When you speak of upgrading "my Dell computer", you're not speaking of installing an upgrade over top of XP are you? If so, I misunderstand, so disregard the rest of my post. :) So I'm assuming you intend to purchase a retail version of Windows 7 and do a clean install. In the first line of your post you mention 512 MB of RAM, a date, and then 2.00 GB of RAM. Does that mean it now has 2.00 GB of RAM or maybe 2 1/2 GB of RAM? Either way, I'm no expert but I'd think 512 MB is less than enough, but either 2 or 2 1/2 GB would be fine. I don't know much about Office, but wasn't Office 2003 was the last version that had the old style menu, before the newfangled ribbon came along. According to this, your Office 2002 would not be compatible but according to this, Office 2003 would be. Would your 2002 macros work in 2003? I don't know. Would it be worth the expense of buying a retail version of Windows 7, as well as Office 2003(or at least Word)? To me, probably not, to you, only you can decide. Personally, since it works, I'd probably just continue using it. Continue running a good real-time AV, occasionally scanning with a couple on-demand malware tools(Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware come to mind), use Firefox or Chrome(lie detected), using the WOT add-on(trusting it somewhat less than fully), and being careful what I open(email) and what I install. Just my opinion though. Edit: GrammerGrammar Edit2: Spelling This post was edited by chuggerguy on Thu, Jan 23, 14 at 3:10

It is likely going to cost you far more than $5,000 to change cabinets out later. It will also be a hassle after moving into a new place to rip out old ones, find new ones that fit the old boxes (if you do/can keep boxes...if you can’t, add a lot more than $5,000), what happens if there is damage to boxes or backsplash or counter during - lol, add another few thousand dollars! Add labour costs if you are hiring labour too. Soft close on drawers I would do during the build. Soft close on cabinets you can easily add yourself after closing if you want, depends how much builder is charging for that line item if worth it to you. Another factor to consider might be whether you can roll that $5,000 into mortgage or it will be cash out of pocket. If $5,000 will get you what you really want now, then go for it. But if you are going to be compromising even going with the $5,000 upgrade, stick with the “included cabinets” and save your pennies for new cabinets later on. Down the road later on. I can’t tell you if that $5,000 is really that high or not. They don’t warehouse cabinets - they order them at a certain timeline in build, but the builder would have priced out package based on their “standards” where they also usually get bulk discounts as they use them in most homes they build. Yours are a special request upgrade not factored into their pricing. If $5,000 is reasonable or unreasonable really all depends on what the quality differences are, how much cabinetry you have, etc. Cabinets are expensive. Shaker (painted MDF) were standard with my builder which was fine as it is what I wanted and am happy with their manufacturer and construction. But I added a tall pantry cabinet and that was about $2200 CAD. Soft close for drawers (I think ~20 drawers in house) was $270 CAD. Soft close on cabinets (~28 in house) was $400 CAD. It was worth it to us to have it done for close rather than do it after.

Evolution, For what it's worth, I happen to really like your product concept which leads to a quick story.... About 15 years ago (give or take a couple), a guy i was working with on a project asked me to help him out with an idea that he had about hurricane protection shutters. His thinking was that the major downside of shutters and plywood (pretty much 100% at the time) was that they covered the window making it impossible to see in or out. He had the idea of building shutters out of polycarbonate that wouldn't ever have to be removed from fixed windows, and when installed over any window wouldn't block the light or the view. My thinking was that he had a heck of a good idea and I offered encouragement and helped him with a few simple calculations and some minor proof of concept ideas. We lost contact not long after and I THINK he was contemplating moving to florida, but don't recall for certain. Anyway my point was that I had to wonder when I was looking at your website. Have to admit it made me wonder... To questions/comments.... 1) Nothing involving storm protection (or bullets, or bombs, etc) is proof. Resistant, yes, proof, no. Laminated glass is shatter-resistant, that's what it's for and there are required tests that exist to confirm. A dual pane impact window is with very few exceptions manufactured with one laminated lite and one non-laminated lite. As I mentioned previously, it's possible for the laminated lite to be mounted as interior or exterior, often depending on how the glass was glazed into the sash. If the laminated lite is inside and the window is broken by an impact then the loose (non laminated) broken glass WILL remain outside the building blocked by the laminated lite that isn't going to shatter. This is the make-up that I personally prefer and would generally recommend, and i have never been shy about telling people that here or real time. If the laminated lite is outside and it takes an impact that is powerful enough to break both windows, then breaking the inner non-laminated lite will result in broken glass inside the home. You have seen the hurricane impact on you tube, so have I, but I haven't seen a video of an impact that shows the glass shattering and flying into a room. In all seriousness I can't find one even though I looked for it. Can you drop a link, I am very curious to see it. I have personally performed, participated in, and/or witnessed impacts over 3000 times. I have also witnessed testing for impacts based on tornado level wind-speeds, but have never performed that test myself. The tornado test is a 12', 15#, 2x4 at 150fps. Interesting thing about the tornado testing was that over half of the impacts that I witnessed (and that was typical), the 2x4 shattered into kindling when it hit the glass and the glass was undamaged. I mentioned earlier that it is entirely possible to manufacture laminated glass that won't break when tested to TAS201 large missile and/or ASTM 1996, any level. I can think of three ways to do it as I type, and while I KNOW for a fact they all work because either I have personally been involved with manufacture and testing it or else coordinated with people who were, they aren't generally available outside of specialized applications. 2} There is no requirement for testing a window for water penetration after impact, primarily because they are two different test requirements from two different agencies. The impact test is all about the product's resistance to penetration by the 2x4. The glass can break, but penetration of the glass isn't allowed. If the interlayer isn't torn then water can't penetrate it, broken glass or not. 3) The requirement for water resistance testing is not related to or is part of the impact test protocol. As mentioned previously, windows are required to be tested for water penetration based on the DP level, and it makes zero difference whether the window is impact resistant or not, other than impact windows often have higher DP than non-impact windows. Although the requirement is based on the DP, this doesn't mean that's the maximum window performance. While I do know specific companies that do test higher than the DP requirement for their impact windows, I have no idea how many actually do so.

Immediate thought, and agrees with WoW, those are 23 year old ProLine windows. That they made it 23 years is a surprise in itself. Second thought, agree with Todd 100% on his questions/concerns. Third thought (actually my initial thought when I read your original post..) .$25 sqft for VIG??? $125 I would say was a great price and $225 I would call reasonable, but $25, including shipping from China? There is no way in hell that I would touch that at any level. Two biggest concerns about VIG's, first is how the edge is sealed since it has to seal a vacuum for years in a potentially very hostile environment in a window system and second would be the pillars separating the glass. VIG space between lites is crazy narrow, about .3mm (3/10's), with the glass panes being held apart using tiny pillars placed every square inch throughout the entire glass area. The pillars are clear but not invisible, you can see them when looking through the glass. I find it distracting, others maybe are fine with it. I truly hate to discourage someone who is trying to be cutting edge and pushing the envelope, but IMO in your situation you would be much better off installing new high performance conventional triple pane windows rather than trying to mesh what you have with what you want in a questionable hybrid of an IG unit. For what it's worth there are very good reasons why IG manufacturers don't use wood spacers when building IG units....there were some that tried 40 years ago, and they are no longer around.