Eric Webb
Last Monday of the July 4th week was a sad day....
It was the day that Microsoft officially announced that they would no longer sell Windows XP in ANY of the computer stores. It would be very hard to get a new version unless you go to Ebay or private sellers now.
People now have no choice but to go to Windows Vista now to upgrade their computers. All new computers will come with Vista preinstalled. The only other option is to request XP to be installed on a custom ordered computer from HP or Dell. They are the only ones offering a choice between Vista and XP on new machines. Dell is the only major manufacturer that also offers Ubuntu Linux on custom ordered machines as a choice other than Windows XP or Vista.
I have tested Ubuntu on an old laptop that I have, and it seems to work great as a Windows alternative. Very simple to use, and stable compared to Windows.
I recently visited a few of my local stores, and sure enough, where XP pro and Home editions used to be on the shelves, they were all empty, except where the XP labels remained. All that is left is overpriced Vista. It means that I can't custom build a computer with Windows XP without going through a lot of trouble searching for a new version of XP unregistered or activated. The days of XP are coming to an end at Microsoft. Just when it was getting very stable and good, Microsoft is abandoning it for their next cash cow... Vista.
Which didn't turn out to be such a cash cow after all.
The problem is that too many people are very unhappy with Vista. It is still very buggy, not compatible with many software and hardware items. It is much slower to boot up, and has many new changes that people have complained about. I made the mistake of mentioning Vista to a Realtor I know, and she got really mad, her face turning red about Vista. It seemed that Vista was a nightmare in the real estate office, and didn't work right with their work software. I was amazed to see how many people get angry or frustrated with Vista!
There is a revolution going on. People are resisting Vista, and want to go back to reliable XP. XP has been stabilized over the last few years, with many improvements. Just when people were getting used to using XP, Microsoft now wants everyone to upgrade to the latest and greatest (or worst depending on who you talk to) of their Operating System.
Microsoft has simply ignored the many requests and PLEAS of people all over the world who want to get new machines with XP instead of Vista. The company insists on getting everyone upgraded to Vista to add more money to their accounts. So far, Vista has been a disappointment to Microsoft. Plus the fact that many people don't have the extra money laying around to get new machines in a tough economy.
There are too many small companies that cannot afford to upgrade all their computers with Vista, which also means getting newer machines that are Vista compatible. Many of the older PCs cannot handle Vista, and Vista needs at least 2 gigs of RAM to run. For ideal operation it is recommended that Vista runs on a computer with 3 or 4 gigs of Ram.
The high costs of upgrading BOTH the computers AND the OS are very expensive when you consider many companies have more than just a few machines.
There have been many comments by business owners of why should they upgrade, when what they have works just fine for their needs? Many companies don't need the upgrades, and it is Microsoft that is insisting that it is time for upgrading...
The jury is still out, but many are testifying against Vista. I have heard nothing but complaints from everyone who has used Vista, including a close friend of mine who has a new HP with Vista. I've had to help him many times with the Vista problems...
I miss my old Windows XP machine. It was a good machine for over 10+ years, and now it is in a PC graveyard after the obsolete PIII motherboard has since died. The case was too old to upgrade to a dual core system, and it would have been too expensive anyways. For the cost of upgrading the old system and replacing everything, I could have just spent the money buying a brand new off the shelf computer from a local store.
Until Vista improves, most people will stick with Windows XP and older versions of Windows. Others will stick with Linux or Apple....
Rumor is that Microsoft is working on their NEXT version of Windows, even though they have not perfected Vista yet. So far sales are a flop, and Microsoft is scrambling to come up with something better than Vista, or they will soon be out of the Operating System business.
Until then, there is no need to rush out and upgrade to Vista... yet. Just wait until it gets improved (hopefully) over the next few years.
In the meantime, enjoy what machine you are using now, and add more RAM memory and a bigger hard drive to give it more life. Get the most use out of your computer, until the time comes when you are ready for a new computer... and you can afford to buy one at a reasonable price.
San Diego Computer Repair - On Site PC Repair - San Diego PC Help
Last Monday of the July 4th week was a sad day....
