One of the things I find interesting is the anti-windows/gates nonsense. You need to build a system that suits YOUR needs and budget, not the political whims of others. As a professional writer with several systems I use Windows, Ubunto & Mac OS. As XP goes away soon, I will move my older netbooks to Ubuntu exclusively. However, I am still faced with the need to use Microsoft software, which I can do on an upgraded desktop and my old Mac. But for portable use, I eventually will have to get a Windows machine so I can run Word. I use Both Word and LibreOffice Writer, but the latter is good mostly for draft work. If heavy editing is required, along with other formatting, Word is better than LibreOffice Writer. At least I can meet 80% of my needs with LibreOffice, but the other 20% requires the MS product. For photowork, GIMP does a pretty good job vs Photoshop - but I am not a high end photo guy - those folks need Photoshop. For layout, nothing beats Adobe InDesign (the open source alternates are crap), so you have to gag on the price. Fortunately, I can do all that I need with older versions. So--I can write a novel in LibreOffice/Ubuntu but I cannot efficiently design a book interior for upload to CreateSpace with it. There are many other limitations as well. In short, I recognize and honor the budgetary implications of going open source - but that should be the consideration - not the political BS.