I've heard some XP horror stories but many of them seem to be second hand. HP recommends against installing XP on my 2 year old computer but doesn't give any reason why it's a bad idea. I was looking forward to XP to get rid of my 98SE headaches. I may install Win 2000 on it instead.

I've been using Windows 2000 at work for over a year and a half. It's very stable and that's important when doing development work. I bought Linux because I wanted to play with it. Mandrake 8.1 works very well but I've been too busy for any serious hacking. Funny, since my aviation relapse a few years ago, I really don't have as much interest in computers as I used to have. I have to be careful because that can have serious career implications.

I'm thinking about developing a tutorial program for my plane's Garmin GNC-300XL GPS/Comm unit. That would let me combine my career (computer programming) with my addiction (flying). If I really want to get serious, I could try something like this or this for a homebuilt plane, perhaps one like the Velocity SUV. Hey, I can dream, can't I?