On this laptop, as well as my backup laptop, I am running Windows XP SP2. On my primary desktop, I run Windows 2000. On my backup desktop, I run whatever's on hand (FreeBSD, Ubuntu, and Damn Small Linux have all crossed its hard drive).
If you want your XP system to look like Vista, but work like XP, get the Vista Tramsformation Pack 7 (I think it's 7).
Desktop - Vista Ultimate Tablet - Vista Business Laptop - Ubuntu I don't really see why so many people carry on about Vista. Yes, it has problems - all new OSs do - but it also has added functionality. And a lot of the things that people whine about so much can simply be deactivated.