I am finally getting a couple of new computers for myself and my distribution tech. He just got his, but we still have some bugs to work out with our campus tie-in. Next week I get mine. It is an upgrade, but they are both Pentium 4 units (obsolete in August) with only 40GB hard drives, and no wifi, bluetooth, etc. While the first unit was being set-up, I was told that they would have no troubles with my getting a laptop for my mechanic to keep his records on, as long as it did not connect to the system.

I found out that Staples is going to have a HP Pavillion unit that was real sweet , on sale next week for $700. 250GB HD, 3GB RAM, wifi, bluetooth, 15.4", and core 2 duo processor. After I got my funding approved, I submitted my request. After a couple of long discussions with the service tech who had told me that the HP was an excellent buy, he had changed his tune.

Basically, they did not want to go that route since it was preloaded with Vista Home Premium. They had fears that the drivers would not accept reverting the system to XP Pro. There were other issues, but mainly, even if they never had to support it, they preferred it if they could. Their main point was that the purchase price was a very minor thing compared to support issues.

After long discussion, I was finally persuaded to take a new HP business notebook, with a faster core 2 duo processor, 17", and everything else the same as the $700 unit. It has more bells and whistles, and the price is listed at $1800. To make me feel better, he gave me a really nice leather case to go with it. The only problem I see, is having to give a better computer than what I have to my mechanic whose computer skills are very limited. Life is not fair. Of course, if things go as expected, I will acquire a MacBook Pro notebook in a few months for a companion.