As if there weren’t already enough costly business decisions to be made, what do you do when the life blood of your business (your computer/s) is on a downhill run to obsolete, or working just fine – as far as Commodore 64’s go – but not compatible with anything else you use, or anyone else you digitally converse with?
I have a desktop computer running Windows XP 2002 and a laptop, which is used almost as frequently, running Vista Home Basic 2007. More and more people are sending me .docx file attachments; meaning I have to save it to my USB (thumb drive) to open it on my laptop, then re-save it back to the USB as a ‘Word 97–2003 compatible’ file to open it on my desktop PC (cos that’s where I find it more comfortable to work).
Plus I have application-installation issues and security software dramas. Every Joe Blog and his dog keeps telling me, “get a Mac”. If I had a spare six-to-eight grand (?) to replace everything I currently work with, and the time (and patience) to teach myself to efficiently use a foreign operating system, sure, I would!
So I figured, for now, I’d solve most of my tech issues with a big ‘ol dent in the credit card to upgrade my desktop to Vista. That was until my inner voice – which sounds strangely identical to my mum’s voice – told me to “research costly purchases first Carlee”. So now I’m back at square-one because, according to the World Wide Web of a zillion differing opinions…
“Some applications are not as compatible with Windows Vista as they are with XP.” [Anti virus programs, i Tunes and video games are examples of “applications” but these are not necessarily the ones Vista won’t play with].
“You need the correct hardware to use all the features of Windows Vista; 1 GHz processor and 1 GB of RAM”… being just two of these hardware requirements.
“Many people also have slower running computers and find out that the computer is running even slower after the upgrade.”
I don’t know what to do; asking a computer store sales assistant for technical advice is almost as daunting as the Mac interface. While I continue my attempts to source an Australian-based information technology contributor for SNOBS, let’s open this one up for discussion, hey? In other words, please help me (and any other SNOB-readers who are equally tech-clueless) so we don’t spend more yet-to-be-earned dollars on stuff we don’t quite understand.
Tip: to check which operating system your PC is running, click on the Start Menu > click on My Computer > click on View System Information
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Unfortunately for a lot of people the ‘get a mac’ option is not a great option, even though macs are awesome and once you’re over the initial shock of the new operating system you will most likely find life online a lot easier.
“Upgrading” to Windows Vista always seems a funny thing to me, personally I consider Vista a big downgrade from Windows XP. You need more RAM (memory) to drive the operating system, I wouldn’t even attempt to do it with less than 2gb, and you need a bigger hard disk because the operating system is so bloated with junk you don’t use / need.
Another problem a lot of businesses face is the cost of updating their applications to run on Windows Vista, my work has purposely avoided updating to Vista because we have a couple of applications that are used on a daily basis that cannot be run on Vista at all. Also we have the costs associated with training our staff, the difference in time to do tasks while staff are still becoming familiar with the new OS, granted we would have the same issues with Macs.
If someone asked me what they should do, update to Vista or keep running XP, I would tell them to stick with XP for now as there will be a new Windows operating system before you know it…and maybe Microsoft will get it right this time.
Oh and for .docx documents that aren’t compatible, you can either try using one of the myriad of online converters like http://www.docx2doc.com/, or you can also install the Compatibility Pack from Microsoft here -> http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA100444731033.aspx
Alternatively download Open Office.
Research is a must! You’ll want to make sure it fits in with your day-to-day operations. From what I have gathered, a Mac would suit you and your business beautifully. Also, I have a soft spot for Macs (my first was about 8 years ago) and demand for them have increased dramatically over the years . Software makers have already taken notice, so there is a solution to your typical everyday business in the mac world. The only heartache left would be the pretty penny spent on it. Apple has however, just come out with some handy financing options to evaluate http://www.apple.com/au/financing/professional/ .
Get a Mac
My gosh! Do all you blokes work for Macintosh, or what? (If you do… how about you pull some strings to get one, on eternal-loan, for SNOB HQ – since they’re apparently supposed to change computer-users lives for the better, which would HAVE to equal the betterment of snobs.com.au as a whole, right?)
Actually, while you’re at it, ask Lord Mac for a spare that I can giveaway via SNOBS – to dramatically improve the life of one of our avid readers, eh?
Eagerly awaiting Apple
(Carlee Potter a.k.a Chief SNOB)
I really think Mat hit the nail on the head with his reply… agree totally. Have to admit before I go any further that I’m currently contracted to Microsoft (i.e. I am not actually employed by them, I am self-employed but am currently contracted by them). I also studied and worked in IT prior to . So the ‘Get a Mac’ advice is something I can maybe provide an alternative argument to…
First option – if it’s just the .docx extension (or .pptx or .xlsx extension) of the files you’re being sent that pose a problem, you can still open these files fine in XP or Vista or Mac as long as you have the latest version of Microsoft Office – it’s the version of Office you’re using which determines if you can open it, not the version of the operating system. Another alternative to buying the latest version of Office is to use one of the services Mat suggests above. I’m still running XP on my home machine with Office 2007 and it works a treat.
2nd option – if you still have your heart set on upgrading to Vista using your current hardware, contact me through my blog and I’ll see if I can get you a free copy of Vista for SNOBs – I can’t promise it’ll work with your desktop hardware without knowing more about the computer, but it will remove the risk you might waste your money if your hardware isn’t sufficient.
The third option is to buy a new desktop computer w. Vista installed – a Dell Inspiron with Vista will get you out of trouble for under $1000 (1.6gHz processor, 2Gb RAM). It will run nicely. It’ll be stable, secure and predictable.
With all due respect to the guys above, the fourth, and most expensive option here is to ‘Get a Mac’ and learn how to use OSX or Leopard OS. Macs are sweet, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think they’re the right answer here unless Carlee is doing alot of desktop publishing / music production / video editing etc… they’re kinda overkill for most business users.