Originally Posted by AcidMax

We have an extremely shitty budget because we are all volunteer. Our entire annual operating budget is around $5,000 (gear, gas, radios, packs, medical equipment) because people don't want to pay more in taxes to fund their department, so fundraisers etc is how we get most of the gear we need. Not all departments are big city departments with huge budgets.

Secondly, we need XP Pro because the county decided that they were buying a new accountability system that uses PDA's for scanning firefighters in and out of scenes and the software for the desktop REQUIRES XP Pro, but did not supply it for us, so we have to buy it.

EDIT: Not to mention, we are buying it. But why spend $200 on something you can get for $90? That's why I am looking for better prices.