[JavaBrewer]

We purchased a Sony laptop for my 72 yr old Mother-in-law a couple months ago. I bumped RAM from 1 GB to 2 GB, removed all the trial software, loaded up AVG anti-virus and OpenOffice. All she does is gmail, internet, and simple documents. I was expecting the worst - crashes and unexplained errors but to be honest the Vista box has been stellar. Unpacked it, started it up, and after 30 minutes or so of initial loading & configuration it was up and running - found my wireless nextwork instantly. YMMV.

For now I'm sticking with XP but for home use Vista looks pretty nice, especially if I can get a new box for $400 or so.