The LAMP stack was only an example. Pick a software. The whole system. Everything can be updated/upgraded using apt-get/yum. Windows is not nearly close to the powerfulness of such a package manager.

I didn't get your point about the Compaq/HP monitor. Of course I was talking about paying the software, I do not condone software piracy. What I was saying is that if you buy a laptop Asus (for instance) you'll get a installation CD that contains a Norton Ghost image of Windows with drivers for that particular laptop. So you can't just take that CD containing Windows and install it elsewhere (suppose your laptop dies) and have the system read out-of-the-box.

As for rescuing girls friends, yes that happened a lot! Fortunately my girlfriend has a Macbook so I never had to any kind of intervention :-) Smart choice of her eheh.