I say, if you don't run software that needs XP I would stay with 98SE. It seems to be about as stable as Microsoft gets as long as you have the fix packs installed. Most security exposure is still in stuff you download and open. If you don't feel the urge to open every strange file you get in your ionbox you are usually fine without a lot of extra software. Use a hardware firewall. Less hassle and you cover your whole network with one box.
