Totally agree with you on the start menu in w7,just as luck would have it infopackets email had this in it's software section today,haven't tried it yet tho i will get around to it eventually,the pro version is the one that has tabs at it's base of the shot i think

http://www.startmenu.7.com/

I love Windows 7.  I've "been out there" a loong time and I've used every windows version except 2000.  The worst, by far, was ME.  The best by far is Windows 7.  I spend a lot less time under the hood since I updgraded from Vista.  If Windows 7 seems buggy or runs poorly, try using Eusing registry cleaner.  Chances are the registry is crapped up and needs to be cleaned out. When I first upgraded to Vista, it was buggy - lots of those blue screens we all love (NOT!).  I used a well known registry cleaner but my system was still slow.  Finally I ran Eusing and my computer ran like new again and Vista was much better.  I still spent more time than I liked under the hood always having tweak something.  With Windows 7 I've been happy not having to tweak it all the time.  It runs the way it should and the day will come when people won't want to upgrade to Windows 8 because they're so happy with this version.  It is not just another service pack for Vista.  There are some major differences internally. 

Fair Warning:  ALWAYS BACKUP THE REGISTRY BEFORE MESSING WITH IT!!  You can set Eusing to create a restore point automatically.  I always back up the registry and create a restore point.  So far, I have never had a problem with Eusing.  It is very powerful and I do not recommend it for a novice who is not familiar with the windows registry.  A safer but less powerful choice is Ccleaner's Registry cleaner.  Both are free programs.  I usually use Ccleaner and only use Eusing when I really need to. 

What?  You liked Windows ME?  No way.  Back when I had that junk OS, literally not a day went by without me getting a BSoD for some stupid reason, like ME not appreciating sound or video drivers, etc.  I heard that even Bill Gates admitted that ME was Microsoft's worst OS ever.  It didn't even need my help to crash itself.

As for Windows 7, though, it's fantastic.  I never want to see XP again.  I love the new taskbar system, with the window previews and auto-grouped programs - it's clean and seriously easy to use, plus I can look at another window without actually opening it.

I also really like how the start menu keeps track of recent files within the individual programs that open those files (i.e. MS Word keeps a list of recent *.docx files opened).  It's a huge improvement over the original Recent Documents folder, which I never used.

I love how I can hide system tray icons.  That particular feature has been needed for a decade now.

I love how I can actually turn off UAC.  Unlike some people, I know what I'm doing and don't need to confirm it 3 different times.

I love how Windows 7 handles network services and wireless networks.  On XP, you had to create a network before adding a wireless connection, and if you named that connection incorrectly, your wireless peripherals (printer, NAS drive, whatever) wouldn't work.  Windows 7 sets up the network automatically as soon as you get internet access through your network's router, which probably saved me a huge headache.

The OS is also very responsive, and doesn't seem to get bogged down by its own system processes after a few days of not being restarted.  I admit though that I still don't like how in both Vista and 7 that Ctrl+Alt+Delete doesn't just immediately open the Task Manager.  While I've not yet seen it in Windows 7, Vista had an issue with occasionally failing to open that dialog box, which of course made it impossible to get the Task Manager open.

So yeah, I like 7.

Or right click the taskbar and "Start Task Manager" if mouse is already in hand.''

And to throw my 0.02 on the topic; best Windows version by far!

I was one of those that stuck with XP as long as I thought it viable. Had it from a few months after it came out up to a month or so ago. Had it perfectly stable and suited to me. More importantly all my games, whether designed for Win3.1 up to DX10 only worked on it.(a little trickery for DX10 )

Win7 brings some fresh air with it and I have very few complaints. My biggest gripe of course being some older games that won't work and may never work right on it. For instance, I have to use the chaoslauncher to get Starcraft to play in a window, otherwise it will lock the entire PC within 45min. Plays fine but slightly annoying being stuck in an unresizable window.

The Start menu I doubt I'll ever fully get used to or like. Good thing with OD+ and Impulse Dock I rarely have to actually use it. If worse comes to pass I'll just grab that proggy someone posted around here to revert it back to XPs style. Much more usable to me that way.

Other than those, it's been stable and I enjoy being able to take advantage of my DX10 GPU and RAM now. Still glad I skipped the beta,..err Vista for Win7

Does nothing for me. 

I have Windows 7 and XP on my laptop. I have Windows 7 and Vista on my main PC. I like 7 hands down over both Vista and XP!

It loads faster, it seems more stable, and it has a lot of cool things like jumplists, taskbar on steroids, slideshow wallpapers, etc.

Oh, and another annoying thing -

Much like Vista, W7 turns off drives not in use. But unlike Vista I haven't found a way to stop it doing it yet.

This means when I try to start a game (installed on a separate drive) I get a blank menu for 5+ seconds until the drive wakes up. Very annoying

well as a die hard vista fan i have to admit i am smitten by windows7, apart from all those annoying folders in documents  lol

forgot to put a link to the utility for those die hard organized desktop fanatics like me:

http://www.sevenforums.com/customization/40916-shellfolderfix-manage-folder-window-positions-size.html

Also the community arnt half bad at helping with windows 7 issues

sounds like a bios problem.  Or dying PSU