im not trying to argue with anyone because i see both sides of the story. trust me, for a long time i was wondering all that stuff too. but i bought the full version of vista home premium today, instead of just upgrade. and trust me, it is without a doubt worth it. i have no conflicts whatsoever with any of my programs running. sum bugs, but very very minor. vista, in my opinion, is where its at. no questions asked. everything runs so much smoother, and there honestly is a lot less stuff wrong with it than xp ever dreamed of accomplishing. oh, and to straighten up the doubt of the 32bit vs the 64bit versions of vista if you dont purchase ultimate......when you buy ANY other copy of vista other than ultimate, and still want the 64bit versionm, all you have to do is go to the upgrade website through microsoft and purchase the 64bit version for only $9.95. thats a steal. i dont recommend upgrading to the 64bit just yet if you are a gamer, since there is still so many problems with programs, especially games, with the 64bit. but it still is nice to know that its only $9.95. also, one more opinion, dont buy the upgrade to vista, spend the extra $ and just buy the full version. trust me, it will be a lot more secure in the long run, never mess around with the OS.