now alot of people know why linux is a free download,you have to go thru a live sh*t binge and purge just to install it where as winblows you pay for it and it does what it's exactly supposed to do and that's to accommodate to every major software and hardware on the planet..
Yeah, right. Try installing Vista on that old machine and come back and tell us how great it worked. Oh, and go ahead and use some of your old Xp software on Vista and again tell us how well they all worked. I know far too many people for whom either their machines, software, or both aren't compatible with Vista.
Windows doesn't "accomodate" every piece of hardware on the plant. There's a reason why the ship with a drivers disc; Windows can't make the hardware work without it. Well, neither can Linux (although quite often you'll find that Linux already has built in drivers for a huge range of hardware).
I think Dell is making the right choice of distros to ship on their Linux machines (I'm sure Novell is losing sleep over it too). Ubuntu is user friendly and is well put together. While a Windows user will still have a bit of a learning curve with Ubuntu or any other Linux distro Ubuntu would be an easier transition for them and someone who isn't very familiar with any OS would find it quite easy and enjoyable.