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Raw Bytes Computer News KPBX FM 91.1 Radio National Public Radio Network Frank Delaney Producer Broadcast on Thursday Morning 7:35 AM During Morning Edition Support Public Radio ! The Theater Of the Mind |
In computer news this week 5/24/2006 |
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Considering a new pc ? Just have
a nice Summer .... The Intel
Corporation has announced a new generation of microprocessors, the Intel®
Core™2 Duo processor is the new brand name for
the next-generation energy-efficient
performance desktop and mobile processors. For over
a decade now the Intel Pentium Processor has been the leading microprocessor
installed in PC’s. It was the successor to the Intel 486 chip, and The
Pentium has gone through 4 generations of evolution. The
original Pentium 1 was introduced in 1995, when Microsoft released Windows
95. The Pentium 2 came out 1997, prior to Microsoft releasing Windows 98, and
the Pentium 3 came out in 1999, with enhanced functions related to the
internet, or MMX technology as it was named. The Pentium 4 was introduced a
couple years later, related to Microsoft’s introduction of Windows XP. So now
Microsoft has announced its going to be introducing its new Vista operating
system later this year, and here’s Microsoft ally Intel introducing a
new generation of processors targeted somewhat towards Vista and the new
world of interenet based computing. Microsoft
recently posted hardware requirements, and listed the required specifications
for a PC to be branded 'Vista Capable' and 'Vista Premium Ready'. A 'Vista Capable' PC will
require at least an 800MHz processor, 512MB of system memory, a DirectX 9
capable graphics card, a 40GB hard drive with at least 15GB of free space, a
DVD drive, and audio and internet capabilities. The only extra
requirements for a 'Vista Premium Ready' PC are a 1GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit
(x64) processor, 1GB of Ram and a graphics card with 128MB of onboard memory
capable of supporting Windows Aero2. Both of these
specifications are higher than what the average pc has today. This means that
theoretically you might be able to upgrade your older PC, but realistically
with the incredibly low price of pc’s today it’s probably better
to buy new. Which leads us to today’s PC world survival tips. A general rule for
survival in the pc industry is to be as white bread as possible, and be in
the middle of the pack. There’s those who will always want to be on the
leading edge of
technology, but you can get cut by the leading edge, or fall
off it. The pc world is covered with graves of technologies that looked great
but which were never adopted by the masses. This is why the vast majority of
pc’s run Microsoft operating systems, and use Microsoft Office
products. White bread for sure, but a high degree of safety also. And another rule is not
to buy behind technology. There’s a whole lot of pc’s
for sale right now in the distribution channel with Pentium processors which
vendors have to sell. But you
don’t have to buy them, knowing there’s both a new generation
microprocessor going to be released by Intel later this year, and a new
operating system by Microsoft. So instead of plunking
your money down on a new pc today – which will be
technologically obsolete in just a few months – have a nice Summer
– and then do your PC buying next Fall. For Raw Bytes This is Frank Delaney (C) 2006 MTA Micro
Technology Associates http://www.mtamicro.com/kpbx.html PO Box 31522 Spokane, Wa 99223-1522 (509)624-7230 |
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