In this instance I wasn't advocating a switch, even partial, to Linux. The Linux software, because it is open source, is almost certainly available for other operating systems. Some Linux software that I've come across is actually superior to the original Windows stuff.

For instance a year or so ago I bought a USB Endoscope for just a few pounds on Ebay. I could just about get it to work on a Windows Vista laptop but not well enough to actually use.

Just last week I read about a Linux program called Cheese. I downloaded this and it works even better than the bundled Windows software.

Open source software is software where the text code is made available to anyone to compile for themselves. Code is not operating system specific. It can be compiled for different operating systems. So any open source software should be available for any operating system. Just download from a sensible supplier.