Correct me if I'm wrong, but done we need a floppy to load XP drivers?

As for the IDE channels, it probably depends on what hardware you have. Personally, I need at least one for cdrom/dvd stuff and would hate to see them go completely. Other than that, I dont really see the benefit of having one vs two. I can't imagine there would be much of a cost benefit. So why not leave it at two.

I could also use more SATA channels, but I cant see why you'd have to get rid of the IDE channels to do that.