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View Full Version : Win XP Pro..... where to buy online?



Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan
06-15-2006, 11:13 AM
I need to buy me a copy of Win XP Pro from over there, they want way too much for it here.

Anyone have a trustworthy online source?

Cheers!

Jim Becker
06-15-2006, 11:15 AM
E-Cost.com accessed via ebates.com, newegg.com, buy.com, etc. Do a Froogle.com search and sort on price...but be sure to know about shipping costs. (Which I know you're more than aware of) Obviously, you need an outfit that will ship internationally, too.

tod evans
06-15-2006, 11:46 AM
stu, i bought all the parts for my computer including xp-pro from newegg...02 tod

skip coyne
06-15-2006, 11:52 AM
Ive used Atomic park software

Lee DeRaud
06-15-2006, 1:12 PM
I need to buy me a copy of Win XP Pro from over there, they want way too much for it here.

Anyone have a trustworthy online source?

Cheers!I'm under the impression that the (expensive) Japanese version (and presumably the other Far East flavors) has a bunch of extra stuff to deal with the odd fonts/keyboards/etc. Are you going to need that?

Matt Meiser
06-15-2006, 2:21 PM
Newegg is good. I wonder if it can be shipped to Japan though? There are sometimes export restrictions on software--no idea how they work though.

Brett Baldwin
06-15-2006, 2:55 PM
Another option is TigerDirect. They usually get about $140 for an OEM copy. Don't know about export though.

Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan
06-15-2006, 4:06 PM
Thanks for the info guys.

Lee, it is my understanding that the "Pro" version of XP is multi-lingual, like the "Pro" version of Win 2K I have now.

The problem here is plain an simple, they gouge because the software is not popular, being a non-English speaking country.

They want over $400 for it here in the stores (English Win XP Pro).

I'll look around on the net at the various places suggested.

Thanks!

Tyler Howell
06-15-2006, 4:10 PM
Camara, soft and hadware from Newegg. Fast and reliable.

Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan
06-15-2006, 4:18 PM
Well Newegg is out, no shipping outside the US..........:(

skip coyne
06-15-2006, 4:25 PM
do you have any us freinds or business contacts in the US that could purchase it then ship it to you ?

Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan
06-15-2006, 4:31 PM
OK TigerDirect will ship, but they will only do so via wire transfer, and they want a $25 fee to do that, plus the $25 fee I'd have to pay here, plus go to the bank and do it..........:mad:

Allen Bookout
06-15-2006, 7:26 PM
Stu,

Why not go Linux? Great desktop verson is Mandriva Powerpack. It is not like the old days where things were a bit difficult to deal with. It is very easy to install and easy to use. No more worries about virus protection. Check here:



http://store.mandriva.com/product_info.php?products_id=286&osCsid=c7db0a47856f2ac241a3b2c10c2729f4

Art Mulder
06-15-2006, 10:13 PM
Why not go Linux?

I've been using Unix for 15 years, Allen, and Linux for 7. But even I'll admit that it isn't for everyone. I bought my wife a Mac Mini. It just works.
(but if anyone was interested in Linux, I'd say go check out Ubuntu Linux first. Lots of support, and lots of community support as well. Download a "Ubuntu Live" cd image, and you can boot Linux to try out without messing up your Windows partition.)

...art

Lee DeRaud
06-15-2006, 10:33 PM
Why not go Linux?Well, it started out as "religion", graduated to "life-style", and is well on its way to "hobby". But if you're shopping for "tool" or "appliance", it's still not quite ready for prime-time.

I seem to buy/download a distro every two years or so, install and run for a couple months, and then blow it off...have yet to have one work with all my hardware without going through a scavenger hunt or two. It's certainly getting better, buit the bar keeps getting higher too.

Allen Bookout
06-15-2006, 11:09 PM
Well, it started out as "religion", graduated to "life-style", and is well on its way to "hobby". But if you're shopping for "tool" or "appliance", it's still not quite ready for prime-time.


For me it is prime time. I have only been using it for six or seven years now but as of the last couple of years it has become an excellent system for the desktop user. I do have two Windows computers to compare my Linux computers with and only turn the Windows computers on to update them.

"Hobby" is a very condescending term for users that elect to use a system that they prefer. In fact, you can go as professional as you care to or just stay as a desktop user.

I think that anyone that is changing operating systems owes it to themselves to take a look before they make a decision.

Allen

Lee DeRaud
06-15-2006, 11:27 PM
For me it is prime time. I have only been using it for six or seven years now but as of the last couple of years it has become an excellent system for the desktop user. I do have two Windows computers to compare my Linux computers with and only turn the Windows computers on to update them.That is exactly what I'm talking about: obviously there is something that those two Windows machines provide that is missing or inconvenient to deal with on the Linux boxes...unless you're just keeping them around to grind axes with.

"Hobby" is a very condescending term for users that elect to use a system that they prefer. In fact, you can go as professional as you care to or just stay as a desktop user.No condescension implied or intended. By "hobby" I mean a willingness (and acceptance of the necessity) to tinker with it, dealing with the operating system on a level that the average Windows or Mac user would consider completely unacceptable.

I used Linux at work in an intensely professional environment, but it was an extremely specialized application where we were willing to deal with its particular set of shortcomings rather than deal with the particular shortcomings of the alternatives.

Allen Bookout
06-15-2006, 11:57 PM
No condescension implied or intended. By "hobby" I mean a willingness (and acceptance of the necessity) to tinker with it, dealing with the operating system on a level that the average Windows or Mac user would consider completely unacceptable.


Well Lee,

You may be right when considering your definition. Sorry that I got so defensive!!!!

Allen

Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan
06-16-2006, 1:05 AM
Sorry guys, but windows is the only way for me to go at the momment, I'm dealing with computers at work, they have to be multilingual, and they also just have to plain work, windows is enough trouble, I don't have time in my day to learn something new.

Cheers!

Vaughn McMillan
06-16-2006, 9:10 PM
Stu, in my experience doing documentation in about 9 languages with XP Pro (and Win2K Pro), the "multilingual" aspect is character display, not the langueage the menus are presented in. If you buy the English version of XP Pro, you can set it to correctly display Japanese characters (and the backslash will be displayed as a yen sign), but the Start menu says "Start" instead of "開始" (or whatever it looks like in Japanese), and all the other menus are in English.

If you need someone to ship you a copy from the US, let me know.

- Vaughn

Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan
06-16-2006, 11:53 PM
Thanks for the info Vaughn.

This is why I want the US version, I know next to nothing about XP, and I don't want to be fumbling around in Japanese in a new to me OS.

Thanks for the offer.

Cheers!

Lee DeRaud
06-17-2006, 2:29 AM
If you need someone to ship you a copy from the US, let me know.There used to be export restrictions on the US version (because of the encryption algorithms?), so you might want to check if that's even possible.

Vaughn McMillan
06-17-2006, 4:06 AM
There used to be export restrictions on the US version (because of the encryption algorithms?), so you might want to check if that's even possible.
Good point...I'd forgotten about that. You never know when some crazy Canuck exiled in Japan might want to crack 128 bit encryption and use it against us. ;) :p

Stu, if you need help, drop me a PM. Our company's Japanese distributor might be able to give me some insight.

- Vaughn