Free W10 upgrade !!

[Nick]

Or we could bypass all of these problems by using Linux. Which opens a up a whole new set of arguments: Which Linux?

Anything that really needs Windows can then run in a VM or using WINE.

Or bow deeply to Cupertino

Again Windows stuff can be run in a VM or using Parallels. Darryl ( the guy who designed the Aurora standards converters) uses an Apple Mac. He uses Parallels to run the Xilinx software which is Windows only. (Actually it can run in some versions of Linux too but that's a separate argument)

Linux (or more correctly, implementations of the Linux kernel plus the GNU tool-chain plus whatever versions of whichever layered applications you may install from Apache, GNU, OpenSSL or whoever depending on the packaging vendor [Debian, Red Hat, Ubuntu ...] and the version of that package) are most certainly not exploit-free.

Some of the most appalling and overtly dangerous exploits of recent times have been "Linux" security based, e.g. the many well documented issues with the ubiquitous OpenSSL package ("heartbleed" et al) and with the various implementations of Apache web servers etc.

Apple are also far from protected, cf. the FBI-used exploit to unlock the IOS iPhone and many many issues with Apple software. Its a common (and dangerous) misconception to think that you are safe simply by using Apple products - this is not the case - less noise is made about Apple-related issues as the number of Apple OS X desktops/laptops etc. is tiny compared with the number of Windows boxes, so its a cheaper and more profitable win to (attempt to) attack the far larger target - this does not mean that IOS/OS X & their applications have not had their fair share of problems.