My advice, is much like the advice I've heard all over the place when it comes to getting a Masters. After getting your undergrad, go to work, and head to school part time to work on getting your MBA.

In my field we have so many Computer Engineers and Scientists it's ridiculous, and every year we hire some more from college. Everyone is looking to get a foot in the door, but most don't realize what it takes to get a leg up. Understanding how businesses work by getting the MBA will make you invaluable to the company and will open up leadership positions to you that were once closed off. Now when I say leadership, I'm not talking about low level management or even mid level management, but positions in which you might actually create change within the company.

Many of those same people who get the MBA, continue on to getting the PhD in Computer Science or Computer Engineering to solidify their hold within their field of expertise. Continue to strive for excellence in productivity, never forget education, and you will go far. It may not all be about the money, but it will make many of your other decisions in life easier to make when you're well off financially.

Microsoft has been at this game long enough to know exactly what they're doing. And with that I think the author like many others are missing the point. It's about leverage after all. Working as a contractor for the government I can tell you without any hesitation Vista will succeed based upon the government adopting it. Once the sequel to Vista comes out in say 2009, Microsoft will cease support to XP as they have support only the previous OS and that's it. This forces the hand of the government to adopt Vista as oversight deems we can't purchase systems with OSs that aren't supported. And when the vendors state that their applications won't work on Vista, the government will find someone that will. Essentially it's a snowball effect and everyone eventually comes on board anyways. Like it or not Vista is here and people will have to accept it. If not Vista, it will be it's successor. Just look at the timing between 2000 and XP to find history repeating itself. Regardless XP will go by the wayside.