adding to the list --

[fox]

-- of things I need but can't really afford:

My computer is beginning the long slow slide into oblivion.  It's on its second hard drive, who knows how many times we've replaced the memory, the CD-ROM drive has a finicky operation involving a screwdriver just to get it to open up, and random applications have random glitches that are just annoying now, but will eventually get to where they seriously impede operation.  (Oh, and the USB ports have lately decided they're not high speed after all, except that they eventually get over their snit and operate the 2.0 devices anyway.)  This laptop is four years old and has been used heavily in that time, so I'm not that surprised.  The questions are these:

1. Should I replace it with a similar model and risk ending up with Vista (this one has XP Pro), or switch back to Mac?  (and if I switch back to Mac, will I be able to transfer most if not all of my stuff from this one over to it?)
   
2. How, I wonder, will I pay for it?  (Likely answer:  educators' discount -- I love that I am legally "faculty" -- and financing, baby!)

Comments

[tangleofthorns.livejournal.com]

Vista isn't bad at all if you just take the time to adjust the settings (and disable a lot of its automation).

[daktaklakpak.livejournal.com]

If you like Mac, you will probably like Vista better than XP. It's seriously paying homage to some of the OSX features. Does take a little tweaking to make it less of a nag, but not too bad.

Also, if you find yourself frequently having to replace the memory on your computer, might I recommend crucial.com? Good prices, fairly good performance on their parts, and a lifetime warranty!

Can't help much with paying for it part...

[kmg-365.livejournal.com]

You can buy a new Dell for about $400. Chances of buying any Mac for anywhere near that would be highly unlikely. Oops...I forgot...Macs use better plastics when building their computers. *groan*

Most computers at low price points are shipping with Vista. If you still have your installation media from your current machine, you could always install Windows XP on the new machine, if you have the time to do it.

The only complaint I had about Vista was that Adobe made no effort to certify their existing applications on it, so we ended up having to shell out a lot of money for new software for my wife. Other than that, the anti-Vista commercials featuring PC Guy, while cute the first time, have little basis in reality.

[jgesteve.livejournal.com]

I'll jump on the Vista isn't all that bad bandwagon. My desktop is Vista and while there were certainly annoyances out of the box, I can gladly help you tweak a Vista box to turn off certain things.