective the means the result is that it works for the vast majority. Just like Linux does... average users don't know that Linux is everywhere in their lives (DVD players, TVs, routers, switches, access points, phones, cars, nail clippers, the dog next door and it has gained some more attention over the years. I don't believe Windows needs to fail for Linux to succeed (it already has), each one has its own sweet spot. An old friend used to tell me that "Linux wounds in the Desktop space are self inflicted injuries due to the nature of free software and the easy forking. It is its beauty what makes it a mess and such a big mess what gives us so much of its beauty". That same person thought me the basics to deploy and setup Samba shares when I couldn't read or write a single line of code nor I had any experience with Linux. He helped me discover it and showed me there was yet "another way" but never forced me into Linux. Having been able to decide for myself what worked and what didn't for me, is what made me appreciate GNU Linux so much; it was never it's philosophy because I did not have any background experience with it and I was a poorly educated newbie (I still am   ).

The point is to use whatever works for you, friend. And don't abandone a platform just because it crashed on you once. You may find yourself running out of options before you find the "perfect OS". On a side note, I'm glad you were able to find an alternative that didn't crash and allowed you to enjoy the movie. I'm also glad to read that it was Linux the one which came to the rescue for you this time: Linux Lite!