Vista - Choose When to Change

As I began reading this month's PC World Magazine, I noticed some letters and forum posts about businesses complaining about how proprietary systems were not working with Vista...in fact, one letter even said that Microsoft should be slapped with a class-action...Please stop. Seriously, these are the same people who stayed with the Dos, green-screens even after XP was out..Does anyone remember the chaos that went around for Y2K? Windows 95, 98 and 2000 still run today because Microsoft fixed their issues...And, companies spent millions fixing older "proprietary" programs that didn't think past 1999...OK, this is a bit extreme, but there is a point in there somewhere...Should companies shell out the money to buy new software? Should companies be forced to use Vista?

No one is forcing either...Microsoft is just trying to move things along for those that do want a change. They are not saying that you need to buy Vista...In fact, if your company is buying machines from a reputable computer company, they can offer you a downgrade, even after June 30th to Windows 2000 if you would like. The downgrade program has been a part of the deals Microsoft makes with businesses who build computers for some time now. They still buy a "Vista" license number. Really, though, they are just purchasing a license for Windows.

My question to these companies not looking to move forward any time soon is, "When will be the right time to move forward?" Many "proprietary" systems are well overdue for a change. Your users/employees are getting frustrated with learning programs that greatly differ from the rest of their computer usage. Your training teams could use a little more than a Windows 98 interface to liven up the discussion. Your customers could benefit from a system that they can tap into as well.

I may not understand the ins and outs of your program and how it functions with any version of Windows, but programs that can not grow and adapt limit the growth of your company; limit the usability of your users; and may limit your market share due to frustration by your consumers...

For those that would disagree, I ask for you to think about the advancements first and not the resistance to change. Change really is inevitable...but, choose WHEN you make the move not IF you make the move...

Windows With Answers

There are many, many sites out there that "talk" about windows and its many variations. There are also many sites out there that are just a waste of bandwidth. It is difficult to determine which ones to trust and which ones you should dismiss. There is one site that I have used and review every couple of days to see if I missed something in my adventures with any version of windows, it is Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

Paul writes books, does podcasts, provides reviews and tips for the masses. Most of all, he is a "normal" human being. He plays XBOX 360. He spends time with his children. And, he uses many products he shares. If you have questions about Window products, search Paul's site, read one of his books or blogs, or listen to his podcasts. If you don't find it somewhere there, it may not be worth the adventure.

Windows Vista...Really Not That Bad...

OK, OK, so you are probably thinking to yourself that the storyteller finally lost it. You are probably thinking that there is no way that someone could actually like Vista...well, I will tell you, Vista is really not that bad...

Well, actually, the Basic version is down right awful, I will give you that, but on a newer computer, Home Premium is working well and has been working well since I did a full install in February. The computer had XP Media Center on it originally when we purchased it last November (2006). It came with the free upgrade. While the wait for DVD was a pain, the install was a snap since we basically wiped everything out except for the restore part of the drive. I know, I know, why would I keep the restore section if everything is going well? Why would I not just save the section, ehh, who knows...for some reason I left it.

There were a few challenges with the driver for the wireless card we had left over from an old machine initially, which the Vista upgrader showed. However, since the care we had was slower, it gave me justification to purchase a newer and faster card. This install gave us a clean install of everything without the bloatware. No extras from Compaq/HP...this was great. HP even sent a disk with the additional items and the SR2050NX drivers can be found on the HP/Compaq website.

The updates have kept us comfortable and secure. The UAC can be a pain at times, especially when trying to update Joost. That darn pop-up is just annoying, especially when it takes a few moments for it to pop up and the screen hangs a little. However, logic told me to run Joost as administrator when updating. After it updates, normal mode is fine.

The look and feel has been good. The graphics have been better than expected. The rating Vista gives me a rating of 2.1 on my graphics card, so I am pretty sure that you can't say that the card is "high-end." In fact, it plays back video well.

While we wait for Service Pack 1, I think we are still OK with using it with Microsoft products such as Office 2003 and games. It is good for office and casual use. It is a workable operating system that helps move the Microsoft camp further into user-functionality.

More to Come..