Technical matters

Microsoft Vista debuts.

Q. Should I rush in and buy Vista now? 

A.  So far we are impressed.  Microsoft seem to have done it this time with an operating system that appears to be stable and easy to use, and we understand they have sold 88 million copies so far.  Service Pack 1 has just been issued and you should have received it by automatic updtaes.

The uptake of Vista has been much more rapid than we expected, so we have dual booted half our computers with Windows XP and Windows Vista Premium at the Learning Centre as from February 2008, with the remainder on Windows XP for the foreseeable future. 

This will require a lot of updating of manuals for the more advanced courses.  Fortunately the software used for the entry level courses runs quite satisfactorily on Vista or XP with only minor differences.  Admittedly some of the 'WOW' features in Word 2007 need Vista to display properly, but the basics work with both operating systems.

Q.  Where can I try it out?

A. As we said, at SeniorNet we have installed Microsoft Vista Home Premium on four computers at the Learning Centre and you can try it out, by arrangement with your tutor.

Q. What is the advice from SeniorNet Warkworth?

A. If you are buying a new computer now you will no longer have the choice of either Windows XP or one of the versions of Windows Vista.  Windows XP will no longer be supplied as an OEM version on new computers for home use as from July 2008

 However Microsoft have stated they will continue to support Windows XP until April 2014.

The preferred version for SeniorNet members will be Windows Vista Home Premium', and while an upgrade from XP is the most cost effective, from a technical viewpoint a clean install using the full version is the best option. 

Word 2000/2002/2003 and other Office programmes will run normally on Vista.

If your machine is a couple of years old you may be able to run Vista Basic, but this version does not provide the aero experience. 512 MB of RAM is an absolute minimum, but we recommend 2 (or more) GB of RAM if you do a lot of photo manipulation.  [Your video card must be able to support the extra RAM - see further down this page]

Go to the Microsoft website and test whether your PC can run Vista, and which version - Click on this link to go to the website.  You will need to be connected to the Internet:

 Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor and follow the instructions

Vista Ultimate is the top version and contains all the bells and whistles.  To make full use of these you will need a fast dual core processor, and a minimum of 2GB of the latest DDR2 RAM, as well as the latest supporting hardware components. Bench tests indicate that while in theory 32 bit Vista can use up to 4 GB of RAM, there is very little gain between 3 GB and 4 GB.  The 64 bit version can use more RAM, but there is at present very little 64 bit third party software available, and of course you need a 64 bit processor.

So it makes little sense to pay a lot of money for an expensive operating system which has features your old computer can not use. 

To whet your appetite have a look at HPs  IQ770 TouchSmart - use it as a PC, a TV, a DVD player, a media centre and a lot more now available in NZ at $NZ 4298.

If you are into online games, or lots of video processing, then Vista Premium or Media Centre on a highly specified PC has benefits for you, and you probably know enough that you don't need advice from us.

 If you merely want to use email, write a few letters, look after your club database, or research your genealogy, then the Home Basic version will be your choice, but probably offers little more than Windows XP  (or even Windows 2000) which should be perfectly adequate for years to come.  If you ignore the fancy graphics, the main advantage of Vista is improved security.

While the firewall in XP blocked incoming nasties, if they managed to slip past, it did not stop them phoning home with your details.  Vista blocks them both ways, so it is not necessary to install third party firewalls. [It is not good practice to have two firewalls, or two antivirus programmes, as they can interfere with each other].

Q.  Why not just stay with Windows XP

A. Windows XP will be supported for another 6 years, so don't dispose of it yet.  Rumour has it that a Service Pack 3 upgrade to Windows XP is expected soon, and it is likely to upgrade security to the same level as Vista.  In the meantime make sure you have a regularly updated and used antivirus (e g AVG) [scan at least once a week] and firewall (e.g. ZoneAlarm) programmes.

Q. Can I get Vista's level of security now without buying Vista. 

A. If you want an all-in-one solution which will do it all for you plus a lot more, then Norton 360 from the Symantec website, or Microsoft Windows Live OneCare from the Microsoft website are available for download now, or can be purchased from retail outlets in NZ. Both can be loaded on to 3 home computers.

For a new dual core computer running Vista you should not notice the difference, but for an older less capable computer Live OneCare takes a lot of processing power and can slow things up dramatically, so is best scheduled to do its thing while you have breakfast. 
 

Norton 360 has been completely rewritten for Vista and no longer slows thing up like previous versions.  It sits quietly in the background and automatically downloads updates, scans your computer for viruses, phishing attacks etc, and defrags the hard disk, among other things.

There are also a number of third party equivalents from other sources including Internet security suites from Macafee, TrendMicro, FireTrust, and ZoneAlarm, and a host of others.

Technical Manager

SeniorNet Warkworth

HP IQ770 TouchSmart all-in-one PC  19 inch widescreen LCD - one of the first of the new generation of PCs which are set to replace the traditional TV set and video player, as well as do all your PC would do. 

All peripherals have no cords so sit back in the armchair and enjoy! (or work)

Windows Vista Media Centre

Random Access Memory  - RAM

How Much should I have ?

There is no really hard and fast answer to this question. It depends upon what you are using your computer for, and what operating system you are using, to take the two most obvious factors. If you are multi-tasking - using Adobe Photoshop Elements or doing video editing, and want to be able to run office applications, and surf, and do email, all at once - then you may need a fair amount of memory. If you are a typical home user and mostly use your computer for email, surfing, a word processor or spreadsheet, then you won't need quite as much. In terms of how it affects you the end user, the right amount of memory = faster computer. 

However installing more RAM may make absolutely no difference if your hardware is not up to it, for instance, you may need to upgrade your video card, and this on top of the cost of the RAM could go a long way towards the cost of a new box.

For the typical (confused) home user here are some recommendations (or best guesses)

Linux – can manage with as little as 4 MB

Windows 95 - Seems to be happy with 64 MB. Anything over doesn't get you much performance increase, but if you have anything less, you should consider getting more memory. The benefit can be quite substantial.

Windows 98/Me - Seems to be happy with 128 MB. Works OK with 64 MB, but you will probably see a significant performance increase by going to 128. Anything over 128 generally doesn't get you much.

Windows NT (Workstation) - Seems to be happy with 128 MB for most things.

Windows 2000 - At least 128 MB, and basically as much as you can afford. Consider 256 MB or more if it's got a heavy demand on it.

Windows XP - Hard to say, but 256 MB as a minimum, and works better with more, up to 512 MB.  Opinions vary as to whether going to 1GB gives any noticeable benefit.

Windows Vista – Will run with 512 MB, but as a rule of thumb you should double the amount you would have used with XP up to a maximum of 4 GB for the 32 bit version (and the sky is the limit for the 64 bit version). To use the aero effects your video card needs plenty of RAM installed on the card itself, or if it shares some of the RAM on the motherboard there will be less for general use.

Most experts recommend 1GB with further benefit noticed up to 2GB.  In early tests the scale of benefit beyond 3 GB is reported to tail off.

Buying more memory is one of the easiest, cheapest, and most effective ways of improving your computer performance.

Now what about DDR RAM, Rambus RAM, SD RAM, EDO RAM, XDR RAM,  etc etc?

Don't get confused by the gobbledegook. Your motherboard will usually want a specific type, so the options are limited.

Look in the information booklet that came with your motherboard, or find the make and model by looking at the upper surface of the motherboard where it will be written in tiny writing, then Google it on the Internet for recommendations for your specific model.