Re: XY, Vista, choices

[J R FOX jr_fox@xxxxxxxxxx]

--- Michael Norman  wrote:

> As I'm sure
> you've read, XP as OEM will end in June, just about
> the time I'll be
> ready for a new desktop.

Does that apply to buying it separately, or just for
getting it bundled with a new desktop or laptop ?
(Fry's weekend ad out today lists XP Pro for OEM
builders, for example. Does that sort of thing go
away in June ?)

> Most of the recent articles
> on this say
> things such as:

> But, as hardware
> manufacturers direct more resources to Windows
> Vista, it may be
> harder to find drivers for video, audio, and other
> computer
> components that support the older OS.*

I'd say 'Baloney', unless you're referring to some
selection of the very latest hardware. By mistake, I
recently bought a Logitech wireless optical mouse that
offered only XP drivers -- nothing earlier available
on their website. The packaging was thrown out, and
since I can't return it I may just donate it
somewhere. That sort of thing really annoys me. I
have various earlier models of theirs that work quite
well with any computer you are likely to encounter,
regardless of what it is running. It's just that in
this particular case, I happened to be looking for one
that was super small. I found a Labtec one that was
close enough, plus a slew of older ones still being
sold at computer shows.

Beware of market announcements. From all that I've
heard, Vista has been a tremendous flop !

> This seemed off to me -- can't one can get legacy
> drivers from the
> hardware websites? At all events, and as usual,
> there seems to be as
> much misinformation

If you Google around, there must be well over a dozen
sites that are just huge driver repositories. A few
are free, some are not, and some others require you to
"join" with a free membership. They won't always have
a driver solution for you, but you might be surprised
at how often they do.


 Jordan