I’m often asked whether a reader or a friend (or someone who is both!) should buy a new computer with Windows Vista — or buy a new computer and get Windows XP on it. At first, I would have thought this a strange question since Vista is the new system.

But, then I remembered the basic “rule” of Microsoft products — never buy version 1.0.

I’ve been thinking about a new notebook computer to replace my Dell Inspiron 8600, which has a Pentium M 1.7GHz processor and 2GB memory. It could probably do Windows Vista, but not the Aero interface (and I haven’t found anything in Vista that I particularly want in Vista other than the eye candy — and I like fast more than I like cute).

My first thought was to get a small notebook with Windows XP that I could easily carry. That thought has its own problems though. There’s a long-standing rule about notebook computers:…

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