Vista doesn't crash. Vista is an OK OS, just I like XP better and think XP does the job better. I think of Vista as XP with a ton a bloat on top. That is how I see Vista. Vista also took simple tasks and made them complex. If you have Vista for example, try and set a particualar view, such as detail view for all folders!
It is an act in frustration! This is also easy from any folder on XP! These are my Vista dislikes, and I have many of them, but that is just one. Don't even get me started on Office 2007!
You only get one GUI with Vista or XP though. With Linux, you can change your GUI daily if you feel like! KDE one day, Gnome the next, Enlightenment the next, XFce on GTK the next, AfterStep the next, icewm the next, Blackbox the next, and UDE the next! And if you don't like those, you can also run aewm and aewm++, CTWM, Entrance, EPIwm, evilwm, Fab4Linux, flwm, FVWM or flavor of including fvwm-ewmh and FVWM Themes, Hackedbox, menushki, OLVWM, perlwm, PLWM, PWM, Qvwm, sawfish, selectwm, Small Window Manager, vtwm, w9wm, Window Maker, Window Manger Icons, wm2, wmx, and WOW!
The point being, with Linux you can have the machine you want. Any flavor, whatever flavor. With Windows, you get 1 flavor - Windows desktop!
So, if you don't like choice, do not install Linux! :p
-S
PS. Though many in this world will disagree with me, I think KDE is the best. Others like small fast efficient windows managers. I like full featured, and you definetly get full featured with KDE!