I'm still using Win2k on our desktop, but will be moving our stuff to the XP laptop we bought a couple years ago in preparation to retire this system (starting to show it's age after 5 years). I don't *need* XP, but we're starting to acquire devices that do. I'd never move off of Win2K otherwise.
We bought my FIL a Vista laptop for his birthday last year. Since this was right before everyone started offering the option of "downgrading" to XP and because I didn't have time to try and load XP myself, that's how he got it. I did turn off all the visual junk and set the system up in such a way to look like Win2k (as I do with my XP systems as well). That went a long ways towards making it usable, but it still needs more ram than it shipped with. I haven't used it since he got it, but apparently he loves it.
I haven't had any issues with Windows once I left the Win9x path in the 90s. NT4-XP have been rock solid for me. Before that, I was a Linux user (even used it at work, even though it's been deemed impossible).
Have they made a way for XP/Vista PC games to work on Linux yet?
A few years ago, a company called Lodi sprang up to port previously Windows games for the Linux platform. I personally bought the latest version of Civ and Quake from them because I liked the games and because I wanted to support them (this was around year 2000 or so). They didn't last long. Not because the games were crap or anything (actually, they worked great), but because nobody bought anything. I'm quite certain the "software wants to be free, man" community stole, I mean shared the software rather than buying it.
Chris