Thursday, October 22, 2009
Windows 7 Day
Today October 22, 2009 is being called Windows 7 day as Microsoft releases their latest version of their venerable operating system to the public. The tech and to some extent mainstream press have covered the subject to death, so I will offer just a couple of comments.
I have been testing the OS and even used it day-to-day for a period. I worked my way up through the beta releases as they flowed from Microsoft. The most nagging problem that I had was getting it to join a domain hosted by a Linux server. I hope they smoothed that problem out in the finished product. I have a copy on order so we will find out soon.
My overall impression of the product is that it is a finished version of Windows Vista. Enough said.
I have been testing the OS and even used it day-to-day for a period. I worked my way up through the beta releases as they flowed from Microsoft. The most nagging problem that I had was getting it to join a domain hosted by a Linux server. I hope they smoothed that problem out in the finished product. I have a copy on order so we will find out soon.
My overall impression of the product is that it is a finished version of Windows Vista. Enough said.
Labels: Microsoft, Vista, Windows
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Free Tech Support from Microsoft
Microsoft is growing concerned about the reception that Vista is getting with businesses. Needless to say, businesses are not jumping onto the Vista band wagon. Matter of fact, I do not personally know any business with more than one employee which has begun implementing Vista.
To get the ball rolling, Microsoft is offering free telephone technical support for small businesses that purchase a new computer with Windows Vista Business or Vista Ultimate installed. The purchase must be made between July 1st and September 30th of this year. The Windows Vista "Small Business Assurance" technical support program will offer support through October 31st.
What is a small business. For the sake of this program, Microsoft considers you small if you have 50 or fewer employees or 25 or less computers. It is unsure how Microsoft will validate those figures.
I am unsure if this alone will help Microsoft. The last thing that small business people want to do is wait on hold for a Microsoft tech support person. They want the machine fixed so that they can get on with business. I think that just the stoppage of selling Windows XP back on June 30th will give Vista a push. There are far fewer options for those that want to stick with XP. The only three options for obtaining Windows XP at this point are buying an ultra-mobile notebook, purchasing a system builder version, or buying a computer with an XP rollback.
To get the ball rolling, Microsoft is offering free telephone technical support for small businesses that purchase a new computer with Windows Vista Business or Vista Ultimate installed. The purchase must be made between July 1st and September 30th of this year. The Windows Vista "Small Business Assurance" technical support program will offer support through October 31st.
What is a small business. For the sake of this program, Microsoft considers you small if you have 50 or fewer employees or 25 or less computers. It is unsure how Microsoft will validate those figures.
I am unsure if this alone will help Microsoft. The last thing that small business people want to do is wait on hold for a Microsoft tech support person. They want the machine fixed so that they can get on with business. I think that just the stoppage of selling Windows XP back on June 30th will give Vista a push. There are far fewer options for those that want to stick with XP. The only three options for obtaining Windows XP at this point are buying an ultra-mobile notebook, purchasing a system builder version, or buying a computer with an XP rollback.
Labels: Microsoft, Vista, Windows, Windows XP
Friday, April 25, 2008
Windows Vista - As The OS Turns
I attempt to be a guiding light on technology that affects your small business. As you can see by two references to soap operas - I do not know where this Windows saga will lead. There are many differing opinions and news stories about the future of Windows. Even Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said this about extending the life of Windows XP, ""If customer feedback varies, we can always wake up smarter."
As it currently stands, Microsoft will stop selling retail versions of Windows XP on June 30th of this year. Microsoft has indicated that they will extend sales of XP for small, low-powered notebook computers to a later unspecified date. It is entirely possible that it will extend sales to PC builders for longer as indicted by a recent admission by Dell.
Windows 7 is the next version of the operating system. Bill Gates of Microsoft has hinted that it could be available in 2009. If they can turn around a good product that quickly it will be an absolute miracle. Some have predicted that Microsoft will leap-frog Vista much like they did Windows ME. (Count your blessings if you leap-frogged Windows ME. Holy Cow)
Your decision should be based on your current situation:
You have a mix of Windows 2000 and Windows XP workstations - I would recommend upgrading the Windows 2000 computers to Windows XP before the June 30th cut-off. Even if you are unable to upgrade all of the Windows 2000 computers at least have copies of XP in hand. One word of warning about the upgrade is memory. Be sure that each computer has at least 512 Megabytes of memory or plan to add memory before you apply Windows XP. This will protect you against upcoming software upgrades that could leave Windows 2000 out of the requirements list.
