I have a confession to make. If instead of Win 98 with its wonderful Blue Screen of Death, Microsoft had sold Windows 8.1 or 10, I would never have changed to Linux. But, they didn't. They had Win 98.

I am glad they did, because I have done a lot of stuff with Linux in these 16 years I would never have done in Windows. For example, in 2002, I used LyX to make a book of my 1960's Letters From The Army.

Also, I did a lot of photo touch up and repair for the local cultural organization with GIMP, and never would have paid for Photoshop.

I can't remember all the things I have done over those 16 years, because all I needed came from the repositories, and for free.

Yet, I have 3 computers all eligible for upgrade to Windows 10. A W-7 machine, an 8.1 and another was also 8.1.

That upgrade is going to create a lot of new Linux users. One of the three, the 8.1, took W-10 upgrade without a hitch. The other two failed and returned to the old version, with only a vague error code. Help available is in the form of a variety of anecdotal stories, none of which usually works anyway.

Suggestions have been, on the one, Grub causing it to fail. And, on others, perhaps the mouse did it. Or, maybe an incomplete update at lower level. Or, maybe a registry error.

Being promised a free upgrade you cannot access is worse than not being given the upgrade at all. Men, think of the difference between being laughed at by the hot cheerleader when you ask her for a date. You expected to be turned down, anyway. So, you shrug it off and remind yourself she is too fat and her eyes are too small.

Or, being told yes, then being stood up on the promised night after you wash and wax the car.

Unless MS comes up with some quick real fixes, they are going to make some real enemies with that bad upgrade, and we will see some new Linux users. That is my own guess. I have been wrong before and expect to be wrong again.

So, why did I bother? Partly because it's paid for, and I need to keep up with current usage. Ahem, I also got all the Harry Potter books and the Hunger Games free from the W-8 store...and, the vampire series...