About Vista...
When you order your new computer you may be able to specify WinXP although Vista will be available tomorrow. If they will load WinXP and give you a free upgrade to Vista (later) that may be an option you wish to exercise.
If you do get Vista, make sure it is at the very least Home Premium, not Home Basic.
As installed, there are differences in the interface between XP and Vista but Vista does offer a "classic" view if you have difficulty with or don't like the new Vista one.
As long as you keep it updated, and there will be lots of updates as bugs will be found, you should be OK. Just keep in mind that you, as one of the early public purchasers, are the real Beta testers.
You might also want to download Firefox 2.0 as a browser instead of IE 7 which comes with Vista. Firefox is known to be a bit more secure and is generally patched much more quickly than Microsoft products.
You computer-geeks drive me crazy! I'm still trying to figure out exactly what the "shift" button is for. Is that when you want the defense to change from a 4 - 3 defense to the nickel defense? Sorry, Couldn't pass it up! HI, YA'LL !
Thanks for your suggestions, OND.
We just got home from ordering the computer, which will be here Wednesday, and this one is still limping along. Unfortunately we left before I read your message and so I didn't ask which version of Vista we're getting.
The reviews I've read are pretty negative and my brother mentioned we'll need to make fixes. This is all Greek to me and I sure wish my 13 year old niece lived closer by because she'd be able to help me :-)
Anyway, this is my second message to you because the first one didn't go through. Limping along is probably the kind way to describe this computer.
On a side note, we used up gift certificates to Barnes and Noble today and I got 4 books (mostly about the WOT and politics) and my husband got 5 books, so we did pretty well. Maybe in between bashing our heads into the wall over learning a new operating system and installing a new hard drive, we can read and actually relax a little :-)
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/175801
The above link takes you to an article about Vista. Not good. Sounds as if your computer is no longer your own.
Thanks! I'm getting a new laptop in a few weeks and I needed to know this stuff. I've been really confused about it. I remember when Windows 95 came out, many advised us not to get it. Perhaps it is the same with Vista. You are right about the early buyers being the real beta-testers. I didn't switch to 95 right away and I'm glad I waited.