Well..I have windows 7 now...and I love it....it is pretty stable...and the few software conflicts I have had are easily fixable....

Personally, especially in light of your project that you mentioned...I would just get another one....

Blu ray burners are already out now....

One thing I like about windows 7...and apparently Vista has it too...is that there is a tool that makes creating a dual boot system very easy...the problem is if you want to install an older OS you would need to install that first and windows 7 next....else it won't be recognised.