Call me old school but I really don't see the point of upgrading past Windows XP unless you happen to get it with a new computer.

I'm programmer and I use XP in the office and I've got a vista laptop at home (which runs just fine despite all of the bad press that it's got) though in real term the difference between that and XP is purely cosmetic. I mean they do the exact same thing. They both connect to the internet, they both connect to digital cameras, printers and mp3 players, they both run a huge range of software, both proprietary and open source. Difference to productivity = zero.

To me a computer is no different from power drill - if the old one drills holes just fine then why spend the extra to get a new shiny ones that drills holes exactly the same as the old one?

You could almost say that Mac and Linux are exactly the same if it weren't for the fact they have far less software available then Windows

After many years experience with Macs and discussions with Windows users. Also completing Courses on PC usage, I am convinced that not only are Macs easier to use, they are cheaper in the long term because they very rarely break down.
The lack of Software used to be true but that is now arguable.

Having been a power PC user for almost 20 years now I decided to try a Mac for a while. Despite looking great, I found the Mac to be counter intuitive to everything I know including - instead of closing a window on the top right (PC) you have to close it on the top left (Mac); you can't close a Mac email by simply pushing escape, you need to click on it; you can't easily add or open an attachment to a Mac email; etc, etc. Hence despite the great looks I have to give up on my Mac and have gone back to a PC.

My apologies for commenting on a Microsoft discussion - I am a long time Mac user, and it's really quite funny the way Microsoft keeps surreptitiously pinching Apple ideas, especially as they try to make their interface more user friendly. Incidentally, where does that light pouring down from the top of the screen come from - is it emanating from Bill Himself just above the top edge?
If you're like John and don't care about the way things look and feel, stick with XP, he's quite right, why waste money if you don't perceive any benefit? But if the look & feel of a tool that you use for hours every day does matter, then leapfrog the frog and get a Mac.
Chris - sorry it didn't work for you, but it's not counter-intuitive to close files by clicking on the right rather than the left. That's like criticising TV3 for doing their weather forecasts from north to south because TV1 goes from south to north. And what could be easier than dragging a file you want to attach on to an email and letting go? You need to leave some prejudices and ingrained habits behind when you try something new.
Tristan -if you are self employed, consider leasing. My 3 yr lease just expired, and I upgraded to the latest gorgeous iMac and my lease cost dropped by 1/3, that's how much Macs and I presume computers in general have come down in price.

I have just recently switched to a Mac, after a lot of thought and talking to the right people and ill be honest I have only the very basic knowledge in using a computer, but really hope to learn a lot as time goes on, but I can relate to the comments Chris said. It is extremely frustrating when you are coming from a p.c., and in the first few days I really began to wonder if I had made the wrong choice, but that soon past. I believe that you just have to give yourself time and learn a bit of patience cause it really is worth it in the end. Based on my very limited experience so far, I think its much superior computer and I would never go back no matter how frustrated I get.

I gave Windows 7 a go a month ago on my laptop while keeping Vista on my desktop. Perhaps the best improvement Microsoft could make would be to bring back some of the Windows XP features that they removed in Vista to Windows 7. Like the Scanner and Camera Wizard in XP is a big one the Scanner and Camera Wizard in Vista and 7 are crap they don't allow you to pick which photos you want download. Like if you have photos from two occasions on your camera you can't first pick the ones from the first occassion download them then run the wizard again to get the photos from the next occassion into another folder and filtering out the ones you don't want you have to just download the lot. It is easier to just copy them straight off the camera. Then there is the Windows Photo Gallery while this is all good you can't view gif files with it instead they open with Internet Explorer by default. Also you can't manually edit the file associations to say which file opens which with Vista or 7, like for example a playlist file .m3u file I used to manually add an Edit option so when I right clicked on my playlist I could manually add songs through notepad.

What I do like in Windows 7 is folders like My Documents, Pictures, Music etc... you can have multiple folders in this really good since I have all my mp3 songs and pictures in multiple locations.

I wasn't going to upgrade from XP to Vista due to all teh negative press... but when my PC finally gave up the ghost and I decided to go all new and already up n running (after years of building from new and used etc.) so Vista came with the deal... I hated it for the first week but quickly got used to it and now really dig "the little things" which IMO improve on XP.

