is windows too hard to live with?

I noticed that Windows has a system restore feature (i.e. roll back changes to system software) built in to XP (and ME). IBM's MVS/OS, Unix, Linux, (and perhaps OS/X - don't know) do not have anything quite comparable. The Windows feature presumes a high possibility that system software will become compremised and the changes will have to be rolled back out. In the other environments, backups are made incase the system has to be restored (usually to protect from hardware failures, not software problems). Databases, really an application or a filesystem rather than an operating system, have the ability to roll back transactions to protect from both software problems and hardware problems (e.g. power failures, etc).

When we install new software in a Linux environment, we do not usually worry that the new software will break system code, but in Windows there is always the danger that system files (e.g. dll's) will get clobbered. It is this sort of thing that makes it so frustrating to work with Windows.

Windows is fortunate that the general public does not realize there are viable alternatives; that it is less expensive than Mac's; it has the largest pool of available software and compatible hardware; and that it comes pre-installed on most PC's. It is a real pain to work with, and I suspect that many people would not tolorate this if they really understood the alternatives available.