It's not only running on 64-bit systems. All *new* systems built will have to be 64-bit in order to get the sticker.

The 32-bit version of Windows 7 exists for older systems that will run 7, but were built for a previous version of Windows.

This is true, and cell providers still haven't standardized even by region, let alone provider, how to send caller information to 911 dispatch stations. Every time a client of mine decides to deploy PhaseII at their center, programming has to come up with a new workaround for whatever weird quirk their local providers have with their service.

On the other hand, getting specifications and parameters from the telcos is like pulling teeth, even when it's for 911 call centers, so 3/4's of the time we end up having to figure out what's different on our own. Verizon definitely has the most quirky rebid setup of any of the providers we deal with.

For Exchange support, use Evolution. Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator (CS2 at least, CS3 support is still being perfected) all work well in Wine. You can install IE 6 in Linux to run ActiveX if necessary, and there are firefox plug-ins to implement ActiveX as well. OpenOffice.org doesn't support VBA macros deliberately as they are a huge security risk. OxygenOffice, based on OpenOffice.org, does support them. As far as group policy updating, you've clearly never used APT.

Old meme is old. GNU/Linux is quite competent and capable in a Windows world.

On topic, I upgraded to Intrepid Ibex beta two weeks ago. The speed increase is palpable, and Hardy Heron was still much faster than XP, while being easier on the hardware (In XP and Vista, my CPU fan just runs constantly. In Linux, it only runs when I've been compiling a program for 15+ minutes).