Chances are, unless your budding intellectual is heading off this fall to become a graphic designer or a mechanical engineer, you don't need to take out a second mortgage just to get them a new computer.

The Dollar Stretcher provides plenty of reasons why every student should have a computer at their disposal when they enter the hallowed halls of Academe, despite the already high price tag that comes with college. Today there are more choices than ever before when it comes to finding a computer that fits your student's needs.

And as The Dollar Stretcher also points out, forgoing a Mac and picking up discounted student software at the college bookstore will save you lots right upfront.

The article points out a cool new model of laptops called subnotebooks that are small, low-powered, low-cost laptops which are suitable for handling typical student activities such as paper writing and web surfing. If you are looking for a more traditional notebook this fall there are still plenty of deals to be had on laptops and desktops which pack a little more punch. Purchasing a refurbished laptop or PC is a great way to save and still get a decently spec'ed out machine.

Here are a few deals out there right now on good back to school machines.

On Monday, June 30, Microsoft will stop selling Windows XP software. Say hello to the still dreadful Windows Vista, the software that is reportedly to blame for the death of many relationships between computers and peripherals. More and more consumers will get the joy of spending hours trying to get their computers to recognize printers and PDAs, and the result is often ugly.

One bright spot: Buyers of certain low-end home computers will still be able to get Windows XP pre-installed on their machines through January 31, 2009. Seven more months to put off the inevitable for those lucky consumers. Unfortunately, most new PCs will not offer that option. Something tells me the sellers of those few home computers with XP will make a killing!

Vista is much maligned because users are basically forced to buy new computers, as the system hogs so much memory and is worthless on an older computer. Many drivers were not compatible with Vista, and plenty still aren't, even after more than a year on the market.

My rebate check plans were simple: buy a new computer to replace my old one that was dying a slow, painful (for me) death. I spent weeks pouring over ads, reviews and tedious discussions of which feature was important to me. Sure, I'd heard Vista had some problems. Yes, I have a TV and have seen the John Hodgman commercials for Mac. But I didn't think it would be THAT bad. XP was no dreamboat, either.

Wrong. Within hours we saw the blue screen of death. I say we because my husband David gallantly volunteered to spare me the grueling hardship that everyone knows is migrating to a new computer. But soon I was seeing the blue screen of death every morning. Vista seemed to be allergic to both my newish printer and Macromedia Dreamweaver, an expensive web-editing program. Replacing them would cost $600. The whole new computer was $800. Did I want to blow half my rebate check just to accommodate Vista?

First I tried to negotiate with Vista. I compromised. I removed the printer and Dreamweaver. Vista was appeased. I figured I'd run the limping XP computer as my ambassador to the XP world of my printer and Dreamweaver. What seemed like a simple task, took days and much grief. Meanwhile, Vista grew angry and started flashing me the blue screen of death for reasons not clear to me. I removed a few more programs, but had to return it.

The movement to convince Microsoft to continue XP past this June, when it was supposed to fade away as Vista became supreme, just became a lot more real to me. I bought a new Gateway with Vista with my tax rebate money. I was never that thrilled with XP, but after six days on Vista I am running back.

I turned to this story from InfoWorld in January, which outlines how businesses are begging Microsoft to keep XP. They've even started a petition to send to Microsoft. I quickly signed it.

Over the last few days we've seen the Blue Screen of Death five times. Vista, it turns out, doesn't like Dreamweaver. Vista also rejects my new Canon All-in-One out of hand. It's not just that this program or printer doesn't work. Vista collapses at the mere thought of them on the same computer. Needless to say, Canon's excellent photo-editing software is out of the question. Remarkably, so is have a picture in an email signature -- something XP handled with no problem.

If you're in the market for anti-virus software, Norton anti-virus is available in a "grabber" offer right now at Buy.com . The software is the 2008 version of the popular Norton anti-virus application which regularly retails in the area of $59. Shipping is free but supplies are limited. As usual, be certain to read all the fine print before you buy.

Buy.com is offering two companion rebates on this product. The first is an "outright purchase rebate", available just for buying the product. The second rebate is called a "competitive / upgrade rebate" for previous users of Norton products and you'll want to check out the details which may apply. Remember, rebates are sales tools used to create and stimulate consumer interest. Companies win when you don't follow through on rebate redemption, so sometimes they make it tricky for you to claim your rebate. It appears that the rebates in this offer will come in the form of a Visa debit card rather than a check.

Consumer reviews on this product are generally positive, with an average product rating of 4.5 out of 5 points. However, reviewers seem to indicate that the software will not accommodate operating systems older than Windows 2000. There are also hints that the software may not be real friendly with Windows Vista either. Overall, the comments I reviewed were quite positive and people who needed additional customer service were generally satisfied with that experience.

Now there's a compelling reason to buy! If you're not using the Vista operating system from Microsoft, friends and family who got conned or forced into using it are telling you how lucky you truly are. I've been told there are nothing but troubles when trying to get your new operating system to communicate with your peripherals and run your much-needed software.

Microsoft really wants you to buy Vista, though, so they're offering some new information to help you make your buying decision. On the Windows Vista Security Blog, the company is saying that Vista's security is less bad than XP's security. Microsoft is boasting that in its first year, Vista only required you to do nine patches for security issues. In the first year, XP had 26 patches. Also in the first year, Vista had only 36 fixed and 30 unfixed vulnerabilities, while XP had 68 fixed and 54 unfixed vulnerabilities.

Does all this make you feel good? Microsoft is saying that Vista is not secure and has multiple vulnerabilities that haven't been fixed. But buy it anyway, because it's not as bad as XP was one year into distribution. Not exactly a good marketing tool....

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.