FAQs of Life

First of all, WAIT! If at all possible wait. The next version of Windows, called “Vista” is just around the corner. It is due to be released for business customers in November and for home users in January. Vista is the replacement for Windows XP. Now, I’m not saying if you have a computer that is a year or two old that you should rush out and upgrade to Vista. But if your PC is four plus years old and you are considering upgrading, my recommendation is to wait until Vista is released so you don’t have a computer that is outdated three months after you buy it. One note to this, historically when there’s a new version of software just around the corner, many PC manufactures will give you a free upgrade to the new version when it is released if you buy a PC in a specific time frame. I would bet that some companys (Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc.) may do this around the holiday shopping season to entice folks to “buy now” rather than waiting for Vista. Basically the machine you buy would come with XP and after it is released, you’d get a DVD (yes Vista comes on DVDs rather than CDs) with Vista that YOU get to install on your computer (which opens a entirely new can of worms).

If you must get a PC now make sure the manufacture certifies it as “Vista Capable” - this will ensure that the new computer meets a baseline set of requirements necessary for Vista to run.

Update: Just stumbled on this Microsoft is offering an “Express Upgrade” option if you buy a “Vista Capable” PC between October 27, 2006 and March 17, 2005 BUT it will not be free!

I make my living working on computers. Network Engineer or IT Consultant are the preferred titles but most of the time I’m referred to as the “computer guy.” With over 11 years experience in the computer service industry and the last six years as a ‘consultant’ you would think that dealling with the average home PC or network would be no big deal, easy money. Wrong. In an office environment, the PCs are there for one reason, to help folks get their jobs done. Home computers - especially those used by pesky teenagers - are the sports utility vehicals - they need to do all sorts of homework, maintain countless playlists and then there are the games. I cannot count how many times I’ve been called out to clean up a spyware and/or virus infected home PC running all sorts of P2P sharing apps. Here are some tips for keeping those home PCs in a usable -

• Maintain seperate accounts for all users of the machine and restrict all account except for one administrator. This allows you to control what software gets installed on the PC and helps keep spyware and viruses off it.
• Make sure your antivirus/antispyware programs are running and up to date. If you don’t have antivirus or antispyware programs download the Google Pack here which includes a six-month free subscription to Norton Antivirus and a free personal edition of AdAware.
• Keep computers out of your kids rooms and in a common area and keep an eye on what they are doing.