for the forseeable future we'll be NT4/W2K, especially since we have two DSP boards (sensor acquisition, motor control) to handle the real time stuff.

However, you're not missing anything; although Python does simple COM with ease, COM does seem like a typical first class MS hack job. I'm trying to minimize my COM knowledge, too; I just hope I don't run into any really weird COM problems.

It's quite likely I'll have some general Python questions. I need to look into imports and scoping in some more depth.

Tony