Q: Or do all new laptops have Vista now? I need Windows XP to work on my university assignments.
A: Basic "home" users can not buy XP. However businesses and schools can order PC and have them "downgraded" from Vista to XP still. You should be able to do your assignments in Vista, the operating system won't effect that. I'm guessing what you mean is that you can't use Office 2007 which is the newest version and completely different. You can still get Office 2003 I believe or you can save files in 07 and 03 documents. Either way I'm not sure why you won't be able to do your assignments in Vista, as the Operation System should have no effect on anything that would be related to assignments.