If your computer is that old, you could double its power by grabbing a $300 netbook :) if that's any consolation ;)

I know. Even if I got the cheepest computer on the market, it would be twice what I have now.

One reason that I dragged my feet on replacing it is I'm still running Windows XP, and I'd have to get use to Windows 7, not to mention transfering everything over, including programs I purchased that could be a hasstle.

Definitely a hassle

Not to mention, Windows 8 is just around the corner.

I'm not sure about 8, but the difference between XP and 7 is quite substantial.

Which is a good reason to hold off a little longer until Windows 8 shows up. In many ways the difference between Windows 8 and Windows 7 is bigger than the difference between XP and Windows 7. So if you're going to make a transition, might as well wait for 8 and do it once rather than spending time to get used to 7 only to then move to 8.

Windows 7 is not too terribly different that I've seen, but I get you on the software replacement.

I use XP at work and 7 at home. What is weird is that when I first got the 7 machine it all seemed so strange and weird.

But right now if you asked me to make a list of how my XP machine is different than my Win7 machine the only thing that comes to mind is being able to maximize windows by dragging them to the top of the screen.

Not saying they aren't different, just that I've apparently internalized them all into one big "computer" and I just switch seamlessly between them like I can use a mouse equally well with either hand.

Just be glad you got to skip over Vista

I didn't. I had Vista at home before Win7. I had absolutely no problem with it either. It proved extremely stable and never gave me any problems.