Actually Windows 7 has a lot of new features, mainly geared to the corporate/government environment.
Full IPv6 support(very important for future as all IPv4 addresses are pretty much DEPLETED ; go look it up and you'll see what I mean and how everyone in IT is aware of this and the implications), features like BranchCache (to cache files used on a network often rather than use bandwidth to draw them over a VPN or the LAN over and over), and the desktop OS that will match with the new 64-bit servers that will be coming out... do you know what 64-bit technology means over 32-bit? Look it up if you dont... it means 20 computers put into 1 through virtualization. Imagine the efficiency of putting 20 separate servers into 1 box (and there are ways to mitigate the risk of putting all your eggs in one basket, so to speak... the servers can "morph" to other physical computers whenever they sense trouble... how intelligent is that)
Yeah yeah, this is a probably a bunch of techno gooblygook and to an outsider it means nothing, but the recent changes in the past 2-3 years have been massive in the world of computers. IPv6 alone can change the face of communication, hacking, networking, and everything mobile related as we know it. Whats easier to remember in a pinch... 192.168.1.1 or fe80:8374:0000:3747:bd37:ba03:f9ff:ffff ... yeah thats what I thought too.
To reiterate what DoubtingThomas said... go check out Linux and all the distros that go with it. 1. They're free, 2. They do everything and more that all not-free operating systems do, and 3. Less tracking from whoever wants your information!!!!!!!!!! WHICH IS YOU KNOW WHO!
So don't be intimidated. There are actually Traditional Catholics in the computer world (its my job), and God will be with us always to the end of times, the end of computer times, the end of the worlds time too.