If Windows (and to a lesser degree, the Mac OS) didn't exist, there would
likely be a plethora of operating systems, and people would be complaining
"Why can't we have a single standard?".

I do not grovel in front of Windows. I use it because it's what I started with
when I worked at Microsoft, and it has the widest range of available
applications. It also works well.

The basic problem with Windows is that it's designed to be a more or less
universal OS that meets just about anyone's needs. Unfortunately, Microsoft
has never put out the effort to minimize the amount of "fussing" a serious
user has to go through to get the most out of the system.

I strongly recommend the book "Windows 7 Annoyances". It has good chapters on
security and networking that are almost worth the price of the book.