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Raw Bytes Computer News KPBX FM 91.1 Radio National Public Radio Network Frank Delaney Producer Broadcast on Wednesday Morning 7:35 AM During Morning Edition Support Public Radio ! The Theater Of the Mind |
In computer news this week 01/24
/2007 |
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Vista is coming for real now –
do you have to upgrade? After
numerous delays and tons of hype, Microsoft will now actually be releasing
its new operating system – Vista – next week on January 30th. The
trumpets have been sounding from their Redmond headquarters for months now,
and friends of Microsoft – vendors who will be selling or bundling it -
have been touting its release as the greatest thing in the history of the pc
marketplace. But what
is it really, and should you buy it? It’s
an operating system, which means most users don’t understand what an
operating system is and so some will be susceptible to buying it as
it’s something new and they feel they need to keep up with technology. But if
your few years old computer is working fine, do you really need to upgrade to
it? Microsoft
initially touted this as the safest operating system yet, totally
invulnerable to attacks by hackers and viruses. But in recent months rumors
show it to be just as vulnerable as previous operating systems, so its not truly bulletproof. This includes flaws in the
Vista code as well as in the new Internet Explorer 7 which will be part of
it. So if
your present computer is protected from spyware and viruses and hackers and
phishers, you’re fine where you are. Vista
will include microsoft’s own anti-spyware program – Windows
defender – built into it. But you can download and use windows Defender
on your old computer for free right now, so that’s not a reason to
upgrade. Vista
will have basically the same look and feel as Windows XP, with some changes. And the power requirements – or
how fast a computer you need to run it properly and how much ram and
computing power you’ll need – are still vague. Initially it was
going to require the new generation of Intel processors and at least a couple
megs of ram and a huge 100 Gig plus hard disk to operate in, but now
Microsoft has backed away from those hardware requirements, saying that your
windows XP computer should run Vista fine, so there’s no reason not to
upgrade. I’ve
read some articles on Vista that state the main screen will not display
clearly if you don’t have the power required to run it, but
you’ll still be able to run it at a lesser level. But
there’s also no reason to upgrade and spend a couple hundred dollars
and who knows how many hours backing up your important data, and then running
the install procedure for Vista and hoping everything works fine. In fact
the only people who will really have to buy Vista are people buying computers
after January 30th, the official Vista launch date, and then Vista
will be the standard operating system on any pc-compatible computer you buy,
and eventually Microsoft will stop supporting Windows 2000 or Millenium and
even XP, as they have stopped supported Windows 98 and earlier versions of
their operating system. Microsoft
is supposed to have spent 9 Billion dollars in the development and testing of
Vista, which is another reason they want you to upgrade, so they can start
paying themselves back with your license fees. So when
the cries of Upgrade to Vista become deafening – and the drums are
beating for you to upgrade to - as they say – the leading edge of technology – remember these 2
things I’ve learned in this my 30th year of working in the PC industry
– You can
get cut by the leading edge of technology, and you can fall off it. For Raw Bytes This is Frank Delaney (C) 2007 MTA Micro
Technology Associates http://www.mtamicro.com/kpbx.html PO Box 31522 Spokane, Wa 99223-1522 (509)624-7230 |
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