software/hardware question

[mell miller]

hi all, i've just recently heard of bsd and am seriously considering going that way, but before i go much further i have what is likely a stupid question but since in the past i've disregarded such questions thinking they were unimportant or that the answer was obvious only to later regret it i shall ask my stupid question.  nearly all software and hardware is window compatable and most require a windows o/s, does this mean bsd users are left out in the cold or are there alternative releases or is most software/hardware also compatable with a bsd o/s?