<p>Would you guys recommend getting xp pro or vista on a new thinkpad?</p>
<p>It's a tough call. Much of the University (Wharton included) is migrating to Vista this summer. If it comes preinstalled (and you know all the drivers, hardware, etc are going to work) I'd go with Vista, but if you've got an older laptop, I'd leave it with xp. A new thinkpad? Vista.</p>
<p>There have been some compatibility problems for some programs, but these are mainly things that affect staff members and their software. One area of note: the wireless software Penn uses for encryption and authentication (SecureW2) has seen mixed results on Vista, apparently working on some chipsets and not on others. FWIW, I have a thinkpad, and I upgraded to Vista the day it came out. I installed the existing Xp-version SecureW2 and had no problem with the wireless.</p>
<p>Also recommended: Office 2007 over 2003. People are beginning to use the newer version, and it's quite nice.</p>
<p>And disregard anything JohnnyK says about Macs. He gets paid to promote them by word count :-)</p>
<p>If you're buying a new one, Vista will be pre-installed. It's a nice piece of software to have.</p>
<p>on the thinkpad t60p you have a choice if you get it from computer connection.</p>
<p>Just choose the damn Vista. If you can, buy an iPhone or an iPod or an iMac.</p>
<p>I'll take my stable XP over a piece of crap Vista any day. Wait until they work the kinks and features out. Vista is a needless RAM-eater and spacehog, and really, XP will do what you need to do without nearly as much fuss.</p>
<p>Office 2007 has a newer interface, but that's the only "downside" (you have to relearn how to work the menus), but it does a lot more than previous versions.</p>
<p>Currently we provide support for wired/wireless connections for XP obviously as well as Vista via SecureW2, so that is not really the issue. It depends on what you plan to use your computer for. Vista will load things a bit faster than XP, but in my experience as well as the experiences of many of my fellow ITAs, Vista right now is not really worth the cost. XP is really quite sufficient, and you don't want to run the risk of compatibility issues. Wait a bit for Vista and save the money. Besides, the "fancy interface" of Vista has got nothing on Beryl for Linux, oh ho hooo.</p>
<p>Buy a Mac and get an iPod FREE! ^_^</p>
<p>iAppler is not my secondary user ID btw :P</p>
<p>I would indeed recommend Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" over Windows XP or Vista (and just wait til 10.5 "Leopard" comes out!).</p>
<p>And technically, I'm not the Apple Campus Rep at Penn now so no I don't get paid anymore. Now I do it simply because it is a better way to do computing and I consider getting people out of Windows to be a public service :)</p>
<p>if you're an engineer and want to be cheap about it, assuming you want vista and a vista-configured option is more expensive than an xp-configured option, just get the cheapest os available, and then download a free copy of vista business from penn's engineering-only microsoft subscription services.</p>
<p>this of course assumes you have the time / resources to rebuild your system and ensure compatibility, but... yeah...</p>
<p>You could get those Dells that come with Ubuntu or even FreeDOS and put that Vista on it.</p>
<p>...or a MacBook ;)</p>
<p>vista is awesome. the only problem i have is that it runs slower than xp.</p>
<p>mattwonder, are you sure that they are upgrading to Vista this summer. From what I was told, they are holding off to upgrade until at least Service Pack 1 is released.</p>
<p>Get the cheapest option possible is my advice. Then just ask an engineering friend to download Vista/XP whatever Microsoft stuff you want from the Microsoft Software Alliance site.</p>
<p>I have a copy of what you're all going to be getting in the mail shortly (I am an ITA). The official advice is to get Vista if you're getting a new computer. Vista Home Basic will <em>not</em> be supported, though. However, you can still connect with XP, so if you are really unsure about Vista, you will still be fine with XP or Mac OS. </p>
<p>Over time, compatibility issues will be hammered out with Vista (for this reason alone I prefer XP right now), but that's where things stand.</p>
<p>whats the recommendation on notebook size? the dell m1330 (<a href="http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m1330?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs%5B/url%5D">http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m1330?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs</a>) looks very hot. the only problem is that its a 13" and the video card is "only" 128MB Nvidia 8400m. </p>
<p>is 13" OK for a laptop screen? or is it portability (4lbs) at the expense of power (especially because it needs to last for four years)</p>
<p>You're in Wharton. Get a thinkpad. Probably the one for $2000 if you do fancy stuff on it.</p>
<p>Buy a Mac and get an iPod for free!</p>