-Start Menu search field: SO convenient.
-Improved Start Menu: Much cleaner and more efficient (it scrolls and expands like a folder tree instead of making oversized cascading fields).
-Got rid of the "Documents and Settings" and shortened the path to your user folder.
-Better file previews and the "details" pane that you can toggle on in Explorer.
-DX 10
-Vista Media Center included.
-Looks much sleeker and you can easily customize with the UXTHEME.DLL patch. The XP blue skin always looked silly and childish to me.
-Sidebar. One click on a gadget and I can stream NPR, or look at real-time traffic, write a post-it note, read news headings, etc...
-Improved clock: viewing dates for future months is simpler now (click an arrow instead of using the clumsy drop menu).
-Vista icons: Way better looking icons can be downloaded off the net and can be resized to large or small on the fly.
-Folder navigation is better.
-Program specific volume controls: I love being able to silence a game and listen to music on the fly with just a few button clicks. Some games allow you to silence the volume but you have to go through a ton of menus.
-Window previews on the task bar by hovering your mouse...again, very neat.
-ReadyBoost.
-DVD burning in Windows Explorer.
-When you use large icons on the task bar, the tray apps appear as two lines instead of one, saving some task bar space.

Because, then you are killing animals for no reason, which is the antithesis of a video game hero.

Let's not oversimplify the discussion.

Incidently, I'll be partying there this Saturday for my birthday at the Abbey... private room and all :)

LOL, ok I guess I do mean to hate.

This is unnecessary in my view.

/sarcasm off

We won't know how pervasive a practice it is to ship tiny items in ginormous boxes unless people ask the question and raise concerns. I think this entire discussion is valid and should continue to be investigated... I suspect it is a problem of some significance; it's obviously not the worst problem out there, but seems like one that could be categorized as a "low-hanging fruit" (aka easily solved perhaps?).

I think it is appropriate to call on corporations to conserve on packaging whether its boxing or wrapping. If every 2GB flash drive were shipping in a huge box, it does have a huge impact given the millions (maybe billions?) of packages shipped daily. I share people's concern about relying on data to make informed decisions, but I don't think data exists as to how many products are shipped using over sized boxes - at this point is is a common sense issue. Conserving is a better choice than being wasteful.