no 32bit OS will take more than 3 gig of ram
The 3 gig memory limit for Win 32bit is not limited to Windows. No 32bit OS really does more than 3.5 gig or ram. This is due to the 32bit hardware under the OS which is not capable of addressing more than 3.5 gig or ram. 32bit Windows, Linux Distros, BSDs, osX.. all limited to 3 gig. With 64bit hardware and software, one is capable of properly addressing ram beyond the 3.5 gig limit. One trick you can do is run 32bit apps on a 64bit OS. Each 32bit app won't use more than 3.5 gig or ram but the 64bit OS means two 32bit apps are using 7 gig or ram rather than sharing 3.5 gig between each other.
Also, WinME was the last direct descendant of Dos where your basically layering a Windows shell on top of Dos back end. If you rename win.com, you'll boot to a Dos prompt. WinNT is a separate beast resulting from Microsoft and IBM co-developing OS/2 before they split. IBM kept the OS/2 branding while Microsoft continued developing there copy of the source as the NT line. WinXP was a direct descendant of the NT line as successor to Win2000. It's an NT kernel, back end and shell that includes a Dos emulator not a GUI shell dropped on top of a Dos back end.
Personally, I wouldn't mind having the classic NT theme available on Win7. The new theme isn't really bad but I do prefer the minimal weight of the NT/WinXP (classic) themes. Mind you, I foresee the Office ribbon menu system being more grief for my less adaptable users rather than the OS GUI shell. Odd that your young users would be the least adaptable versus your older users. Maybe the young one's just have an opinion mixed with the assumption that work issued hardware is somehow there personal system.
Personally, I'm finding Win7 to be a very valid upgrade from WinXP. XP was nice and was "the best Windows to date" until Win7. The real problem is going to be when MS stops shipping updates. It's fine to drag your feat as long as vulnerabilities in WinXP are being patched but it'll only increase as a security risk after that.
