We have a laptop and desktop running Windows 7 and have had no trouble with the OS. For that matter, I have had zero issues with Vista 64 in the last 1.5 years. I heard the 32-bit version had its problems and was braced for trouble that never arose.

For that matter, I also had very good luck with XP. As your friend said, though, it was time to move on. Unfortunately, I have three pieces of software that are frozen in the pre-64 era and I would like to use them. With my Vista version I could add Virtual PC and install XP as a second OS. I have a box here (somewhere) that I installed on another HD, which I no longer use. It would probably work. But I see Win 7 has a new downloadable "XP Mode" that will run with VPC. That looks like the way to go, I think.