I agree on hating M$ and HP...
I've got 3 HP's that run on Win 98 and one on XP. One Win 98 system is currently an active MAME with the other 2 as future projects.. The XP system is my current internet PC, but once I get my custom PC built (next year most likely), then this one's going into the MAME system I currently have (since it plays NBA JAM better than the others).
With the majority of the problems I've had with HP, I'm never buying another of their systems.... Besides, I have SO much fun building my own

As for Micro$tiff, until Linux becomes a bit easier to use, I guess I'm stuck using Winblows....