If Microsoft would have played with open standards and not trying to intentionally break compatibility then you wouldnt have to worry about compatibility issues.
How very true. Microsoft can't win the software war by making good programs, so they simply alter the standards to intentionally make others' programs obsolete.
But I do agree with rridgely when he says "you just have to get the right ones". There are plenty of freeware clones of great apps that give freeware a bad name. That said, I use non-MS apps or freeware/open source for almost all of the work I do, and my machine still runs fast and stable. In fact, the only MS apps I use are WinXP Pro for my OS, and Windows Media Player 10 (with the Real/QuickTime Alternatives).
I don't have the balls to switch over to Linux yet, since this is the only computer that I technically own, and I don't have any previous Linux experience. One of these days...
Yeah, examples are IE which refuse to follow w3 web standards and try to make their own.
Another example is Office and their file format war which they constantly tried to break compatibility so that WordPerfect and other software cant read Word files. Now Office cant even read their own word files from earlier versions.
Personally I prefer applications that are free, they are usually better. Commercial software are made with the goal of getting money and are made to please as many people as possible and often bloated with useless stuff.
Stuff that are free are often made because of passion and a programmer that likes todo what he does.
And as for Linux, you dont have to switch over to it just like that. There are LiveCD's which you just put into the computer, boot it up and dont have to install anything.
Knoppix is a well known Linux distribution on a LiveCD.
Another example is Office and their file format war which they constantly tried to break compatibility so that WordPerfect and other software cant read Word files. Now Office cant even read their own word files from earlier versions.
That's why when I save a *.doc file in Word 2003 I make sure I save it for compatibility with earlier versions such as Word 97, etc. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense of them breaking the format so that ealier versions can't open the files however I think it "may" have a darker side to it, e.g.; trick people into buying a new version that wouldn't know any better.
Good thing there is OpenOffice.org 2.0.1! I can always download the newest version for free, and it supports all MS Office file formats. Not to mention, it allows you to render your documents in the .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) format, a feature still not offered by Microsoft. I don't understand why so many people spend $400 on MS Office 2003 when a stable, free alternative exists! And, it isn't even the slightest bit more difficult to use (although it isn't quite as "pretty" as Office; big whoop).
I use openoffice but I hate the writer part. So I use abiword.