Everything is Windows XP - This is the common scenario. If you are happy then I do not see any reason to not just sit tight for the next year or two. If it appears that Windows 7 will not become available in 2009 then you can begin transitioning to Windows Vista. With a couple of possible exceptions, I see software companies including Windows XP on the requirements lists for some time.
Adding new workstations - I would still tend to lean towards Windows XP unless you are spending a lot of money on very powerful workstations. If you are making an investment of more than $1500 workstations, then their longevity could pay-off in taking the plunge to Windows Vista. They also will be powerful enough to take advantage of the Vista eye-candy.
Buying new low-cost notebook computers for salespeople - Definitely try to purchase these with Windows XP. I have recently worked on a couple of low-end ($500) notebook computers with Vista. It was a nightmare. To allow a boot-up in less than five minutes or any reasonable operating speed it required shutting off any Vista eye-candy features. When we were done it actually looked a lot like Windows 2000.
Ultimately you usually cannot go wrong in technology with a wait-and-see attitude. Holding back a bit usually gains you a better product at a lower price. This has even held true in the past year for Vista. Microsoft is nearly ready to release the Service Pack 1 upgrade, and they have recently lowered the price for off-the-shelf Vista. I like the mindset of staying one version behind the market. You will usually have a product that has been vetted and is more supported.
As it currently stands, Microsoft will stop selling retail versions of Windows XP on June 30th of this year. Microsoft has indicated that they will extend sales of XP for small, low-powered notebook computers to a later unspecified date. It is entirely possible that it will extend sales to PC builders for longer as indicted by a recent admission by Dell.
Windows 7 is the next version of the operating system. Bill Gates of Microsoft has hinted that it could be available in 2009. If they can turn around a good product that quickly it will be an absolute miracle. Some have predicted that Microsoft will leap-frog Vista much like they did Windows ME. (Count your blessings if you leap-frogged Windows ME. Holy Cow)
Your decision should be based on your current situation:
You have a mix of Windows 2000 and Windows XP workstations - I would recommend upgrading the Windows 2000 computers to Windows XP before the June 30th cut-off. Even if you are unable to upgrade all of the Windows 2000 computers at least have copies of XP in hand. One word of warning about the upgrade is memory. Be sure that each computer has at least 512 Megabytes of memory or plan to add memory before you apply Windows XP. This will protect you against upcoming software upgrades that could leave Windows 2000 out of the requirements list.
Everything is Windows XP - This is the common scenario. If you are happy then I do not see any reason to not just sit tight for the next year or two. If it appears that Windows 7 will not become available in 2009 then you can begin transitioning to Windows Vista. With a couple of possible exceptions, I see software companies including Windows XP on the requirements lists for some time.
Adding new workstations - I would still tend to lean towards Windows XP unless you are spending a lot of money on very powerful workstations. If you are making an investment of more than $1500 workstations, then their longevity could pay-off in taking the plunge to Windows Vista. They also will be powerful enough to take advantage of the Vista eye-candy.
Buying new low-cost notebook computers for salespeople - Definitely try to purchase these with Windows XP. I have recently worked on a couple of low-end ($500) notebook computers with Vista. It was a nightmare. To allow a boot-up in less than five minutes or any reasonable operating speed it required shutting off any Vista eye-candy features. When we were done it actually looked a lot like Windows 2000.
Ultimately you usually cannot go wrong in technology with a wait-and-see attitude. Holding back a bit usually gains you a better product at a lower price. This has even held true in the past year for Vista. Microsoft is nearly ready to release the Service Pack 1 upgrade, and they have recently lowered the price for off-the-shelf Vista. I like the mindset of staying one version behind the market. You will usually have a product that has been vetted and is more supported.
Labels: Bill Gates, Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, Vista, Windows, XP
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