I think the main advantage of Windows 7 over Vista is just the passage of time. Most developers of mainstream software have finally made sure that their softwar

I think the main advantage of Windows 7 over Vista is just the passage of time. Most developers of mainstream software have finally made sure that their software works on Vista. A lot more old hardware (whose makers did not make Vista-compatible drivers) has been replaced, and other drivers fixed, so that the likelihood of running into a driver-related problem is much lower now. A lot more software has been fixed to work under a limited (non-Administrator) account, which means UAC is practical. I develop software under Windows Vista all day long, every day, using dozens of tools, and I almost never get a UAC prompt. The focus of Windows 7 development has been on reducing end-user frustration. Windows itself is limited in how much it can reduce that frustration because a lot of it is caused by third-party applications and by Microsoft add-ons. So, while the Windows 7 UX has already improved over Vista, the real UX benefits won't happen until applications adopt the Windows 7 style guidelines. For example, applications need to get rid of their "minimize to tray" options and they need to quit installing icons on the desktop. (Actually these were the guidelines even for Windows 95, but Windows 7 really makes it counterproductive to break the rules.) They need to integrate with the new task bar features. They need to integrate with the new restart infrastructure so that installers don't have to reboot your computer due to files being in use.