The quick anser is to ask if you can get the laptop with no OS installed on it. The only usefully thing Dell installs on there laptops. Is the app that sits on the tool bar and lets you know when new firmware and bios updates are ready for download.
The upside of installing what ever OS you want is you don't have to dork with trying to find the OEM Windows install CD. Which leads to using a off the shelf Windows install CD and fighting with Genuine Advantage. As I call it Genuine pain in my *** or Genuine Disadvantage. -Miller On 2/13/07, Jason LaPier <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Man, you guys can rant with the best of em. ;) I'm out of town so I had to skim through most of this, but thought I would throw my small amount of own fuel on the fire: (a) Out of curiousity, I looked up Vista on Amazon: Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate FULL VERSION [DVD] , $379.99 http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Windows-Vista-Ultimate-VERSION/dp/B000HC TYTE/sr=8-3/qid=1171389315/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/103-6434852-9784658?ie=UTF8&s =software My favorite part? Buy together with Office Ultimate 2007 for $974.98. I really, really, want to know how many people would buy that combo on Amazon - I mean, they offer it - someone must be buying it, right? No? Well, whoever they are, they've got to be the most productive people on the planet, having such ulimate software. (b) On the subject of outdated systems, I'm at a conference hosted by the Office of Special Education Programs (part of the Dept of Ed) - one of the OSEP guys brought a spare laptop (and not an ancient one), to use for presenting, and it still had Windows 2000 on it. If you can count on anyone to hold onto an OS for as long as technologically possible, it's the US Gov't. (c) I bought a new Inspiron 9400 for one of my co-workers January 22nd with XP on it. 10 days later, I tried to order the exact same model and they were only offering it with Vista. I contacted our Dell rep and she said the Inspirons are only shipping with Vista now. I don't like to be bullied into an OS - especially one that hasn't been around long enough to get many bugs worked out of it, from a company notorious for shipping buggy/security-hole-laden software. (many other vendors aside from Dell have laptop models that only come with Vista - especially if you're looking for a 17" laptop) - Jason L. _______________________________________________ EUGLUG mailing list [email protected] http://www.euglug.org/mailman/listinfo/euglug
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