Legal copy of Windows.

[Chantel Stewels]

A quick question.
Would my legal copy of Windows XP work on my new laptop I wanna buy today? Its of course already installed on my PC at home.

[Tel]

Well the laptop should come with XP unless otherwise stated. Pretty much all computers do.

[masdog]

That depends on what license that copy of Windows XP is. If it is OEM (holographic sticker somewhere on the case), then no. It's stuck with the computer and you can't legally move it. If you purchased a full copy of Windows XP (not an upgrade), then you can move it to the laptop if you remove it from the PC.

MOST laptops come with a copy of Windows preinstalled, so there is no reason to move to move a license from another machine. If you have a Mac and you want to use Parallels or Boot Camp, then you need to purchase a new copy.

[Chantel Stewels]

Of course, Tel. I should have thought of the fact that Windows most probably will come pre loaded with a new PC or laptop. In any way, I did not get round to buying it this weekend. Just got too busy with other stuff. What I did get round to buying, is a star filter and a new photography book! I should get myself in gear with that laptop as a major PC chainstore here have them on special at the moment and we're going down to the coast on holiday in a few weeks time. Beats buying even more SD cards and of course, you can immediately see what you've taken that day.
Masdog, it has that holographic sticker on the case. Then it is obviously OEM. All of this in anyway does not bother me too much as we are all awaiting with great anticipation... Windows Vista! Which I think will be released within the next 3 or 4 months. :23:

[Marc2B4]

If you'd like to see what Vista is like, go to an Apple store and check out Mac OS X running on any of the machines. From what I've seen and read, Vista is almost an exact copy of Mac OS. This'll cause people to become hysterical, but I work on both platforms everyday and give me a Mac anytime!.

Mark

[mwfanelli]

If you'd like to see what Vista is like, go to an Apple store and check out Mac OS X running on any of the machines. From what I've seen and read, Vista is almost an exact copy of Mac OS. This'll cause people to become hysterical, but I work on both platforms everyday and give me a Mac anytime!.

Mark

You might want to check out

http://blog.wired.com/cultofmac/2007...g_vista_o.html

"The Mac Pro is a very fast and capable OS X machine, but it’s an even faster Windows Vista machine.

Vista really flies on this beast, and feels like it’s faster than OS X – it boots faster, folders burst open and apps launch instantly.

The beautifully-rendered shadow effects and transparency give Vista a greater “depth” than OS X, which looks a little flat and well… old fashioned in comparison. I know this is because Vista’s new and novel, but it makes OS X look dated.

There’s a bunch of interface features I wish Apple would copy. Vista’s widgets, called “Gadgets,” are always on top – a vast improvement over having to hit a hotkey to see them.

Vista’s icons are big and colorful, and frankly, a lot more logical and easy to read than some of OS X’s, like the intelligible iWeb icon."

Oops... Is Vista a better OS X than OS X? Is OS X loaded with infamous "bloat" that slows it down? In both cases, too much eye candy is boosting memory needs through the roof. This is one place where I actually prefer the more functional and balanced GUIs of Linux.

Just some random thoughts that, if necessary, should be continued on the off-topic forum.

[Sushigaijin]

Vista will be released in my neck of the woods on tuesday. Must say I am not terribly enthusiastic, it essentially means that now I MUST upgrade my computer in the next year or so, and I MUST learn a new OS. XP will be a liability to the digital darkroom once the software has taken full advantage of the new OS.

So far the only rumours I have heard are that Vista is resource hungry and will require relatively fast computers to operate - a gig of RAM is the MINIMUM system requirement, according to the Circuit City I was in yesterday - that's just crazy. Oh wait, my first PC was an 8086, when 16 MB was crazy...guess it's just progress at work.

Oh well, better start shopping out some new hardware.

[mwfanelli]

Vista will be released in my neck of the woods on tuesday. Must say I am not terribly enthusiastic, it essentially means that now I MUST upgrade my computer in the next year or so, and I MUST learn a new OS. XP will be a liability to the digital darkroom once the software has taken full advantage of the new OS.

So far the only rumours I have heard are that Vista is resource hungry and will require relatively fast computers to operate - a gig of RAM is the MINIMUM system requirement, according to the Circuit City I was in yesterday - that's just crazy. Oh wait, my first PC was an 8086, when 16 MB was crazy...guess it's just progress at work.

Oh well, better start shopping out some new hardware.

There is absolutely no reason you have to upgrade to Vista. Active XP support will be available for 5 years from tomorrow, the same way NT was handled. I doubt very much that software companies will shoot themselves in the foot supporting only Vista and not XP for a very long, long time. If XP has been working well for you, Vista will not shut off XP features that now work! Don't get hit by upgrade fever.

Yes, I was shocked when the 1 Gig MacIntels I used a few months ago were super sluggish. Both Vista and MacOS now need at least 2 Gig to run correctly. That is so sad regardless of cheap memory prices. My XP machines are both a paltry 512 M and the desktop runs extremely fast and well. The bottom of the line laptop is a bit slow, but I traced that to the slow disk drive.

[Marc2B4]

Hindsight being 20/20, I wish I'd have had the 7200rpm HD put into my MBP, but my thinking was that by maxing out the RAM, I'd compensate for the slower HD. Big error on my part. I'm kind of curious how Vista will run on it, but I'm holding off on experimenting until 10.5 comes out and Boot Camp is integral in the OS.

Mark