I am not sure where instability with RH 8 came from, I have had nothing but good experiences with RH 8. Of course I keep all the current updates installed, but it has performed well both as a server (web, email, dns) and as a workstation (all 5 of my computers).

RH9 however appears to be a bit slower or requires more resources. I only installed it on two of my workstations both are 500mhz with 64 and 128 mb RAM and I can definitely see a difference in performance. It does have a few nonsense things like all the help and so forth, but after disabling this, changing the theme of choice and installing icons, I have what I had in 8.

After using it for about 3 days so far, I haven't noticed much that has changed visually. The programs are newer versions, kde is 3.1 (i don't use gnome), openoffice is a newer version and the menu's are layed out differently. But all in all, 7.3 -> 8.0 was a bigger leap than 8.0 -> 9.0

Just thought I would offer my opinions and experiences. Have fun with the penguin!