Joe O -

I have used nothing but Microsoft for personal purposes since DOS 3.5. (I have used numerous other systems, from CP/M thru Apollo and Catia Workstation, and a fairly wide variety of productivity programs.)

Having spent ~40 years learning to use MS-DOS, Windows, and Office effectively and professionally I am OFFENDED that Vista is a clumsy beast; but with the exception of a total absence of a useful Search function for finding files on my computer, or for finding content within files, I can (and do) live with Vista. It does have some helpful features.

While I think Microsoft sort of screwed things up (and they do too since they've fired or demoted every manager who participated in developing Vista, according to my friends there) it's "usable" and in some ways "improved."

Attempting to use Office 2007, and specifically Word 2007, is simply disgusting. They have very nearly rendered Word, traditionally their FLAGSHIP productivity product, unusable (except perhaps by children and magazine editors who place few demands on "quality of output").

CupOfTea -

Although there is a "downgrade option" for purchasers of a computer with Vista installed to legally use WinXP on the computer under certain conditions, in general the common Vista versions DO NOT QUALIFY for the downgrade.

You generally (for now) must purchase OEM Vista Business or OEM Vista Ultimate on the original computer in order to qualify for the downgrade of a single computer license. Either of the "qualifying versions" is at least twice the cost of the more common Vista Home or Vista Home Premium versions. An OEM seller who thinks it will make the sale may install Home premium and "eat the charge" for the upgrade to Vista Business as part of the "downgrade," but the most common Home Premium is not (this week anyway) "downgradable."

A few "Gold Tier" OEM makers are permitted to make limited modifications to the EULA, and may be able to offer a downgrade with Vista Home Premium, but I haven't confirmed any.

Other versions may qualify to legally downgrade to WinXP if purchased under an "Open License" agreement (usually ten machines, minimum, to qualified buyers who must prove they're capable of providing their own support) or under one of the other license forms available to "volume users."

There have been rather strict limitations on the time during which OEM builders can offer the downgrade, even if you pay the extra for the Business or Ultimate versions. Recent changes have (sort of) extended the "end-dates" when OEM suppliers must stop offering the downgrade option, but make it appear that making long range plans to buy "with downgrade" is not a very safe to do.

If you are hoping to purchase a new computer with the downgrade option, you should bookmark Downgrade Details at Microsoft and check frequently for the "current rules." This site doesn't actually tell you anything, but has a link to download a .doc chart of the current rules. You likely can't afford (I can't!) anything except what's on the bottom row of the chart (OEM).

Note that if you buy an FPP (Full Purchase Package) retail package off the shelf from any retail supplier, there currently are NO VERSIONS that permit legal downgrades.

With the recent Vista SP1, quite a few of the startup annoyances have been "tempered," and if you're buying a new computer now or in the near future I would (somewhat reluctantly) recommend that you simply go ahead and get Vista, and do the fairly reasonable bit of work required to learn to drive it. It is slightly more stable, and significantly "more secure" for most users than even WinXP. If you can turn off some of the exotic play-toy visuals, you'll see very little real differences between the Vista features you'll actually use and what you've been used to with WinXP.

The downgrade to WinXP is really justified only if you have significant "obsolete" software that you must continue to run, and/or if you have peripheral/connected incompatible devices that you can't find drivers for. Microsoft has an extensive list now of "Vista compatible" programs that you can check to see if any of your software should be a problem, and most device sellers can advise you about printers/scanners etc that might have trouble.

All of my WinXP programs with the exception of a rather old Roxio CD burner ran just fine on Vista. ONE scanner (of 3) was unusable, and one printer required me to substitute a driver for a different (newer) printer that lacks a couple of features that I've missed.

If your requirements are very basic Vista Home Basic may be sufficient, but Vista Home Premium adds enough "tools" to make support and maintenance a lot easier for your support person(s) (even if you do it yourself). I've seen very few OEM sellers recently offering anything but Home Premium on even the cheapest machines.

Vista Home Premium allows you to "synchronize" small devices, like mp3 players etc, with files on your computer, but isn't really capable of synchronizing files between laptop and desktop (or server) hard drives. If you may need to synch between a home desktop and a laptop you might benefit from stepping up to Vista Business.

If you are very much into multimedia and/or gaming in multiple forms/formats, you might possibly want to consider Vista Ultimate, but I haven't known anyone that strange (who will admit to it). If this is of interest, you'll want to get a very good computer to put your Vista on.

Almost no computer purchased with WinXP or any earlier version is going to be physically capable of running Vista well. There are exceptions, of course, but most of us couldn't afford all those extras when we got the older ones. To "go Vista" most of us really need to buy a "more modern" computer.

John