Windows 10 gets closer…

If you are a Windows computer user, you may have noticed a new little “icon” has appeared in your “tray” – on the bottom right of the screen, near the time and date.  It looks like this: See the square icon on the left?  Microsoft has put this there to encourage you to register to download Windows 10. Windows 10 is due out later this year, and it promises to be much, much better than the ill-fated Windows 8 (later 8.1). Upgrading from Windows 7 or 8 (8.1) will be free for the first year. What should you do? There’s no harm in registering – you will be notified when the download is available.  You can download it, but I would not advise installing it right away. With all new systems there are “teething problems”, and it would be wise to wait a month or two before jumping in. If you currently have Windows 8, or 8.1, there is every reason to then install Windows 10 and enjoy the ease of operation it offers.  However, if you are a Windows 7 user, there is no compelling reason to upgrade as yet. Windows 7 works well, and you are familiar with it.  Windows 10 will be similar, but invariably there will be new things to get used to.  It looks like this: Note the “tiles” on the right of the start menu. These are modified from Windows 8.1, but we have the start button back, and a much more familiar desktop. Windows 10 will hopefully be a vast improvement on 8.1. It may not be much of an improvement on Windows 7, but at least you will have longer life.  Support for Windows 7 ends in January 2020. Apparently There will be no Windows 11, but Microsoft will update Windows 10 as it goes along.  We shall see how it all turns out. For more details and advice, and to help install Windows 10 when the time comes, contact me at PC Care

The end of Windows XP?

Word is getting out that After April this year, Microsoft will cease to support their Windows XP operating system. What does this mean? Will you need to buy a new computer? Here’s my advice..

First, some background. The Operating System is the program which runs your computer. It can do nothing without the Operating System (or OS). It is, if you like, the backbone, while all your other programs (Microsoft Word, etc) are the bones connected to it. If we had no backbone, we would collapse!

Windows XP was launched in 2001, so it is quite old now. But about one-third of the world’s computers still use it. If you bought your computer more than, say 6 years ago, the chances are you have XP.

What happens after April? Well, your computer will carry on working. Until the other day, Microsoft were saying that they would stop issuing “security updates”, so that your computer would soon become more prone to viruses and less stable generally. Microsoft have now announced that they will continue issuing security updates for another year. See this BBC article here.

The latest Operating System, Windows 8 (and its recent predecessor Windows 7) are certainly better than XP.  They run more smoothly and are more stable and secure, which is important in an age when many of us are so dependent on our computers.

So what are your options?

1.  Do nothing.  OK, your computer will continue to work, and be safe, at least until 2015.

2.  Upgrade your Operating System to Windows 7 or 8, while keeping your computer itself.  This may be a good option, depending on the age of your computer. It involves taking a copy of all your documents, pictures, emails etc, to keep them safe, then deleting everything and installing the new Operating System,  Then  copying back all your documents and reinstalling any programs.  it’s quite a performance, very time consuming, and hence expensive.  If it’s an old, PC (say 6 years or more), it may be more economical to…

3. Buy a new computer.  This is the safest option, but also the most expensive.  If you would like to buy a new one, O can supply it and set it all up for you.  Visit my website at www.pccare.me.uk.

Windows 8 revisited

Windows 8 has been around for a little while now, so I thought it was time for an update, see how it is being received, and what people are saying.

Well, mostly the response has been quite negative.  Users are confused by its so called “Modern” display, which consists of “tiles”, taking you to programmes which don’t work as well as they used to.

For some people, touch screen users in particular, the tiles will offer a great new way of interacting with the computer, but for many, they really are not very helpful.  Add to that the absence of the traditional Start button, and it’s a recipe for customer dissatisfacttion.  However, all is not lost, and buying a Windows 8 machine need not be the disaster you fear.

On the plus side, Windows 8 is stable and reliable – unlike the old Vista, which was retired early due to numerous instability issues.  By all accounts Win 8 works well.  It’s just working with it that’s a problem. However, some of Win 8’s quirks can be overcome.

The first thing is to know that one of the tiles says “desktop”.  Clicking on this tile will take you to a more traditional screen from which to load your programs, surf the web, send emails etc. There are a number of helpful programs you can use so that it automatically opens here, and gives you a traditional Start button as well.  See for instance Classic Shell.     Avoid all the tiled programs and go straight to this.

Stunned by the negative customer response to Win 8, Microsoft have now launched Windows 8.1.  But beware, although this addresses some of the issues, it doesn’t solve everything, and the so called Start button it provides is not the same as the traditional one.

Windows 8.1 has made some things easier, but the much vaunted replacement of the Start button is not really all it seems.  All it appears to do is toggle between the Desktop and “Modern” views.  Back to Classic Shell then.

The upgrade process from 8 to 8.1 is not without its problems.  First, the upgrade is only available in the Windows Store (Modern mode), and only if your PC is ready for it, with all Updates in place.

Next, in 8.1, Microsoft really want you to have a Microsoft Account.  Such an account enables you to sync data between devices and download apps, but many will not want this – it also allows Microsoft to track your activity! In Win 8, it was possible to set things up without an account.  In the upgrade process to 8.1 this is still possible, but very hard to find.

I have recently discovered that, at the moment, Microsoft are only offering 2 years support for Windows 8 if you do not upgrade to 8.1.  This is disgraceful, especially with the upgrade process so opaque. Hopefully, at some point they will put 8.1 as a routine upgrade in the regular updates process, rather like what happened with Windows XP service Pack 3.

Finally, back to the Microsoft Account controversy, and the new MS Office 2013. The latest version of Office requires you to have a Microsoft Account.  I have not found a way of setting it up without one.  So, again I would not necessarily recommend Office 2013 for domestic users, as free alternatives like Libre Office are available. Pre 2007 versions of Office will not work with Windows 8, although they do work with Windows 7.

New Year, new computer

After a slow November and December, January 2013 has dawned with a rash of new business! New systems supplied, another one on the cards for later this week, and of course I have had several calls to fix ailing computers.  Often its those niggling little issues which you have been thinking of getting fixed for a while, and somehow the New Year prompts you to do something about it.  So I’m grateful!

With new PC’s come s a new Operating System, Windows 8.  I have reviewed this elsewhere on this blog, but all in all it seems to be a good system, settling in well.  If you are running Vista and are getting fed up with its slowness and quirkiness, then an upgrade would be a good idea.  Not least for the price, which remains at £25 until the end of January.  If you prefer to stick with the familiar, my PC supplier is still doing Windows 7 computers.  But you will soon get to love Windows 8.  It’s the future!

Happy New Year!