I have tried Win 7 and read about Win 8 so I have become convinced that XP will be my operating system until my systems die. I have a 24inch monitor with MSVDM installed. A quick launch toolbar always on top lies on the right of my screen and carries a host of small icons for all the programs I normally use.
Thus I can have two programs side by side on one screen when using them together and a program that is best on full screen is just a click away using MSVDM without disturbing the others.
I can see no way to make Win 7 or 8 as convenient.