Cool, I have a cape! And to make this post not totally irrelevant, I don't use XP because I like new, shiny things, and I got Vista as a gift.
...
(I hope my cape's shiny )

I personally like 2000 and Windows Millennium a lot. Mostly because for some reason (just to me and my cousins)we find XP and Vista cluttered. Like half the things XP and Vista claim to do (I have both, on my dad's laptop its Vista, on mine XP) I never actually use. Like the dock, we don't use, because we never looked at it anyway. I personally only liked the menu bar and wallpapers from Vista. The only thing that bothered me about XP is that the menu bar is ugly. Flat out ugly unless you download better looking skins for it.

I personally have been looking to get a MacBook. I've been playing using Leopard (on my friends computer) and I find it to be much better than windows. I like the way it's layed out and basically how it works. Some of the features (such as Time Machine, Adium especially) seem pretty useful to me.

I haven't had a shot at Linux (mostly because I don't know which one to download Ubuntu or the other countless versions i've heard of) but i'll eventually get around to trying it out.

sorry for dead thread revive, btw.

Don't worry about it, the necro rule was dropped, and you made a giant post, so there's nothing wrong with it.

If you're looking for a recomendation, Ubuntu-Live is a great way to start using the OS. Basicaly you burn it to a DVD and restart your computer. It then pops up all ready to go with no installation required - of course, you wouldn't want to do this permanently as it'd be a little laggy and not fully featured, but it's easier to try without commitment.

The one thing i've been wanting as well is the MacMini (macbook was way expensive when I looked up). I don't want a used Macbook so i'm sticking with MacMini. The only thing is, is that i've heard its un-upgradeable which I don't like, because even though I don't ever upgrade my computer from stock I still like knowing I could if I really wanted to. I digress.

I've seen a lot of screenshots from looking around trying to find out which Linux is 'best' for me and theres a couple I like. I especially like how its layed out. Feels much less cluttered than XP or Vista. I looked up Sabayon and it looked fine as well. I'll probably try it out tonight and see how it goes. I'm not sure if my computer could really take it anymore though (stock HP dv1000 with about 7 gigs of memory left).

Really no matter what Linux you end up getting you should at least TRY Ubuntu, I dualboot that with Vista on my system and it's a compatibility dream come true <3

Thanks for thread revival.

I <3 this thread.

I have Vista Home Basic. I actually like it more than xp it looks nice and I like the shell tweaks no more programs list taking up the whole screen. plus when I search for a file its instant no more waiting a minute to find a file. Home Basic is like a beefed up version of xp, It is quite fast and I haven't had any viruses yet. (BitDefender Total Security 2008 btw) Actually come to think of it vista runs surprisingly fast on only 512 MB ram and a 1.8GHZ AMD Sempron 3400.

Oh and it has DX10

I vote vista.

Vista Pros
DX 10
Fast
Fast Searching
Optimized interface
Looks Smexy

Vista Cons
The Sidebar is useless for gamers
Most apps require you to run them as administrator.
I have had 2 BSOD's (Both of them the same) But they seem to have fixed themselves.
Some codecs can cause Windows Media player to crash.

I removed the sidebar, it's a waste for ANYONE, not just gamers, if you tone down the security you don't have to run stuff as administrator all the time, although a right click isn't really that tough, BSODs are Vista's way of saying it loves you, Media Player hates you, and everyone, get RealPlaer or VLC or something.

/rant

I don't know about you guys, but I can't wait to get a Macbook (if Lord exists, he'll know I pray every night) or at the very least a MacMini and I decent monitor (I have one, just its about 10 years old Dell Trinitron and it about as large as my TV, taking up about a third of my desk) with mouse and keyboard i'll be happy. Make sure that MacMini better have Leopard OSX though, or i'll be pissed along with at least 100 gigs of space. I'm sick of windows, I regret not having gotten the mac in the first place.

In all honesty, I prefer Vista at this point. Sure XP was done really well, it's just well, I have a DX10 Video Card. I don't think the sidebar is useless.
Oh and the people who do actually have troubles with Vista, I know 2 people, they are both running Vista x64. Vista and 64-bit don't work the greatest.

Lol at 64 bit Vista. That's like computerical (it says it's a word :S) suicide.

Is there an actual necessity about 64 bit OS'? Like what is it exactly (not the most technical savvy person here)

No. Especially not if you have Vista. Vista + 64 bit = Fail. There are millions of problems.

There's a slight increase in computing power, but the main benefit is the ability to use more than 4 GB RAM + swap. So it's useless for 99% of people.

It works pretty well in Linux, with the exception of proprietary stuff, but of course, that's hardly practical for most.