[mechanical_fish]

I run Xubuntu on a quad-core machine just because it appeals to my neuroses.

You probably do a lot more with your machine than run Office, play Windows Solitaire, and read email. Three year old machines can do all of that perfectly well.

That $600 laptop is cheap, all right, but it's more expensive than "another few years for free". Especially when you multiply it by a headcount the size of GM's.

I do agree, though, that "systems requirements" is partly an excuse of convenience. It always looks better to complain about price-gouging vendors than to complain about the enormous amount of extra work, overtime, and personnel budget that a major OS upgrade might require of you. Plus, carping about Vista's systems requirements is easier than trying to use the phrase "sucks ass" in a corporate report without being fired.