Long term support for Windows XP will be terminated shortly. XP will still work, but there will be NO MORE SECURITY UPDATES at all. Progressively, new applications won't be compatible. Also, updates for your actual applications may not work.
Most PC that can run Windows XP can also run Windows 7. ALL PCs having a PCIe video card CAN run Windows 7. If you have an AMD64 or later, an Intel Core2 or any Intel i3, i5 or i7, you should use the 64 bit bersion.
If you think about switching to Linux:
You should look here: http://distrowatch.com/
This is a centralised Linux distros hub where you can find informations on the various distributions and links to download them.
Most distributions have a "try before you install" feature.
You burn the ISO that you can download on a CD/DVD, or, if your BIOS support it, place it on an USB stick, and boot your computer from the CD/DVD or USB stick.
This will allow you to try some versions (known as distro or distribution) without changing anything on your computer.
All distros that I tried are multi localised: You can chose from over 30 languages to try and install from a single media.
Once you find one that you like, or like the most, you can install it.
As with Windows 7, if you have a 64 bit CPU, you should use a 64 bit version of Linux. This ensure that you'll be able to access the true potential of your hardware.
Electro, December 2013
