Vista does have a Microsoft provided firewall, which, I understand works for both inbound and outbound data. So no third party firewall should be required. Just be sure the built-in firewall is activated.

It appears use of a simple IR Dongle will fix the situation for the Z22 and W7 64 bit. I see: Syba SD-U1IRDA-NM USB Fast Infra-Red Adapter for about $12 on Amazon. Seems to be the answer, even Palm recommends IR or Bluetooth to support 64 bit applications.

"Both versions of Internet Explorer are included to increase compatibility with existing programs and Web sites. The 32-bit version of Internet Explorer can host only native 32-bit ActiveX controls and other 32-bit Web page objects. The 64-bit version of Internet Explorer can host only native 64-bit ActiveX controls and other 64-bit Web page objects." "If you experience problems when you use the 64-bit version of Internet Explorer, try to view the same Web site by using the 32-bit version of Internet Explorer. If the problem occurs in both versions of Internet Explorer, you must determine whether the problem is caused by a Web object or if the problem is caused by Internet Explorer." Information from link Here is a link that might be useful: 32-bit / 64bit version of Internet Explorer.

the best thing to do is simply go to the website of those programs and see if they have support for windows 7 64 bit, some programs will run just fine on it, some just need another driver and many companies are putting out those drivers on their websites. 32-bit and 64-bit Windows: frequently asked questions If you do some searching around you can also find several places that tell you how you can get the windows xp mode to work on home premium, this is one, also windows secrets newsletter published that info in one of their newsletters a while back so you could search there or just do a google search for more info. Workaround to Install Windows XP Mode in Windows 7 Home Premium and Home Basic Create an XP Mode for Windows 7 Home Versions & Vista the 7 forums is also a wealth of info Here is a link that might be useful: 7forums