USB flash-based drives is where things are headed, I think - for retail purchases, anyway. Not all of us have fast internet connections (My parents are still on a 1.5Mbit/896Kbps DSL line, 26,000 foot loop when 18,000 feet is the limit) - and Microsoft is VERY much aware of this fact. I could picture a 'current installer' on the drive, but it will auto-download the latest if newer is available. (Or giving you the option, based on your connection speed, as the best of both worlds; perhaps then downloading the updates in the background for immediate install upon finishing installation?) Thumb drives, while more expensive than DVDs, are infinitely more reusable, and update-able. Blu-Ray won't take off simply because A) the cost of the drives and B) they're not a common enough drive. The ONLY person I've known who got one did so only because he makes movies - and for High-Def, that is the current standard used for making disc-based video. (He can then cut it down to DVD after-the-fact) I won't be buying a Blu-Ray device - something with a built-in remote-control suicide switch. I've got a 7Mbit pipe - I'm MORE interested in getting a faster upload - 896Kbps is pitiful. I want 5Mbit, or 10Mbit would be AWESOME!