Quote:
Originally posted by baltassoc
XP is still the standard. Vista, the next version, is scheduled to come out Q1 2007. Some manufacturers are already selling computers as "Vista-ready." If you are going to interested in upgrading, you're going to need to buy a machine considerablely more powerful than what would be necessary to run the programs you listed (which would be okay on just about anything you can pick up today).
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I had a minute, so I looked it up. To run a full version of Vista (there will be cut down versions available), you'll need a 128mb graphics card (surprisingly, to me anyway), a fairly decent processor (MS says Pentium M or above - I think you'd be happier with a Intel Dual Core), 512MB internal memory (but everyone says
at least 1GB, and the biggest hard drive you can find (at least 80MB - you'l have a hard time finding something bigger in a notebook that's not a big price jump).
I've also heard good things about Dells, although I've also seen a lot of complaints lately (really lately). The Dell M710 is pretty much the standard for corporate America these days (a client just bought 1200 of them a few months ago), but doesn't seem to have enough power for Vista. It's a really good combination of size, weight and power (I used to have the predecessor, the M610, as my work computer). HP/Compaq laptops suck ass. Sony's are cool, but somewhat fragile. ThinkPads, no longer made by IBM, have a reputation of being pretty rock solid, but are definitely expensive for the specifications.
And of course, the new MacBook will boot Windows XP, you you could use either operating system with it. But XP has to be purchased seperately.
