Cliff,
I also come from the punch-card era of computers. Now I've got over 26 years experience with PC's. Since Windows 95, I've never gone to a new MS operating system without the first legit update from Microsoft. In this case, the release of SP1 before touching Vista. To reiterate what Elements just posted, I recently purchased a new PC with good specs (Vista Home Premium 64-bit with SP1 installed, 4GB RAM, AMD 5200 processor). I have not had one problem so far, even when installing 32-bit software. Not sluggish in the least, actually quite faster than I expected it to be. Anything new takes time to get used to. It's a bit tedious, but take the time, it's worked for me. I picked up a few magazines to walk me through the new features (and gotchas) of Vista. Right now, after my testing and results, I would recommend Vista 64-bit SP1, provided you have a stong enough PC to handle it.
One further tip: you mentioned 'programming' in your post. Do you plan to actually code programs on the Vista machine? If so, you may indeed run into issues with compatibility. If it was just a figure of speech, you should not have too many problems.
Lastly, I think you've come to the right place here at the Vistax64 Forums. I stumbled across this forum after purchasing my new Vista PC and I signed up as a member immediately. Good moderators, lots of help and tips available, and not much grief given to newbies. Props to whoever set this forum up, nice job!
Bob
) Post your system specs also, please..
Ted