By the gods! It's even more bloated than Windows!
Well, I wouldn't go THAT far, unless you're talking about the PnP capabilities of Linux, and all the chipset bugfixes compiled right into the kernel (I don't need a patch for an Intel chipset in my kernel if I'm using nForce, dammit!)
So far, I've tried 8 distributions of Linux. All of them I found unsuitable for my needs because they were slow and didn't detect my hardware correctly, and xFree86 is a joke when it comes to stability. Still, all distros give you options on what to put on when you're installing. You don't have to have the webserver installed. I believe there's a few 50-100 Meg distros of Linux out there. Of course, if all you do is browse the Internet, Windows will suit you fine... or even a Mac.
What I wish a lot more people realized is that "Linux" is just a kernel. It's all the other stuff piled on top that leads to the bloat. The GNU shell and utilities aren't bad for bloat, but are pretty poorly designed for ordinary people. XFree86 isn't very nice, and whether it's easy to configure depends largely on what kind of hardware you're using.
It'd be nice to see a distro of Linux with an entirely new shell and GUI. I like Linux as a kernel, but I hate the way the whole system is put together as a desktop, which is why I think Linux will never gain a foothold in the PC market. Probably just as well. Linux people like doing things their own way.
As for Windows, if you're sick of the bloat of XP, I hightly recommend Windows2000. It's much smaller, and stability is top notch. You just have to give up some of your older games. So long as it runs Buggers, Dungeon Keeper, and Porsche Unleashed (with the ACT patch), I'm happy with it. :-D
