Oooh Rictus, NT3.51, with the exceptions of an icky IP stack and that strangeness with HPFS possibly MS' finest day
I'm still tempted to believe that from a human usability perspective the old Windows 3.1(1) / NT3.(5)1 interface was and remains the best.
I keep tinkering with Linux but it's always been on the sidelines and as a result I've never really completely understood it, and I'm one of those people who just can't use something until I know how it works, be that mechanical or electrical. In hindsight, most of my Vista workarounds were googled rather than a result of deduction, and in hindsight I'm pretty sure I'd have less problems with linux +WINE than I did with Vista. Perhaps it's time to start learning stuff