computer ?, operating systems Options

[96bluevert]

ok, so some of you know I am building my own computer and at this time I am gathering all the parts that I need. I will have 4gb RAM (with the intent to expand later), so I know I will want to go with a 64-bit OS. Although I can't decide between Windows XP Pro and Windows Vista. I am used to XP, since it has been on my last few computers, although I have heard that Pro has problems with some older software. I've been reading up online about the differences and which would be a better choice, but it hasn't got me anywhere since half the reviews I read say Vista is the way to go, and the other half say XP is the better O/S to get. I don't want to spend $100+ on an Operating system, just to find out I should have gotten the other one .

so, any advice or experiences you guys have had with these two would be helpful.

also, I am assuming that I will want to get the software that is meant for "system builders"...? There are just way too many options on newegg with a very wide variety in price

[lagos]

For the first time ever, Linux has an almost perfect shot at making it into the main stream.
Over the past few years they have made huge improvements at being as user friendly as possible. And a lot of laptops and netbooks are actually shipping with linux preinstalled.

I have personally switched both my laptop and my desktop to Ubuntu and I dont miss windows at all. It runs faster, you dont have to worry about any spyware or viruses, you can hack and customize every single part of the OS, and its totally free. Not to mention that it looks and functions very similar to the OSX that people seem to love so much.

Microsoft on the other hand has been pretty much shooting themselves in the foot. They got into the console market, and actually made a lot PC gamers migrate over to the 360. Gaming was a huge benefit for windows users in the past, but now most of them dont care about that since they do all of their gaming on a console.

Then they released Vista before it was ready, and gave people a really bad first impression. Today visa works great and is a nice little OS, but when it first came out, it was bugy and almost nothing worked giving microsoft a really bad rep.

As good as windows7 might be, most people will be very skeptical about it and probably start looking into alternatives to windows for their next upgrade.