New computer is up and running. I have had a few issues with the 64-bit version of Vista. First, I had to get a new modem, because my previous modem did not have driver support for Vista. I bought a Netcomm NB6 that has an ethernet and USB connection so I can set up the new computer and old computer in a mini-network.
By far the biggest issue is with Endnote. With Vista it works ok, but the 64 bit version is problematic. There is much stuffing around to turn off the Cite While You Write preferences (involves going into the system registry). I can cope without having CWYW turned on as I am mostly editing. A fix will be needed eventually. I remember there were problems with previous versions of Endnote and a memory leak in XP and Word 2003.
The big news about Endnote X1 (11) is that within the library you can link to a PDF. This is massive. I have almost a thousand PDFs of journal articles. The frustrating task of searching these PDFs just got a little bit easier. Endnote makers realise that a bibliography is constructed from the socio-technology of the library (archive), while the computer operates through databases.
Thomson need to get with it and produce a 64 bit version that works with XP and Vista x64 versions. Sooner than later!
A word document opened in Vista x64 which contains Endnote X2 references causes the entire system to become unresponsive. Not happy!
Given the aggressive behavior of the company behind Endnote, seems as good a time as any to abandon Endnote in favour of the open-source alternative Zotero, which has received very favourable reviews.