Another great tip:
Buy a computer WITHOUT an operating system. Purchase a system from a custom-builder off the internet with the specs you want without the Operating System. Download and burn ANY mainstream Linux "distro", I recommend
Ubuntu ,
SabayonLinux, and
PCLinuxOS , onto a cd or dvd, which ever is called for. Install it on the new computer. Most mainstream linux distros, or flavors, or styles (whatever you want to call them) are FREE, as in beer. They are all EXTREMELY well written, work with almost all hardware, are extremely easy to install (as in easier than Windows) and will likely provide you with the fancy 3d effects that Vista gives you without ANY cost. Even those of you with little or no computer know-how can easily do this and it could save you between $50-$100 off the same hardware at a retail shop (like HP, or Compaq, or Mac). Plus, OpenOffice or Koffice will read, open, and manipulate nearly any MS Office file you can throw at them. So you won't lose your old files. Cheers!
EDIT: now with hyperlinks!
