Windows 7 - have you tried it?

[jonbuoy]

so what does it do that XP not do?????

As a home PC it makes a great media centre with 10 foot interface (looks good on a big screen LCD TV) I have it working with a TV/Satellite tuner to watch record and pause TV no driver issues. Nice options to add files to folders that already have the same name (like when you copy someones MP3 collection...) Stream media directly to other devices over WiFi or network - ie stream a movie onto your Xbox without having to copy and paste it.

All you really need is a Windows 7 pc a decent amp and you got a pretty flexible AV setup. Still think they could have made a 10 foot desktop interface I know you can make icons bigger but I still end up squinting or moving closer. New Windows media player is nice too, retrieves album artwork etc...

[sinned]

Be aware that Apple hasn't yet released bootcamp drivers for W7.

A good point and a matter under discussion on Apple forums.

[Hoon]

Ok, jokes aside, are there any benefits over XP other than eye candy?
My HTPC is sufficiently specced to run W7, but it runs just fine as it is.

Win7 comes with the new Win7 Media Center built in and it kicks arse. I used to use Media Portal but Win7 MCE blows it out of the water. Way smoother interface and minimal setup required. My HTPC build is bulletproof, zero issues and the amazing thing is it only takes about 15 mins (on top of the Win7 install).

Image your HTPC or get a new drive, try Windows7 and I bet you'll never look back.