It was the day that Microsoft officially announced that they would no longer sell Windows XP in ANY of the computer stores. It would be very hard to get a new version unless you go to Ebay or private sellers now.
People now have no choice but to go to Windows Vista now to upgrade their computers. All new computers will come with Vista preinstalled. The only other option is to request XP to be installed on a custom ordered computer from HP or Dell. They are the only ones offering a choice between Vista and XP on new machines. Dell is the only major manufacturer that also offers Ubuntu Linux on custom ordered machines as a choice other than Windows XP or Vista.
I have tested Ubuntu on an old laptop that I have, and it seems to work great as a Windows alternative. Very simple to use, and stable compared to Windows.
I recently visited a few of my local stores, and sure enough, where XP pro and Home editions used to be on the shelves, they were all empty, except where the XP labels remained. All that is left is overpriced Vista. It means that I can't custom build a computer with Windows XP without going through a lot of trouble searching for a new version of XP unregistered or activated. The days of XP are coming to an end at Microsoft. Just when it was getting very stable and good, Microsoft is abandoning it for their next cash cow... Vista.
Which didn't turn out to be such a cash cow after all.
The problem is that too many people are very unhappy with Vista. It is still very buggy, not compatible with many software and hardware items. It is much slower to boot up, and has many new changes that people have complained about. I made the mistake of mentioning Vista to a Realtor I know, and she got really mad, her face turning red about Vista. It seemed that Vista was a nightmare in the real estate office, and didn't work right with their work software. I was amazed to see how many people get angry or frustrated with Vista!
There is a revolution going on. People are resisting Vista, and want to go back to reliable XP. XP has been stabilized over the last few years, with many improvements. Just when people were getting used to using XP, Microsoft now wants everyone to upgrade to the latest and greatest (or worst depending on who you talk to) of their Operating System.
Microsoft has simply ignored the many requests and PLEAS of people all over the world who want to get new machines with XP instead of Vista. The company insists on getting everyone upgraded to Vista to add more money to their accounts. So far, Vista has been a disappointment to Microsoft. Plus the fact that many people don't have the extra money laying around to get new machines in a tough economy.
There are too many small companies that cannot afford to upgrade all their computers with Vista, which also means getting newer machines that are Vista compatible. Many of the older PCs cannot handle Vista, and Vista needs at least 2 gigs of RAM to run. For ideal operation it is recommended that Vista runs on a computer with 3 or 4 gigs of Ram.
The high costs of upgrading BOTH the computers AND the OS are very expensive when you consider many companies have more than just a few machines.
There have been many comments by business owners of why should they upgrade, when what they have works just fine for their needs? Many companies don't need the upgrades, and it is Microsoft that is insisting that it is time for upgrading...
The jury is still out, but many are testifying against Vista. I have heard nothing but complaints from everyone who has used Vista, including a close friend of mine who has a new HP with Vista. I've had to help him many times with the Vista problems...
I miss my old Windows XP machine. It was a good machine for over 10+ years, and now it is in a PC graveyard after the obsolete PIII motherboard has since died. The case was too old to upgrade to a dual core system, and it would have been too expensive anyways. For the cost of upgrading the old system and replacing everything, I could have just spent the money buying a brand new off the shelf computer from a local store.
Until Vista improves, most people will stick with Windows XP and older versions of Windows. Others will stick with Linux or Apple....
Rumor is that Microsoft is working on their NEXT version of Windows, even though they have not perfected Vista yet. So far sales are a flop, and Microsoft is scrambling to come up with something better than Vista, or they will soon be out of the Operating System business.
Until then, there is no need to rush out and upgrade to Vista... yet. Just wait until it gets improved (hopefully) over the next few years.
In the meantime, enjoy what machine you are using now, and add more RAM memory and a bigger hard drive to give it more life. Get the most use out of your computer, until the time comes when you are ready for a new computer... and you can afford to buy one at a reasonable price.
San Diego Computer Repair - On Site PC Repair - San Diego PC Help