About 10 days ago, I purchased a new computer from a Best Buy store in Silver Spring, Maryland. My hope was to get good value on the computer and from the store's "Geek Squad" service that delivers and installs it, including a wireless network. I had not bought a new computer in several years and was not familiar with hardware differences in current offerings. I knew I wanted the home version of Windows Vista, and asked the senior technical representative on duty for a recommendation on a computer that used "industry-standard" components as much as possible, thereby maximizing compatibility with the screen reader technology that I used. I emphasized memory and hard disk space over a graphics card and monitor intended for games. The representative indicated that he understood my needs and recommended a Del computer with relatively large memory and hard disk specifications. Last Saturday, a Geek Squad technician delivered the computer to my home, installed it and the wireless network. At the end of the process, he mentioned that it was a 64-bit computer. I was shocked and dismayed as I knew that no screen reader worked with 64-bits yet. As evidence, I had him run a copy of JAWS, which immediately said it would not work on a 64-bit computer. The technician acknowledged that it had been a mistake to recommend such a computer, particularly in the context of my request for industry-standard components, and without even asking me if 64-bits was an acceptable specification. He said he would return on Wednesday with a replacement, 32-bit computer. It had not occured to me to specify 32-bits because I had perceived it, although changing over time, as still being a feature of high-end computers intended for a circumscribed set of resource-intensive applications, rather than for customers at a Best Buy store with a typical consumer interest in running a range of applications, including ones found on the Internet. The technician was scheduled to arrive between noon and 4 PM on Wednesday, yesterday. I took a vacation day from work to be there, though I had not wanted to lose vacation time for this originally. Despite repeated calls I made during the day to confirm the appointment, the technician did not call me until about 4:30 from the Best Buy store, where he said he discovered no 32-bit computers available. He discussed the problem with others there and said their recommendation was to load a 32-bit version of Vista on the 64-bit computer I purchased. Although they had little actual experience with this, and were unable to contact a Del representative to confirm the approach, they were confident it would work except that only 3.5 out of the 6 gigabytes of memory would be addressable because that was an upper limit for 32-bit Windows. I asked but they were not willing to call other Best Buy stores in the greater DC area to check if they had a 32-bit Del computer in stock. I said I would go along with this plan, now scheduled for a Sunday installation at my home, but that I would have to do immediate testing of various programs to assure myself that there were no compatibility problems. Since it is a few days away, I thought it best to schedule the re-install and do some additional research in the meantime. With that background, I am seeking information and advice from list members on a few questions. Will there be no compatibility problems from loading 32-bit Vista and drivers on a 32-bit computer. Specifically, it is a Del Inspiron Model I530-110B. Is 3.5 gigabytes the maximum addressable memory in this case? Would the same limit be true on a 32-bit computer? I had also purchased Microsoft Office Professional 2007. They said that the same version runs on either 32-bit or 64-bit computers. Is that the case? Does anyone have more experience to share about Best Buy and Geek Squad? The representatives involved say that they usually sell 64-bit computers now. I find this surprising since I thought a majority of software still requires 32-bits today. Is their statement credible? Is this the default retail practice now? Jamal __________ View the list's information and change your settings at //www.freelists.org/list/programmingblind