Windows Vista Anyone?

Rhyme - Thanks for keeping your response in layman's terms!

Naturallight - Get a haircut hippy!

I believe I'm sticking with XP Pro. The demand on system resources is lower than with Vista, and access to drivers and things like that is superior.

Vista tends to require higher video adapter specs for optimal performance with the new visual effects, a lot of older laptops will probably not deal with it very well. The only real benefit that I have seen with some versions of vista is the implementation of shadow copy on a desktop level. Effectively this takes snapshots of your drive at various defined points so you can do easy disk based restores of individual files if you accidentally delete or mangle them. I don't think this is included in all versions of vista though, so buyers beware. When considering vista, bear in mind Microsoft's track record of product releases and their initial lack of stability, very few corporate users are considering widespread use of vista, at least for a year or two so the initial bugs can be worked out.

Vista is all aesthetics, it wouldn't be worth it if it cost 40$...

XP is fine.

Someone recommended a Mac and I will highly recommend it too. I never ever thought I would buy a Mac, but I did and I only have good things to say.
If you miss MS Office too much, you can get a copy at your school of choice for cheap.

Cool, thanks for the feedback everyone.

The reason I was asking is that NYU offers free tech support of varying degrees based on how your computer is configured. I forget the names but it's something like "Basic Support" if you don't have their recommended configuration, then something like "Advanced Support" if you have their recommended configuration, and then something like "Premium Support" if you meet additional requirements, one of which is running Vista, so I was wondering if this is their way of pushing people to adopt Vista.

But really, I know Excel pretty well and am comfortable with the XP version, don't feel like relearning everything and dealing with that funky looking interface.

Id go mac too if it werent for the lack of thumbstick.... I'm so used to my lenovo thumbstick, id be irritated by anything else.

Ha! This is what my coworkers say to me! (It actually freaked me out--I thought you were one of my coworkers for a second)

Yeah, my school doesn't officially support Macs, but I've been talking to a few students, and they say it's been fine. The only program they need is MS Office. And I think there's a few stats programs that only run on Windows, so they flip over using bootcamp or parallels.

stick with XP
The only thing I found appealing about vista is the chess game and its graphics that come along but you can always download free ones at sourceforge hence I will say stick to XP

Johnny - they do offer mac support, though expect a macbook pro (which is great, but at least 20x too powerful for half the stuff they will ask us to use it for).

Hence, I think I am getting a mac. The PC laptop will still be with, and will offer a handy home machine for internet and other stuff for the good lady.

Strangest thing is that NYU measure the move to "standard" as being 15" screen. So noone is going to have much lightweight in class.

If anyone want to buy a labtop now, wait until after Intel come out with new Santa Rosa mobile platform on May 9...

I'm not sure if it will be any significantly different from the current Core 2 Mobile. Stay tone...

ghibi!

There is no demand anywhere for you to use Vista, until MS pre-installs it on a new PC or laptop for you.

Technically speaking, you don't even need to use it when MS pre-installs. It is legal for you to install a previous version using the same license. So you could wipe Vista and install XP Pro if you had the inclination, most corps do at this point.

Seriously? Does it have to be a comparable version? For example, if I get a new computer with Vista Home Premium, could I just re-load it with XP Pro, or would I have to get Vista Business to switch to Pro?

Also, is this part of the corporate licensing, or is it available to consumers as well?

I am not sure regarding going from vista home to XP pro, our techs usually stay with comparable versions. I will ask our licensing person if this applies to retail as well as our corporate circumstances in the morning, though I am willing to bet that it does.

Corps mainly buy from OEMs such as HP and Dell, and request for XP if the corps want XP, unless these OEMs does not provide them XP for *whatever* reason. The reason is that, XP license currently should be cheaper than Vista, so why would they choose the Vista in volume license at first and not use it?

As a consumer, it is even dumber. XP is cheaper than Vista. Not a sensed person will buy a new PC pre-installed with Vista ( remember you pay MS for the original license ), and wipe the Vista and use XP later. You'd better off just buy a PC without any OS installed, or just request to install XP.

There is another way around. Remember there was a UK guy who didn't agree to the Windows license and clicked No on the first use, and he couldn't use the PC. Then he asked Dell to pay him back the 50 pounds, and Dell did so. then he installed Linux. Of course someone may install *other* versions after that.

Just a note: among all the Vista versions, only the Ultimate is worth it. You'll find limitations in other versions and find them slimmed down from Ultimate. You only find Ultimate on the streets of China.

Your post makes zero sense. First of all, there are plenty of places to buy Vista Ultimate other than the streets of China.

I also don't think you understood the point of the prior person's post. He said that you could get a new computer with vista, then load XP onto it. You wouldn't have to pay for XP again - he claims that the Vista license entitles you to load XP instead. At some point down the road, you would still be entitled to reload Vista. If you have a copy of XP Pro lying around, then this would be a good way to continue using XP for a while, but then switch to Vista sometime in the future when you are ready - without buying Vista again. This would make more sense than buying XP now, and then paying again for Vista down the road - provided what piper said was true.

It's also not correct that XP is cheaper than Vista. When installed on a new computer. Vista Home Basic and Vista Home Premium are both cheaper than XP Pro; and Vista Business is the same price. I do not agree with your assertion that Vista Ultimate is the only version worth having; the added features over Vista Business are of no consequence to what I plan to do with my business school laptop. Again, if you are entitled to load XP onto systems with Vista licenses, why not do that?

Also, it's really difficult to buy a PC without any OS installed, and it's substantially cheaper to buy the OS along with the computer. Full versions of either XP Pro or Vista Business cost $250+, far more than if included as part of a new system. I find this suggestion to be totally asinine and off point.

Again, the question is if you purchase a new computer with a consumer license for Vista, does the license also grant you the right to install and run XP instead - until such time when you are ready to reload Vista. I look forward to hearing what Piper finds out.