The main changes are:
- File copying no longer claims to take 10,000 years to complete
- DirectX 10.1 (requires an ATI Radeon 3000 series card; Nvidia doesn't support it.)
- Google Desktop Search now works with Vista
- Kernel version increased to same as Server 2008 (no new features though)
- Easier for administrators to lock down systems
There are practically no performance improvements according to several sources of benchmarks comparing an unpatched retail version and a fully patched SP1 one. Vista is still a lot slower than XP. See: http://www.anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.aspx?i=3233&p=6
Ubuntu. Linux for human beings.
If you are interested in trying Ubuntu or Linux in general, PM me and I will answer your questions and help you install it if you wish.
