First off, i just want to say that i am really pressed for time right now as i'm a student and have a lab that i am running late to. so i'm sorry if theres already a thread on this. i just got an hp dv2000 notebook from staples. 120 gig hd, amd 62 2x TL 52 processor, lightscribe, 1 gig of ram. it came preloaded with vista... I want to take off ALL of the crap that it came pre installed with thats not necessary.. i've done so with my xp but with vista i'm not sure what i can replace. what i mean by that is if there's an antivirus that will work with vista (i currently use sohpos, which is given to us free as students) i'm also concerned about a firewall... will zone alarm work on vista? or is the firewall with vista good enough?
vista is crap in my opinion format and install windows xp or return ur note book and get a mac (best computer out there). and how much did you pay for this note book?
well, there has definitely been a learning curve.. the main thing i dont like is the little tricks i knew in xp (like msconfig) to make the system run better. But i'm going to stick with it and give it a legitimate shot. I have a dual core desktop that has xp on it so its not like its a dire need. a macbook was out of my price range (i paid 850 for this one and am waiting on a mail in rebate (which i may never get lol) for 50 bucks.. bringing it down to 800. it was originally 1000
If you are a student you should be able to purchase windows from your campus computer store. Depending on where you go, vista should be free or very very cheap (~$20 at UT for ultimate). This retail vista comes with ONLY windows programs and no advertisement from AOL or other companies.
Do not "stick with it." Get a copy of Windows XP. You should also be able to get an "Educational Discount" if it's still available; if not, buy the retail edition. Why use a crippled, untested, resource-eating OS when you can use a tried-and-true one? You also need to be aware that, those little tricks that you dislike about XP are necessary with ANY OS; they all run services and bullcrap startup entries that most people don't need. (How many people really need IP routing enabled? Answer: Almost none.) At least you know XP ... and it's tricks. Then you won't have any of the crapware and spyware that comes pre-installed either. Of course, returning the laptop and getting an XP one is fine if you can find one; otherwise, treat Vista as a it is - another piece of undesirable crapware that came pre-installed with your machine.
OR!!! if it makes you happy installe windows xp then get the WINDOWS VISTA OS SKIN and pretend you have it thats what i did i got that and a macbook pro ^.^