[PLUG] XP or Vista?

[m0gely]

eehouse.org wrote:

> I'm about to buy a new computer.  My first act will be to repartition
> and install Debian or Ubuntu.  But since I'm paying the M$ tax, I
> might as well think for a second about which of the currently
> available OSes I'd rather have for my ~$90.

The Home Editions of Vista cannot be virtualized as per the EULA.  You 
will want to get Vista Business, which isn't much more $$$.  It's about 
the same as XP Pro on the OEM ticket.

> I'm leaning toward XP because it's easier to run virtualized (I'm not
> considering one of the higher-cost Vistas) and because I expect it'll
> spy on me less.  It's the devil I know.  But Vista has a better chance
> of still being useful toward the end of this machine's life -- about 4
> years I expect.

Your latter comment is the direction I take.  XP's mainstream support 
will end 1Q of '09.  That means only critical patches will get released. 
  What MS thinks is critical vs the public is up for debate.  On a 
Windows list I'm on, the DST changes coming up are causing big headaches 
for some as Win2K is not getting publicly available patches.  There are 
methods from MS for updating 2K, but no nifty little patch.  So, go for 
the one that's supported longer.

-- 
- m0gely