I would never use any software that is a .0 (dot zero) version.  Basically, you become the guinea pig that finds all of the problems.

I would at least wait until SP1 (service pack 1) and probably SP2.

GeoPappas that is why leaf is asking you about it.

I guess that I should have also prefaced my statement with the fact that I have been in the computer business for over 20 years.� And if I wouldn't touch it, then I wouldn't recommend anyone else do it either.

But there will always be those "cowboys" that will be on the "bleeding edge"...

Personally I wouldn't use a beta OS on a primary machine   If you have a spare machine, or even just a spare drive (they're so cheap now) you can swap in, I'd suggest you give it a shot.  That way you have some idea how it works, and whether or not you like it, before it's out.

I think the whole "wait for the 1st or 2nd SP" thing is way overblown.  I might use that caution when deploying in a business environment, but for home use it doesn't make sense to me.  If there's some new app/release that has features I want, I'll wait till it's out long enough that I can read a few reviews on it, and if it sounds good I pick it up.  I wouldn't call myself a cowboy, although I do love old Clint Eastwood westerns.  I just know if something "breaks" because of some software on my machine, I can fix it easily enough.  Or I play with it in a sandbox where it can't do any damage anyway.

For an OS, I would suggest taking note of the important apps you use (anti-virus, PS, etc), make a note of your hardware, then after Vista is out, search around to see if anybody is running into any issues.  I remember when XP came out, there were lots of little driver problems, and some apps just wouldn't run.  But most of those problems were resolved within a period of weeks/months (way before any SP was released).

Good luck,

Kevin