My OS is Microsoft Windows XP, my browser is Microsoft Internet Explorer,
and my office software is Microsoft Office XP. I use all of these packages
for the same reasons I used VHS instead of Beta and PCs instead of Macs. Not
necessarily because they are any better, but they are much more widely
distributed and reach a far wider audience. As you say, Word Perfect can be
purchased for as low as $50, but so can Microsoft Word. On the other hand,
Microsoft Office is a suite of programs including Microsoft Word, Microsoft
Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Access, and Microsoft Powerpoint. It can
be purchased for less than $200 (I have seen it listed for $60 at some
websites, but question the price), and Word Perfect Office 12 is in
approximately the same price range.
I get very little spam. Some precautions I take for "safe hex" are as
follows:
My email address for all newsgroup posts is a fake one.
My antivirus and antispyware software (AVG from Grisoft and AdAware from
Lavasoft) are keep updated and are run several times a week. Both of these
are free downloads.
Also my system experiences no annoying popups because I use a popup stopper
(from Panicware, also free). It can easily be disabled when I want to see a
legitimate popup.