So, UNLESS you are having malware or virus issues, don't feel 'left out' if you are still on Windows 2000... I didn't switch over to XP Pro until 2010.

Keep in mind that each iteration of the mainline Windows OS is a continuation of NT. Same file system and registry hives, and Windows 7 even features an 'XP mode'.

Windows 2000 is faster than XP, and XP is faster than Windows 7... I've run each on my dual Xeon Dell, and without question each new version is slower than before.

Anyone who says Win7 is "vastly different than XP" might be on the MS payroll.

I like Win7 'Aero' for a few specific reasons, but otherwise it is just XP 'R2' with some bizarre changes to the GUI paradigm. It took me a month to get Win7 working in a manner similar to 2000/XP. Don't expect anything to be where you expect it!

The UAC is an exercise in hair-pulling, fist slamming frustration... to get Win7 'talking' with XP machines (e.g. drive-mapping) requires a LOT of unnecessary work and/or violating best 'security' practices which Win7 was supposed to address. Really.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the endless spurious disk activity in Windows 7. Good luck tracking down that little bug... even MS seems unable to address the issue.

The familiar cascading Start/Programs menu has been completely removed... no 'classic' option there, so you'll need a third party utility to make the menus work.

If you've got the time AND the hardware, Win7 might be worth a look after SP1.