Seriously? At a previous job, they only decided in 2008 to start deploying Windows XP instead of skipping it and going for the next release. They were still running Windows 2000 Pro until then as it had proven to be very stable. As windows Vista turned out to be such a disaster on release they still stuck with Windows 2000 Pro and see what the next release would bring. But Windows7 still was not able to convince to be a stable version so they went for XP SP3 for its overal stability. My current employer is still using Windows XP and by the looks of it will still be using it next year.

What load of crap! Windows 3.0 failed but following windows 3.11 was a success, Windows 95 failed but Windows 98 was a success, Windows ME failed Windows 2000 turned out to be a widely used OS, Windows XP started out failing for the most part but after 3 Service packs is still an OS that is widely used in business (already 10yrs in use), Windows Vista failed but Windows 7 looks promising but still lacks stability (This is why business stick with XP), Windows 8 might well be the version that will be used to be stabilized as a general replacement for XP. Microsoft really doesn't miss a cycle, they rather abaddon one more quickly. Both Vista and 7 are missed opportunities for microsoft.

If you are very sure about getting the position you indeed can set a salary that you would like to change for. But if you don't have that option, people tend to get something in between and ending up on the lower end of the range. But if you have the luxury to ask what you want, you go for it.