about to pull the trigger but...

[murphyjp]

Should I go for the x1400 or step up to the T60p and get the Fire GL V5250.

Another hang up, Vista or XP? It would be the home version of either. Not sure if I would realize any benefit from Vista.

My use will be mostly day to day home use. The heaviest use of system resources will likely be home photo/video editing and burning. Maybe some lite gaming.

[ryengineer]

Should I go for the x1400 or step up to the T60p and get the Fire GL V5250.

Another hang up, Vista or XP? It would be the home version of either. Not sure if I would realize any benefit from Vista.

My use will be mostly day to day home use. The heaviest use of system resources will likely be home photo/video editing and burning. Maybe some lite gaming.

Fire GL V5250 is newer, better and efficient as compared to X1400. But battery consumption is more on the former.

XP is more reliable and stable OS than Vista at the moment. I suggest XP.

[whizkid]

If you are serious about light gaming, and battery life is important, go with Intel GMA 950 video. It saves a lot of battery life.

I recommend going with Vista. It may well be less stable now, but they'll fix that sooner or later, and you won't have to pay for the upgrade.

Also, Microsoft's support of XP is scheduled to end on ... wow... April 8, 2014. So, you've got that long for security updates on XP. Hmm.

Vista will also probably add to the resale value if you plan on selling in the next seven years.

[hoplite]

Or get Vista. Once it arrives create a set of Rescue and Recovery CDs. Call up IBM and ask them to send you a set of XP Rescue and Recovery CDs. It costs about 45USD + shipping.

You can install XP on your computer and when you feel like upgrading to Vista you already have the Vista rescue and recovery CDs. So just reinstall Vista and you are off to the races.

[jdhurst]

If you do opt for XP, at least get Pro. Home is pretty much brain-dead, and when people I know have problems with Home with networking, file sharing or security (common things) they upgrade to Pro to get the job done. You might as well start there.

With respect to Vista, I do not know. My trials with Vista were with Business, and when the software catches up and I do go to Vista, it will be Business or Enterprise.
... JDH

[murphyjp]

Battery life is not important. I'll likely never go mobile for more than a few hours.

I've got no beef with XP, but I guess I don't know what Vista offers, other than headaches, that is going to improve my life.

I say lite gaming, but I may have the urge to put down my xbox360 console goodness to try some pc games again. I generally don't go basic so I think the 950 video is out. It is always difficult to fight the urge to max out for a few dollars more so I may pony up and get the Fire.