Why not be really brave a go for a linux distro..
Now that is fun!
And guess what? All the software is free!
If you play games or use an ipod or something else that requires windows forget this advice though.
whatever you choose, make sure you patch it, anti-virus it, and firewall it - because we have two laptops at home - one runs XP(needs all the above) the other Ubuntu(needs none of the above

), and guess which one just keeps on running without slowing down?
No matter how you treat an XP box after a few months it just seems slower.
whatever, they both run the sdk jdk stuff - I personally prefer the editor I use in linux, but I guess it is what you are used to.
One final thing.... I am not anti-microsoft (it has earned me a living), I just prefer linux now.
Nick White
mcse, ccna (and scjp!! hopefully after the 12th April - fingers crossed.)
[ March 21, 2007: Message edited by: Nick White ]