Microsoft users are microsoft users because it's what they are used to and have grown up with and/or used at work. After using them so long, regardless of crashes, people grow to accept them and like them. Linux scares people for whatever reason (play around with knoppix, there's nothing to be afraid of).
Microsoft is good at scaring people, and Longhorn is a GREAT example. They are really getting it a lot of attention, saying it's going to be this great thing and nothing else will come close to it. Graphic-wise at first, unsure. Microsoft seems to have some pretty "neat" crap to work with. (rotating window demos, all sorts of fancy special effects to drool over, not that any will make it into Longhorn though, they are just demos). The hardware built-in security is a good idea, as it could be used to give each individual a unique id through some algorithim or other crap. Of course you can see the negative to this, but.. hmm actually that seems to invade on peoples rights, but w/e. And lets not forget another thing, besides the new hardware, its STILL windows and unless Microsoft is about to prove they can make an extremely secure, hard to crash, fast and open operating system (to some degree), it's still going to be like every other Windows that has come out (recently, they do seem to be getting better at Windows). I will be watching Microsoft and the Linux Community closely in 2005. I hate to be negative, but I feel Windows is going to run short of it's expectations in the long run.
