My Favorite Techie

Archive for the ‘Windows’ Category

Everyone knows what a laptop computer is, but some have yet to meet it’s close relative, the Tablet. The tablet is a deviation of the notebook computer that has the functionality of being an electronic notepad. Although they are similar in looks, tablets have characteristics that are particular to them. For example, a tablet has the following features that a traditional laptop does not have:

• Digital Pen (stylus)
• Rotating screen
• Specialized handwriting software
• Smaller screen size (standard piece of paper size)

So what can a tablet do that a regular laptop cannot due? There are many things where a tablet outdoes its close relative, the laptop. Here are some things one can accomplish easily on a tablet that would be unthinkable on a desktop or laptop.

• Have you tried to draw a diagram or sketch on a standard laptop?
• Have you entered information by typing one handed on a standard laptop?
• Have you flipped through pages of typed or handwritten notes looking for that key term?

Then you already know why a tablet is better than a laptop. But the list of advantages is even longer, so lets take a look at each specifically:

• Ability to take notes by hand, but using digital ink instead. And, if you want, the software will change your handwriting into typed text.
  
• Takes up less room and fewer hands are needed.
• The software on a tablet can help organize notes better than a traditional notebook. The tablet (using OneNote) can locate information that has been entered previously. Everything entered is considered a separate piece so it can be reordered, reorganized, color even coded.
• The tablet is a great tool for showing photo slide shows as portrait shots can be shown in true proportion when viewed in tablet mode.
• The tablet is a great choice for anyone who needs to draw anything–whether it be diagrams, shapes, formulas, a map or a family tree.
• It is a valuable tool for filling in electronic forms utilizing handwriting to text conversion utilities.

As great as the tablet is for things that handwriting is great for, there are very few known programs that work with the tablet. Most of the programs that are optimized for the tablet have been developed by Microsoft or its partners. Microsoft Office, OneNote, and Grafigo by Corel are some of the major programs available for tablet. Graphics programs that artists traditionally have used external styli for also work well with the tablet.

Outside of these special traits, the tablet functions exactly like any other laptop computer. So, if you need to be able to do things in the list above, check out the tablet for yourself as an alternative to a traditional laptop. If not, the tablet will most likely not be any more help to you.

We’ve all seen the ads on TV with the discussions between MAC and PC and what they can and cannot do. Of course, these ads are designed to bring Apple Computer business by encouraging people to buy Macs. However, the question still get asked, “Should I get a MAC or PC.”

The decision to buy a MAC or PC should NOT be based on how pretty the graphics are on the MAC. Buying a computer is not like buying a pair of shoes. Deciding between the two platforms should be based on the type of work that your are in as certain software is designed more for one than the other.

For the MAC….

The MAC from its inception was targeted at education and the arts. Early software for the MAC was more for graphic design and music and film production. Therefore, MAC has always had a leg up on this segment of the market. It was never really targeted at the business market, that’s where the PC made its break. In short, if you are in the graphics field or in some sort of music or film production, the MAC should be looked at seriously.

From a business productivity point of view, MAC has the programs to do the job, but not as plentiful as the PC. It is only since more MACs have been bought in the recent years that software developers have begun porting more software to the MAC. For example, for years the only package available to the MAC was Clarisworks, but now you are able to get a full blown version of Microsoft Office or Corel Office for the MAC. If you’re a one person business, one can easily get by with the Mac, but if you’re more than one in a large environment, there should be some consultations with someone in the computer networking field.

The MAC has always had the reputation of being more user friendly than the PC. Again, this is due to the years of development of the graphical user interface that MAC has. Over the years, programmers have worked at making things easier to find thus improving the user experience.

For the PC…

The PC was born as a very simple machine for the purpose of doing business, not graphics. For over ten years, the PC was text based. It was this factor that gave Apple the head start at the graphical user interface and the graphics sector. PCs were geared toward the office work of word processing, number crunching, and other mundane procedures. They were not fun machines. Only with the introduction of Microsoft Windows did the PC get introduced to the graphical world. So, for the PC it was a catch up game of learning the way of the graphical world and gaining respect in the graphics and production markets.

Therefore, if one is in the market for a new computer, consider whether or not your work consists of the graphics or production dependency. If you are more involved in the business world of words, numbers and other basic functions, then the PC is more suited for you. The PC, because it grew up in the business environment, was designed to work in networked environments from the beginning. The most advanced networks are PC based because of the tools that were written to streamline their operation. Only in the last few years has the MAC gotten introduced into corporate networks with the redesign of the MAC operating system.

