Many people don't realize that almost all new computers have a 64 bit processor. However, it is possible to run a 32 bit OS on these new processors without any problems. Actually, most computers ship with a 32 bit operating system still.

If you consider yourself technically savvy it is perfectly fine to go with a 64 bit operating system. However, it is highly likely that you will run into some problems with various software packages. Specifically, there have been some problems with OneNote and 64 bit. OneNote is my favorite note taking software, so this has kept me away from upgrading to 64bit.

As for how much RAM, get as much as you can afford. Vista runs quite well on computers with 2GB of RAM. If you want to go for 4GB and 64 bit, you will have a very powerful system.

Another consideration is that hardware devices such as printers, scanners, cameras, and web cams may not have 64 bit drivers available from the manufactures. Be sure to check for drivers before you make any purchases so you don't have devices that you can't use. Microsoft requires that all drivers on a 64 bit OS be signed. This means more work for manufactures and they do not want to pay to make drivers for older hardware. This will become less of a problem as older hardware becomes obsolete and is no longer used.

It really comes down to if you are willing to put up with some problems. The difficulty in making a decision like this is that you won't know if you will run into problems. The good news is that if you run into problems you can simply install Vista 32 bit if you don't want to stick with 64 bit.

Our favorite here at STUG is Carbonite. Steven, Jared, and Travis all use it. Carbonite is a subscription service at $50/yr. If free is more your thing, Mozy is a good choice. Mozy provides 2Gb of backup for free. This would be good for your notes but not much else. Jungle disk is a cheap pay as you use service. With this service you have unlimited storage and no set monthly/early fee. However, it does cost 15¢ per gigabyte and I believe there are monthly transfer limits. This service is provided by Amazon using the Amazon S3 service.

There are other options, Microsoft offers an online data storage service. This option may be more atractive once Microsoft Mesh is released to the public.

The best advice is to research all of the options and decide which fits your needs. Obviously, if you need to back-up large quantities of data a service like Mozy won't work without paying the monthly fee. Another fact to keep in mind is compatibility, I believe you are using Windows, however, if not remember that Carbonite is not Unix compatible, while Jungle Disk is cross platform. Also, Jungle Disk provides the ability to access files from other computers while Carbonite and Mozy are more for backing up files and disaster recovery.

There is an entire episode of Tablet Tips dedicated entirely to this subject: Getting Organized: Online Backup

Many Tablet PCs are still shipping with Windows XP Tablet Edition. Luckily, Speed School provides a copy of Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade as part of the software bundle. If it saves money and you are willing to put up with the headache of installing another OS, it is a possible option. However, it still may not be the best option.

It may not be worth going with a downgraded version of Windows simply because it will mean you have one less copy of Windows Vista to install on a computer. For example, if you have a desktop or another laptop, you may want to use your extra copy of Vista on that computer.

Vista is able to switch between versions by simply changing the product code. This means you can upgrade from Vista Business to Vista Ultimate by only typing in a 25 digit code (in theory). Also, downgrades should work in the same fashion between different versions of Vista.

To keep things as simple as possible it may be best to just purchase a Tablet PC with Vista. This guarantees things will work, and if you want to upgrade to Ultimate later it is always an option.

From my personal experience, there isn't enough insentive to get the Ultimate version over another version. There are limitations, but for most users they will never run into them.