<p>Many new college students -- especially those who share computers with other family members at home -- will need to get a new computer for college.</p>
<p>But right now is an awkward time for computer buying because most of the new computers have Windows Vista on them, but much of the world -- including some colleges -- is not yet ready for Vista.</p>
<p>If your child needs to get a new computer for college, how is your family handling this situation?</p>
<p>(Just a suggestion, but perhaps this thread may be more readable if people who believe that no new college student should ever buy a new computer under any circumstances and those who believe that college students should not own computers at all would post those thoughts in a different thread. We have had other threads recently where people who had already decided to do something and who were seeking guidance on how best to accomplish it (ship bicycles to college, buy winter boots out of season, etc.) were inundated with posts from those who think that nobody should ever do the thing in question. The OP's question tends to get lost in threads of that sort.)</p>
<p>Marian,
my DS's computer crashed during spring break of this year. Its a long saga, but it was decided that we'd buy him a new laptop to finish up his freshman year since repairs could take up to 6 weeks. So he went back with a new laptop running Vista. It did create problems for him as many programs he was required to use were not yet supported by Vista. So he's hobbled together a working system, using school computers when he has to, but he's able to write papers, do on line stuff etc on his own laptop. I understand that really computer savy students run dual operating systems. I don't know if my DS figured out how to run dual opertaing systems but he knew it was an option. (He'll be home at the end of the week and I can update you further on how its worked for him - I don't want to bother him now cuz he seems really stressed by finals). When he first returned to school his biggest disappointment was that Itunes would not work with Vista. I'm not sure if that issue has been solved.</p>
<p>I had my sons check with their new schools. Both will be vista ready by this fall when they enter. Dell still sells computers with XP installed if you really need that.</p>
<p>One son is very literate and has his MacBook running XP, Linux, and Mac OS. GEEZ. Dang engineers LOL</p>
<p>We just bought a new laptop running XP for our daughter. There are still good ones out there, but I have noticed that there are not as many as there were a few weeks ago. So, if you have decided on XP and do not want to be limited to Dell, I would purchase sooner rather then later.</p>
<p>BTW don't buy Virus software for the new XP or Vista machine without checking with the college. USC provides Norton/Symantec free to students to download. Might save you $40 there.</p>
<p>We have checked, and they say they are upgrading "within the next few months." No commitment has been made as to whether the upgrade will be completed before the new students arrive. It seems that an attempt at upgrading has already been made, but that Vista won't work with certain crucial applications (like the course enrollment application). My husband is convinced that the college will be ready by the start of fall semester -- primarily because the college store is selling kids computers with Vista on them, and that's one heck of a hint. </p>
<p>I think we will get the Vista-equipped laptop since there is an old non-Vista desktop available that my daughter could take with her if necessary. But I really don't want to send that desktop with her because it will take up so much room in the car that we will have to ship some of her other possessions to her at considerable expense. Also, she really doesn't want to be trapped in her room by a desktop, which is a reasonable concern.</p>
<p>My son just bought a macbook, sweet little laptop w/two GIG ram. We didn't find it to be significantly more expensive than PC laptops, and the Vista problem will not be applicable. ;)</p>
<p>From one LAC's website:
At this time, ITS is recommending that you NOT install Vista on your personal/home computers. In addition, ITS will NOT be installing Windows Vista on institutional computers for the fall of 2007.</p>
<p>ITS has been testing Vista extensively since last fall in order to develop a support model and to fully test compatibility with hardware and software used on campus. We, and other colleges, have found issues. Because this is a major upgrade to the operating system, bugs and incompatibilities are inevitable. Once sufficient testing is complete, recommendations will be developed to provide the best user experience.</p>
<p>They then go on to tell you what to do if you do have Vista on your computer.</p>
<p>Me neither. I'm a freelance editor with several clients, none of whom has asked me to switch to Vista yet. But they will eventually, and I don't wanna switch. WAAAAAAH!!!</p>
<p>We wrestled with this problem here, too. S (and the rest of the family, for that matter) has only ever used PCs and he was eager to try out Vista, but we were worried about compatibility with his existing software and some hardware, as well as whether his college would be up and running with Vista by the fall. We ended up taking the plunge and buying him a MacBook and he loves it! I worried about whether he'd have trouble with an OS that he wasn't used to, but the learning curve wasn't steep and he is enjoying discovering new features. The higher cost was a concern but I think we made the right decision. I'm even considering switching to a Mac myself! :)</p>
<p>Even if you buy a new laptop with XP I recommend you get a "Vista Ready" laptop so that someday it can be upgraded to Vista. A "Vista Ready" laptop is supposed to mean that all of the hardware components are compatible with Vista.</p>
<p>I'm not running Vista yet but my next purchase will have it. I'm not too worried about it. A friend of mine has Vista installed on a few systems and doesn't have any issues with it.</p>
<p>I hear your frustration and I could rant all day about Vista, and dread the day that my laptop gives out and I need to upgrade....</p>
<p>That being said, my totally computer-phobic ex-husband had to upgrade because the mother board failed on his old computer, and somehow he has managed to survive with Vista ... so it is manageable. Most commercial software programs have been upgraded to be Vista-compatible -- I think the bigger problem is going to be for those of us running older software or shareware. </p>
<p>However, I think its a mistake to NOT buy the latest operating system available for a computer. Yes, there will be bugs & compatibility issues, but all new software is going to be developed for the new OS -- so essentially XP is on a shorter path to becoming obsolete. I wouldn't spend $1000 on a new computer with a soon-to-be-obsolete operating system, even if I liked the old OS better. Keep in mind that the hardware (hard drives, etc.) on computers usually doesn't last much more than 3 years -- so as each year goes by, a much higher percentage of personal computers will be running Vista. Assuming that you go with a PC/Windows computer, if you want your son to be happy with his computer 2 years down the line... buy Vista. </p>
<p>One more piece of advice: if you do get Vista, buy extra RAM for the computer -- loading up with RAM is more important than any other special feature or add/on you might opt for, because Vista is a huge resource hog. So whatever they recommend as a minimum for Vista....you want more.</p>
<p>I do believe that Vista can run older software using some sort of "compatibility mode" -- so with a few quirks, it should be manageable.</p>
<p>I don't understand the big deal with Vista. I have it, and it's incredibly similar to XP. Nothing seems incredibly different. I made the switch with zero problems.</p>
<p>That's great, AM17, but if you were a student at my daughter's prospective college, you would find that you could not access the college's computer system, which is used for things like course enrollment. It's not Vista-compatible. This is the sort of thing that some colleges are still working on fixing, and it could be a problem for students bringing Vista-equipped computers to campus this fall if the colleges aren't ready in time.</p>
<p>My husband says that part of the problem is that Vista actually has decent security but that some of the older systems that aren't compatible with it have had stuff added to them right and left and are therefore full of security glitches. That makes sense, I think.</p>
<p>The Vista issue has made my D very happy, as it means she's getting a MacBook instead. She'll have to rely on school IT folks for tech support, since my h and I don't speak Apple-ese. OTOH, big bro has a Mac running all three OS like some of the above posters, so he can be tech support.</p>