Issue 13.15
The computer world is in flux – particularly concerning Operating Systems (OS) for PCs. For many years, Windows 7 has ruled the roost, controlling around ninety percent of the computers in use. Last year Windows 8 was released to very mixed reviews and a lot of customer frustration. In a recent article, we revealed the upcoming release of Windows 10. It hopefully will overcome most of the pain that Windows 8 caused and restore some of the functionality of Windows 7 while keeping many of the good things that Windows 8 introduced. If all goes as Microsoft hopes, most people will be using Windows 10 by this time next year.
In the meantime, what if you need to buy a new computer or replace your old one before Windows 10 arrives and before we find out if it lives up to expectations? People are asking me almost every day what I think they should do – so here goes.
I still believe the best move for people that need to buy a computer now is to find one that runs Windows 7. New ones are still available through some dealers (including me) and online. They are not available at Best Buy and Staples as far as I can find out but independent dealers can still purchase them or build them. Microsoft has promised they will support Windows 7 until at least 2020, but more importantly, they have announced that they will upgrade your 7 or 8 OS to Windows 10 free for the first year after it is released. They are not promising to do that if you wait longer than that year, but hopefully that will be enough time to get the bugs worked out and to let people figure out if they like it.
If it is a bust, you will still have Windows 7 and can use it until at least 2020. If it works well, you can upgrade free to Windows 10 and it is likely that there will be another new OS available by then. Either way you don’t have to trouble yourself with Windows 8 at all, which I personally think is a good idea.
This is also true of used computers. I would definitely not purchase a Vista or XP machine since XP is already not being supported and Vista will lose support next year. There are however many refurbished or off-lease computers in the pipeline that have Windows 7 on them, work well and (you guessed it) will be capable of being upgraded to Windows 10 free when it is released. If you do purchase a used or refurbished unit (or a new one for that matter) be sure you get at least a dual core processor and at least 2 Gigabytes of RAM memory, although I recommend 4 or more if you can afford it. Hard drive size is another question. Those who only do emails and facebook and write an occasional letter don’t need a large hard drive, but those who download music, movies and take hundreds of digital pictures or videos will want at least 500 Gigabyte Hard Drives and I recommend 1 Terabyte or more if you can get it.
That’s my opinion and, if you can’t find what you want, let me know and I will help you. and always remember to back up anything on your computer that is important to you.
Shaun McCausland has worked in the computer industry for over 33 years, 26 years of it locally with Bits ‘N’ Bytes and Musicomp and currently does in-home and on-site computer consultation, service, training and repair. If you have questions you can reach him at 435-668-7118 or shaun@musicomp.net.