I built my computer in 2002, and at the time I chose to dual-boot Red Hat Linux and Windows XP. After maybe two years I noticed that I never booted into Windows, so I uninstalled Windows and never looked back. It's been about seven years since I've had Windows installed on my desktop, but today at work it was pointed out to me that part of my job will involve verifying that output looks right in Internet Explorer, which is akin to asking Michelangelo to make sure that the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel looks equally good when transferred to the underside of Jell-o on a hot day. Yes, my HTML is art, the comparison isn't hyperbolic, shut up.

The point is my computer abruptly has been thrown back into the company of the worst operating system I've used ever , but with the coolest technology I've used in a while: Virtualbox. It was so simple! I installed Virtualbox, ran it, and not five minutes later I was installing Windows on a virtual computer. So I have the best of both worlds -- Linux for getting work done and saving kittens from furnaces, and Windows for its shitty browser. (You're right, the Windows world isn't bringing a lot to the table. Good eye!)

Unfortunately, I've never upgraded my hardware, and its ten year anniversary is coming up pretty quick. Some of the more complex HTML that I'm dealing with for work makes Firefox become unresponsive for five to ten seconds, and now that I'm having to also run Windows simultaneously to test my work, there's sometimes a lag between typing a word and seeing it appear on-screen. It may be time to build a new computer that's suitable to do my job.