I'm running a dual operating system with XP/Vista right now. When you buy/order your new laptop, make sure you get the 32bit Vista OS, with backwards compatible system drivers. When you do a clean install of XP, install ALL the XP drivers as well, don't rely on the Vista drivers to run XP for you- they most likely WON'T. A lot of the software isn't vista compatible yet- or I should say, Vista reliable. Maybe in another year, so running a dual boot is worth it in the interim- what you sacrifice in speed, you gain in stability.
