Best O.S. for laptops: Win 2000 or XP?

Hi! I'm Giuseppe from Italy. I'm about to buy my first laptop (it's a Toshiba SM40X-269) and since one my primary needs is having a long-lasting battery (in fact I chose a machine equipped with a Centrino) I'm still deciding about the O.S. to install on it. In fact, it's well acknowledged that Win XP eats more system resources than 2000, but I think it should have an improved power management. On the contrary, 2000 is lighter than XP, but its power management should be worse than XP. I just can't make a decision about that... What can you suggest? Thanks in advance to all of you out there.

the_poet wrote:

Hi! I'm Giuseppe from Italy. I'm about to buy my first laptop (it's a Toshiba SM40X-269) and since one my primary needs is having a long-lasting battery (in fact I chose a machine equipped with a Centrino) I'm still deciding about the O.S. to install on it. In fact, it's well acknowledged that Win XP eats more system resources than 2000, but I think it should have an improved power management. On the contrary, 2000 is lighter than XP, but its power management should be worse than XP. I just can't make a decision about that... What can you suggest? Thanks in advance to all of you out there.

Hello Guiseppe, with a desktop computer it's easy to answer because you can either install or partition a drive and have both.
I think if you install XP and go through the system with a fine tooth comb disabling the eye candy and services you don't need you will have reasonable battery life. However some may say why bother if it will resemble 2000 anyway?