Linux has excellent mail and office automation programs.

Email works independent of the operating system because the underlying technologies are based on a common set of standards specified in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IEFT). Examples include TCP/IP, SMTP, MIME.

The graphical user interface for Windows based systems are excellent and many users love Windows.

The Linux kernel is extremely robust and flexible.

An example of a nice graphical interface over a UNIX kernel is MAC OS X. If you want to have the reliability of a UNIX kernel and the slick graphics that *you pay for* and easily integration with Microsoft office products I suggest you look at MAC OS X.

However, MAC OS X is NOT FREE... the kernel is free, but you pay big bucks for the right to use the super-duper graphics and plug-and-play application environment.