Speed mostly Marlene.

It does have other advantages like:  colour management, security, better power management ( good if you're on a laptop),  memory management with the power boost feature if you are a bit short on Ram for any editing tasks. Just generally the whole thing is better laid out and much snappier than xp.  Before any Mac people read this - just like a Mac - but with all the advantages of Windows ; )

I have had no issues other than with Adobe where they insist on  using their paying customers as pawns in their disagreement with Microsoft.  Photoshop will open a registration screen everytime it opens, but I now have a solution for this. Acrobat 7 is totally incompatible with Vista. 

All other software and hardware I have has had no problems whatsoever with Vista.

I don't see any reason to be hestitant about getting a new laptop with Vista pre installed.

hth

And every one said, 'If we only live,
We too will go to sea in a Sieve,---
To the hills of the Chankly Bore!'
Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve.

Edward Lear
http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/ns/jumblies.html