[Fuzzball]

Not to be nitpicky, however the kernels for Vista and Server 2008 were never merged; they were always the same NT 6.0 kernel. Server 2008 was even launched with SP1.

To get back on topic, the biggest headache with using Server 2008 as a workstation is the initial config to get some of the Vista functionality, stop some of the server security PITA, and change thread priority. For the most part this is resolved with running the Converter as an administrator.

I suspect most of the driver issues you’ve experienced were due to running the x64 version of 2008. Not all of the manufacturers have gotten off of their butts and written proper x64 drivers. Drivers that were written for Vista x64 will work in Server 2008 x64. I’m even running unsigned x64 drivers for Vista and one of them is still in beta. The driver issues you experienced in Server 2008 x64 would have been the same for Vista x64.

I haven’t had an issue with application compatibility with the exception of one that didn’t want to install on a server OS; a simple modification of the MSI resolves that.

IMHO, running Server 2008 is well worth it. My system runs much more faster with Server 2008 in comparison with Vista. I’ve gone one step further with using XP under VMWare to install infrequently used software and sandbox other untrusted software to keep a more clean host OS.

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