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Is it Kernel Linux in the study? Reverend Apple in the kitchen? Professor Google in the lounge? Or perhaps, in one of those wicked twists so loved by thriller writers, it's Mister Vista himself. One thing's for sure: Windows is under attack.

For Microsoft, though, this is no game of virtual Cluedo. History is littered with companies that burn brightly for a few decades and then disappear, and the volatile IT industry is more susceptible than most: Compaq is now just a sub-brand of HP, while the once mighty Digital was swallowed up by the then even mightier Compaq. I'm willing to bet that Google's board has discussed the future possibility of a hostile takeover bid for its Redmond-based rivals.

So are we consumers ready for a world without Windows? I decided to take my own voyage of OS discovery. For, although I upgraded my ThinkPad X40 (other notebooks are available) to Vista at the first opportunity, I'd resisted any temptation to load Linux.

Until today, that is. For I'm now typing this in OpenOffice.org Writer within a Live version

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of Ubuntu Linux. And it's an odd experience. To me, used to the swish graphics of Windows (or OS X), the interface is oddly reminiscent of WordPerfect for DOS or the pre-Windows version of Quattro Pro. I'm transported to a time when cover discs were floppy, and the pinnacle of gaming pleasure was Prince of Persia.

Anyone expecting the refined finish of Windows will be severely let down, but that's not to say I don't like some aspects of Ubuntu. It's easy to get to all the programs and settings, with no horrible nest of menus to negotiate, and even when running from a Live CD it's quick. But, sorry, it's not for me. Not yet.

Then again, as some experts say, perhaps the OS doesn't matter any more? We can live our computing lives online, using web applications such as Google Docs & Spreadsheets. So, after a ten-minute gap, during which I've tried to persuade Google Docs to accept this document (I've had to abandon my attempts to upload it directly, and opted instead for emailing it), I'm here. And it's fine. Everything works, most of the tools I need are here, and it doesn't matter which computer I use - the document is available to me wherever I have an internet connection.

If this were the 1990s, that would be fantastic (except for the lack of a decent internet connection). But hardware has moved on, and my clunky desktop PC has transformed into a sleek ultraportable. My X40 travels everywhere with me, and even if I were using a larger laptop, I'd carry my vital documents on a flash drive. Anyway, enough. I'm getting a strange craving for a piece of software called Microsoft Word. Time to exit these strange lands.