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Assesses the impact of computer viruses and worms, which could result in companies switching to a non-Windows operating system. Discussion of the concept of "day-zero" attack in which a sophisticated computer hacker exploits a flaw in computer software undetected by the software's maker; Comments from Mark Dickelman, chief information officer of Anexsys LLC, regarding a movement within industries away from Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system; Number of viruses and worms launched against Microsoft in 2003, according to antivirus software maker Symantec Corp., indicating that it is good news for Microsoft rivals such as Apple Computer Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Lindows.com Inc.; Number of viruses and other malicious code incidents on non-Microsoft operating systems, suggesting Microsoft is a target for many hackers.

The article focuses on problems consumers often find with computer operating systems, programs and software that crash frequently while they are using their computers. A discussion of the factors that frequently lead to the crashes, and of error reporting services that many operating systems have built into them is presented.

Discusses a recent study about Linux from the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution. Funding for the Institute from Microsoft; Attempt to prove that Linux's Linus Torvalds has always been contemptuous of intellectual property laws; Argument that complex operating systems take years to develop, and then questions how a 21-year-old college student could have created one in just a few months as they claim Torvalds did in 1991; Suggestion that he stole from Minix, an operating system popular in colleges.

Reports Microsoft Corp. has failed in last-minute negotiations to reach an accord on its business practices with European antitrust regulators and could face rulings that affect the way it sells software for an array of products, from servers to mobile phones. When the European Commission (EC) is expected to order Microsoft to offer versions of its Windows operating system without its Media Player software and release information related to Windows to allow rival companies, like Sun Microsystems Inc. and Novell Inc., to create software that will run as well on Windows as Microsoft's own software; View of author that the EC's ruling will extend far beyond Europe and the pact Microsoft agreed to in a 2001 settlement in the U.S.; Discussion of the settlement negotiations between Microsoft's Steve Ballmer and the EC's Mario Monti.