No.^*

No: If you already have WinXP on a computer that is less than 3 years old, I’m a big fan of ftain’t bro’akded, do’an fuxut.

No, just buy a new PC: If you have WinXP on a PC that’s 3-5 years old and you think an upgrade to Vista will “make it run better” you’ve been misled. Order a new Gateway online or pick one up at Best Buy with Vista preinstalled. Spend between $1000 and $1500. Don’t want to spend that much? Don’t do anything. Your PC is just fine.

No, buy a new PC: If you have Win2K/Me/98 as your desktop OS, then it’s probably time. Order a new Gateway online or pick one up at Best Buy with Vista preinstalled. Don’t spend more than $1000, and make sure you get an LCD monitor. You will get a computer comparable to the the one I have sitting on my desk at home.

^*If you want to be running the latest and greatest software for it’s own sake, then by all means upgrade. But then you already knew the reasoning behind my “No” answers. Oh, and the whole reason I started this post is because Ken Fisher at Ars Technica has put together a most clear and readable synopsis of the difference between OEM and Retail versions of Microsoft’s OS, and I wanted to share.

Turns out there’s an iTunes US that sells music licensed in the US… and a different iTunes for Japan and, to take Kipling slightly out of context, “East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.”

It won’t surprise those of you who know how attuned I am to the 4 to 8 year old mind that I got wise to their pop-culture hijinks when somebody else told me about it. My feed reader picked the story up from Ars Technica, and I drilled on down to Slate. Anyway, the title says it all: jTunes, The insanely great songs Apple won’t let you hear. Besides Japan,

… there are 20 more countries where iTunes users can lurk among the samples, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece, and Australia. They won’t let you buy their songs, either. You can find an EP of Scottish sensations the Fratellis at iTunes United States, for instance, but their hit glam singalong “Chelsea Dagger” is in nearly every country except the United States. (Their randy burlesque video for it, naturally, is all over YouTube.)

What? I can check out foreign music on YouTube? OK, I’m hip…

NOW PRESENTING, IN THEIR BBEOJ.COM DEBUT, … THE STRAIGHTENERS AND THEIR YouTube HIT KILLER TUNE

Whoa, they Rock. With a capital R. And that’s cool. Hip time must be over. Sigh.

The truly cool among you can check out the Slate article for more info (and more video links)…

B – out.