Okay... it all comes down to this- We can't go about using the same software and hardware forever. Don't you think people complained with the transition from Windows 2 to Windows 3.1? 3.1 to 95? 95 to 98? 98 to XP? Sure each of the transitions mentioned required some sort of jump in hardware capabilities, and those jumps may not seem big today, but they were at the time. I see people complaining about XP performing all their tasks better than Vista, so that begs a question- why not just use Windows 95? On a modern day computer, 95 would fly past XP and work with all your older hardware and software. It won't run newer programs, but that doesn't seem to be a concern with XP aficionados. so we can simply ignore that.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that small incremental updates are nothing new for operating systems. Yes, every new OS has some compatibility problems. Yes, every new OS requires more powerful hardware. But if everybody had the same mindset that the people not letting XP go have, we'd still be using Visicalc on an old IBM PC (or PC compatible) from the early 80's. Now, if you have a computer with less than a gig of RAM, keeping XP is not a problem. But if you're out to buy a new PC, ANY computer on the market manufactured within the last 6 months can run Vista well, and most computers today can make Vista fly. Will XP run faster on newer computers? Probably so, but if you're that concerned with negligible speed differences, install Windows 95 or 98- those suckers wait for
you to respond- what OS today can say that?
My final thoughts? XP was and is a great OS, it served us very well, and those people with older computers should continue to enjoy XP rather than try to upgrade to Vista. But if you're looking for a shiny new computer, Vista is the right way to go. Incremental as it is, Vista improves on XP's kernel, is more organized than XP (even if you think otherwise, type the program or feature you want to access into the start menu search bar and skip the menus), and yes, is more secure than XP. UAC works magic despite the initial annoyance- it is literally impossible for rootkits to be installed on Vista, and it makes any sort of unwanted attack on your computer harder to pull off. And finally, the next version of Windows at the least will be using a similar kernel to Vista, so compatibility problems from Vista to 7 will likely be nonexistent.
Let XP lie to rest and take in a breath of fresh Aero (pun totally intended)! Give Vista a real try (and really, maybe you need a new printer anyways).