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One of the difficulties with trying out RISC OS properly is that it's tied to the processor it was designed for (ARM processors specifically).
You can get old hardware very cheap (e.g. on eBay), and there is an emulator for Windows, but it's not as convenient as just booting off a CD.
Also, unless you pay money, in my opinion you won't get a comparable experience, I'm afraid. On paper RISC OS doesn't look too great, but in use it has a unique 'feel' to it.
Very old article:
http://www.byte.com/art/9612/sec5/art1.htm
But you can get lots more info at www.drobe.co.uk
Yes, there are users in mainland Europe, even dealers and user groups. Australia and NZ also have some users, but there are practically none in USA.
Must agree with flypig, on paper, RISC OS is from the stone age and lacks many, many important features (especially RISC OS 5, the RISC OS 4.3x 'Select' series is considered my most to be better for the desktop)). But once you try it on a decent machine (would not bother with anything less than a RiscPC, and StrongARM if you can), you'll probably rather like it.
Here are a couple of other websites which may provide info the the curious:
http://www.blastzone.demon.co.uk/
http://www.riscos.org/about.html
http://www.iconbar.com/
and
http://www.qercus.com
The last is the website of Qercus magazine, formally known as Acorn User.