I realise there are valid arguements against Vista, and I just don't *like* microsoft but I do like: right clicking HD in My Computer to disconnect externals; being able to sort files by whichever criteria I choose; the thousands of dinky tools you can add to your side bar; extra large thumbnails for previewing pictures... and lots of other little things that may not change the world of computers, but are enjoyable.

I've used Windows 2000, ME, XP, and now Vista, and Vista Business. I've really enjoyed XP and Vista Business as they have both had the wow factor and it really boils down to the user and the hardware running behind the operating system. If you have a low spec pc, don't expect newer operating systems to be any better. I have not had the option or ever used Apple, but really that is in another price bracket and really should be better?!... You generally pay for what you get. My recommendations are if you don't want to pay for a medium to high spec computer use XP, if you want a medium to high spec get Vista business/or upcoming Windows 7. Remember the newer the operating system the newer and better the hardware should be...and don't forget higher RAM...

Interesting seeing the comments about what is "intuitively obvious" and what isn't. The differences in user interface between versions of Windows (and on Macs, Linux, etc) are a matter or rote learning, not intuition. Way back in the early days of Macs it was intuitive... clicking on something that looked like it would erase stuff did what you'd expect, and a 3-yr old could use the software happily. Now the icons are small and it is not immediately obvious what they do, let alone bizarre combinations of left mouse button and some control key while pressing a key with a symbol that looks like a peanut butter jar.

If you learn to drive a car then you know how to drive virtually any car (other than the automatic/manual difference). Differences between computer NEED NOT be so darned arbitary and complicated. Look at Linux, Solaris, VMS, BSD operating systems over the last decade or so... you can upgrade (or cross-grade) between different systems for performance reasons, or to run newer software, but your choice of user interface is totally a separate matter. Even if you do change user interfaces ("window managers" etc) you can still select important options to let you keep clicking, and generally using the system, in the way familiar to you. There is free software (Cygwin+X11) for Windows to do some of this, but really Microsoft could have been more thoughtful in providing less disruptive transitions between versions, and given users more ergonomic options within the interface. Sigh.

Interesting seeing the comments about what is "intuitively obvious" and what isn't. The differences in user interface between versions of Windows (and on Macs, Linux, etc) are a matter or rote learning, not intuition. Way back in the early days of Macs it was intuitive... clicking on something that looked like it would erase stuff did what you'd expect, and a 3-yr old could use the software happily. Now the icons are small and it is not immediately obvious what they do, let alone bizarre combinations of left mouse button and some control key while pressing a key with a symbol that looks like a peanut butter jar.

If you learn to drive a car then you know how to drive virtually any car (other than the automatic/manual difference). Differences between computer NEED NOT be so darned arbitary and complicated. Look at Linux, Solaris, VMS, BSD operating systems over the last decade or so... you can upgrade (or cross-grade) between different systems for performance reasons, or to run newer software, but your choice of user interface is totally a separate matter. Even if you do change user interfaces ("window managers" etc) you can still select important options to let you keep clicking, and generally using the system, in the way familiar to you. There is free software (Cygwin+X11) for Windows to do some of this, but really Microsoft could have been more thoughtful in providing less disruptive transitions between versions, and given users more ergonomic options within the interface. Sigh.

IF YOU ARE INTO MAKING YOUR OWN MOVIES/PHOTOS OR PLAYING OR COMPOSING MUSIC YOU CAN'T GET ANYTHING CLOSE TO A MAC. 8 YEARS AND NO TIME IN THE SHOP AND NO PROBLEMS. ALL SCHOOLS ARE GOING MAC SO IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN, MACS THE WAY TO GO. I WOULD NOT GO BACK TO WINDOWS IF YOU PAID ME - TOO EXPENCIVE IN THE LONG RUN.

All the comments are equally valid. It's like choosing a car, so very personal depending on individual needs. Me I'm such a girl, so the shinny and new always interests me. I have been using the beta version of Windows 7 and I love it. Love the look, love the fact that they have built into the op things that simplify processes eg: burning an ISO to disk is a one step process instead of have to install the correct software and dick around with the setup. The Task manager is far more comprehensive and easier to figure, etc. Relatively speaking Windows 7 it a pretty small learning curve. I love the Mac's and enjoy Linux distro's mostly, (apart from the great deal of dicking about you got to do). So I think, each to his own and you just have to discover for your self if it fits your purpose. To buy windows 7 is definitely gonna be on my consideration list..