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[matusiak <dave AT matusiak.org>]

i was thinking about getting a cheapy dell laptop to run Windows XP  
Professional on, ya know, so i can remember "The Good 'Ol Days of  
Computing."

i wanted it to be pretty basic, but incl. 512 MB of RAM and maybe a  
wireless card.  trying to find a $500 laptop w/ Win XP Pro, 512MB RAM  
and wireless is impossible.

i have found that i can get the most basic dell latitude 2200 w/  
these options for around $685-715.  then as a step up they have the  
dell XPS M140, which is a bit nicer (but much of the same) for $999.

but the fancy XPS has Win XP Media Center Edition instead of XP Pro.   
i have heard that Media Edition adds some nice features, but this  
will not be my "media machine."  (i have a /real/ computer for that!  :)

and many say that without XP Pro, you can't join networks and shared  
drives and all that shit that you'd want to do with a laptop in the  
21st century.  (Dell help desk/tech support is CLUELESS in this regard).

so, do i need to spring the extra $120 for XP Pro or should i just  
stick with either XP Home or XP Media Center??  any advice??

i doubt i would buy anything other than dell for PC hardware.  but i  
need a cheap windows laptop soon.

thanks!
dave ;)