I want to start by saying that this post is not a bash of Microsoft. I think that they produce some fantastic products and have done some great things for computing. However, they are now the dominant player in the market and that does cause some issues.

IMHO The thing that makes MS so good will be its downfall. For me as a user the best thing about MS products is the way they all work together. Office apps all tied to the OS, Mail (Outlook Express) and browser together. From a users view this is fantastic: until there is a security breach.

And that is what is currently woking against them. Security is the main reason I have switched to Firefox and Thunderbird and ZoneAlarm. The problem is that it is a complex system, and the more complexity there is, the greater the likelyhood of errors. The integeration of all of these products can allow a minor error in one product to cause problems for the whole system. Which is now why I prefer programs that are not tied to the OS.