Linux is better than Windows, by far, but no one really knows about Linux except for advanced users. Some distros (like Slackware, SuSe, and Debian) are in fact harder to use, but then again, they are much more powerful than Windows. Mandrake is easy to use and has the same advantages as other distros. And Linux is extremely configurable, unlike Windows. Linux is also, by far, the most stable OS. For example, Windows ME can't go three days wothout needing a reboot, whereas Linux boxes can run for over a year without restarting. And if you have Wine, you can play most of your Windows-based games and progs on Linux. Oh yeah, and $70 for Mandrake 9.1 can get you ~$5,000 of Windows OS/software.
Of course, much on Linux is done in the console.
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Now for Opera: I used to use Opera but I found it didn't meet my needs, mainly for small things. For example, it didn't show table borders as colors, just generic grey lines, which annoy me (especially when making a website) because they look like crap. Again, as with Linux, not many people know about Opera, mostly because IE comes with Windows and they see no reason to get a better browser, and then there's people who use AOL. Only advanced users feel the need to get a new browser. Opera, like Linux, is extremely configurable, which is another good thing.
If you use Opera or Linux, don't like it (like me) and switch back, that's fine, but please don't be a closed minded a$$hole who won't try anything new because they think what they have is fine. Take a risk! Try something new for a change!
/end long geek post