Purpletigron

What is the current 'state of play' in the arguments about computer software? What are the strengths and weaknesses of Microsoft products in comparison to the other main providers?

I've not updated my knowledge in this area for about 5 years, apart from being convinced that e.g. Opera and Firefox are far more secure and functional than IE.

Pointers to technical discussions gratefully received - I've offered to go for beers with my new sysadmin to hammer this one out :-)