and NO, WGA had nothing to do with this
Got rid of the fancy XP effects soon after installation, and decided to continue with my RAM conservation ways.
Ha, you think XP is fancy? Try Vista >.<
Idea: Instead of sacrificing every little feature (eg desktop) just buy some more RAM :S
LOL Yeah, I'm aware of Vista's desktop gfx. Looks nice - similar to Kubuntu Linux's Plasma interface...hmmm !!
Still, only a matter of time before a nice looking desktop loses its appeal, and performance efficiency wins out imo.
True say, buying more RAM is an answer, and I don't really need to strip my desktop as I have enough RAM to accommodate.
Its more a habit from my MS-DOS and Win9x days, where memory management meant the difference between successfully loading a game or not.
So I don't see any harm in porting those ideas to the current generation of o/s'. I find it easier to manage any stray taskbar, tray apps, or potential mal/spyware that like to sneak on.