Not much difference between the 2 models, but your best bet is to ask her what she prefers and what the college requires.

You should find out what her college recommends. If either is acceptable, I'd stick with XP. It is faster and much more stable than Vista. With lots of school work to look forward to (in between the parties!), you don't want her struggling with all the Vista bugs and gottchas just to get that paper written. Don't forget to get her a copy of Office student edition! It will be the software she uses the most.

 

 

Yes, definately find out what recommendations her college makes.  But, just to throw in my 2 cents, I wouldn't even consider buying a brand new machine with XP unless I had specific software in mind that I knew was not compatible with Vista.  Vista is not the trainwreck that it used to be.  A lot of compatibility issues have been resolved now.  Looking ahead 4 years, XP is only going to be more and more outdated.  I would think that a college student, preparing herself to enter the working world, would want to remain current.

 

I use both Vista and XP machines, and while I find XP more familiar (I've used it longer), I actually prefer Vista.  It just feels smoother and more secure.  And in regards to the argument that XP is faster than Vista, that really only holds true on older machines that don't really have the hardware for it (under 2GB RAM).

 

Granted, I don't know what your granddaughter's computing experience is, nor what studies she plans to get into.  Those should also be considered when deciding what to get.  But the Inspiron line is a good one to go with, regardless of which OS you choose.

 

HTH

Grey Ferret

 

Thanks for your input!  Wasn't aware of Office student but will get it.  Parties???????  Surely not!  (HA!)

Thanks for your input, too. Your information is very helpful. Your point with XP becoming more outdated is well taken.  However, in reading the forums I wonder how long Vista will last with Windows 7 coming up.  I suppose there will always be another on the horizon so it's a moot point.  She is very computer savy and I think she can handle Vista. She is just afraid she cannot interact with XP users and XP docs. That's how much we know about Vista...very little.  How is Vista when it comes to making a movie from her camera?

Obviously I meant to post this to mwfanelli2.  Sorry.

I am running Vista Home Premium SP1 on my Inspiron 1520 and XP Home SP2 on my Desktop PC. They are networked via a simple Ethernet switch. Networking very easy to set up. No problems with interchange of all types of files.

Vista HP beats XP home for Usability and Interface, Security, Entertainment, Mobility and Bundled Applications. The introduction of SP1 to Vista has overcome any speed problems apart from Games where XP has a slight advantage.

Not sure what type of camera is involved. A webcam with USB interface can be plugged in and you are off filming. Or you can get them with a 802.11 wireless connection. Vista handles cameras at least as well as XP.

 

 

Thanks so much.  I believe you and the others have convinced us to purchase the 1525 with Vista.  I have XP with SP2 so I think we're covered.

 

Thank you all!!