The PC is known for one thing well in the graphical world and that is gaming. There are thousands of games available for the PC in comparison to the MAC. If you are a serious gamer, and looking for a computer to play games on, then the PC is your candidate. Just about every manufacturer has a machine designed for the gamer in mind as these machines have better graphics and sound for the true gaming experience.

The reputation of the PC being less friendly to use incomparison to the MAC is due to the years it existed in a text based world. With the development of Windows 95, the user friendliness started to improve. The newest version of Windows, Vista is much more user friendly visually than ever before. Will it ever equal the MAC, who knows. That will always remain a topic of conversation between the two worlds.

In the last year, Microsoft has released its newest version of the Windows operating System, Windows Vista. It is loaded with some new features that were not in Windows XP and enhances some other features. It also is much prettier to look at from a graphical point of view. However, there has been much discussion as to whether or not to upgrade from a previous version of Windows to Vista.

Visa, unlike its predecessors, has greater demands on the computer in terms of the parts and specifications. Visa will NOT run on all computers well. If the current computer does not meet Visa’s needs, there will be more problems than before. If you’re buying a new computer this is not an issue. However, there is one concern whether upgrading your current computer or buying a new one and that is whether or not your software will work with Vista.

Most programs that ran under Windows XP will run, but will not support some of the new features in Vista such as the new search feature. In order to see if your software will run on Vista, you might want to check the website of the software manufacturer for detailed information.

Vista also has upgrades some of the features to setup a network which might not work well with other computers not running Vista, including Windows XP. There is an upgrade that has to be done to Windows XP to allow Vista to work with it and visa versa. For most people, this is not a big issue, but to those who have multiple computers such as a business or multi-computer families, it could be an issue that needs to be resolved.

Do I recommend going to Vista? As of the end of May 2008, Microsoft will not be loading any new computers with Windows XP. Vista will be your only choice, but if you’re thinking of upgrading your current computer, it’s your choice.

I’ve been asked this question a few times already, so I thought it would be worthwhile discussing. When it comes to web hosting, there are two types , Linux and Windows.  Which one should be chosen?

Most sites will run on both systems as HTML files (the files which actually make up the page) will run on either one. Where the differences come in is in the extensions or extra language that is being coded into the site.

Generally, sites that are programed to be dynamic using Microsoft solutions such as ASP or .NET will require Windows based hosting as Windows hosting has the backend software installed in order to process commands written in those languages.

Sites written in PHP, are best suited for Linux hosting, although most Windows hosting will also have the PHP processing software installed.  But, for the most part, PHP was originally for the Linux hosted web sites.

The last major difference has to do with cost. Windows hosting sometimes can cost more per month than Linux based hosting. It could be compared to the stability and reliability of Mac versus PC. This is generally due to the increased costs of maintaining a Windows based web server compared to a Linux based server.

So, which hosting solution should you choose? For the most part you can choose Linux as it is the most popular and will run basically any simple site simply because of the cost and the greater number of companies out there.

If there are any further questions, feel free to contact me and I will gladly answer your questions.

Microsoft has announced that it will be bringing out a new operating system to surpass Windows Vista, Windows 7. Once version 7 comes out, support for Windows XP and the ability to downgrade will cease. Therefore, the question that comes up is whether or not to upgrade to Vista or stay at XP until the new version comes out.

My feeling is in the middle. If you’re on XP stay there until the new version comes out as it is supposed to be more stabile that Vista currently is and much faster. Blogs relating to Windows 7 have been saying that 7 is as stabile in testing and development as XP is now. Hopefully that’s true.

Now if you’re in the market for a new computer, I would say consider going the Vista route which will get you prepared for Windows 7 as the graphical interface will be the same as Vista. Therefore, if you get vista now, all programs for Vista will run under Windows 7 and when the product is finally released, the learning curve will have been conquered.

One of the things that I know will be new for Windows 7 is the ability to build it almost Al a Carte. Each different shelf version will essentially be the same except that certain features will be disabled. Now, if there is a feature that one wishes, it can be added at a small nominal fee rather than having to upgrade to a higher version with features that are unneeded.

I wish that I could say more, but I am also just learning Vista and getting used to it. Therefore, I will be in the same boat when Windows 7 finally comes out. Hopefully it will be a smooth upgrade.