Replacing the computer (A personal experience)

A subject I have written about before, due to my heavy usage of my laptop(s). But today I got a call from my friend JJ asking about my experience with Windows Vista, as his computer is also overworked and he is in the process of having to replace it.

JJ's first question was what version of Vista I had and could I access our network at work? (We work together.) I have the Vista Home Premium edition and unlike the XP Home version, it automatically finds my work network and allows me full access to everything I should have access to.

I waited awhile when Vista first came out, due to the mixed reviews that were out there; and I wanted others to find and fix the bugs; and finally, I knew my old laptop did not have the power to handle Vista.

All the other computers I have owned had XP Home. I had a back up laptop (Acer) that I started using again last fall when the screen went out on my Toshiba for the second time. In order to get it to work on my work network, our tech guy had to modify some settings and after that, it never worked right again. Blue Screen and Automatic shut downs and all that garbage.


So, on December 31, 2007, after lot's and lot's of research and deliberation with myself and visits to 3 stores in town, I settled on a new laptop from HP. It's their Pavilion dv266ose with Windows Vista Home Premium. Bought it from Best Buy and had them clean it up and set it up for me.

Then I went ahead and very carefully modified it some more and added a few programs. You can read more about those tweaks here and here.

Overall, I'm satisfied with my laptop, so when JJ called I gave him a thumbs up for Windows Vista Home Premium and would do the same for others that use their computers the way JJ and I do.

One note of caution. I discovered that neither of my home printers are compatible with Vista. So, I'll be buying a new All-In-One Printer/Scanner/Copier. Fortunately, I have a friend that sets up business accounts with Office Depot so I'll be able to save some money. (By the way, if you have a business in Northern Indiana, you can get set up for a business account with Office Depot too. Send me an email & I'll connect you.) Make sure before you do any tweaking, the tweaks are for Vista and not XP.

And thanks to Joe for his comment about Kim Komando too.