Vista to ‘Die’ Before XP?

An official from Microsoft has recently revealed that support for Vista could be halted by April 2012. Richard Francis, general manager and Windows Client Business Group lead at Microsoft Asia-Pacific said that the company isn’t sure if it would still make the OS available in the market once Windows 7 is released.

The Vista end-date comes as a surprise to many since XP’s availability and support is expected to continue until April 2014. However, experts aren’t that astonished by the news, highlighting the fact that XP is still being actively used by many PC users. Some even surmise that XP users equal or even outnumber those who are using Vista.

The disclosure may have been prompted by Windows 7’s impending release. Redmond and a number of analysts are already discouraging users from buying Vista. A trial version (Release Candidate) of Windows 7 is even already available for download. The new OS is expected to be released as early as October or as soon as the pricing details have already been ironed out.

The withdrawal of support for Vista condemns the OS to certain death. Vista’s endless bouts with compatibility and security problems makes it very dependent on the patches and service packs that its maker occasionally releases. Without the updates, using Vista could be perilous.

Numerous patches have already been issued for Vista. Just yesterday, Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 2. SP2 addresses certain flaws, such as slow shutdowns and sudden crashes. Almost 700 problems are covered by the new service pack.

Vista’s lifespan may be too short for those who already have it. But for those who stuck with XP and waited for a better OS to come, the wait has been long but definitely worthwhile. Don’t expect Microsoft to considerably extend Vista’s expiry date. Once Windows 7 is released, Redmond will already be too busy defending its new OS from bugs and attacks. Vista updates may just come in trickles by then.

Why You Might Want to Uninstall Vista

Windows was launched in January 2007 with the usual fanfare of trumpets that we expect from Microsoft. It was billed as the next big thing in operating systems, with its revamped interface, unique Aero desktop, improved security and lots of new features. In truth, it has not lived up to Microsoft’s expectations in terms of sales and general acceptance. Many people, in fact, hate it with a passion and have clung on to its predecessor, Windows XP, despite Microsoft’s best efforts to persuade them to change.

There are many reasons put forward as to why Vista users might want to downgrade to XP or why non-users should avoid it. Some of these reasons have more truth in them than others but there is, without doubt, a good case to persuade people to install XP instead of Vista.

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How to Uninstall Norton

Symantec develops and supplies a range of security products, many under the Norton brand name. Generally, these work well but some people remove Norton because it causes problems, sometimes being a little overly security conscious by preventing valid routines from working.

Norton anti-virus and other products have gained additional features over the years and there is sometimes a perception that their activities cause the PC to run slower. This may be true but could also be due to a whole host of other factors.

You may want to delete Norton because you have a trial version that has timed out and is no longer usable. You may, of course, be switching to another product or could uninstall Norton and then reinstall it to resolve a problem.

Whatever, you do, don’t remove Norton and leave your PC unprotected. Ensure you have an alternative security application installed and active before accessing the internet, opening emails and downloading or copying files. Read the rest of this entry »

How to Keep Your Online Habits Private

Is your office cubicle rivaling the restroom as the most frequented area in your workplace? If it is, then I bet my last penny that your PC is the very thing that draws them to that little piece of real estate that you have in the building.

There’s an unwritten rule in the office that you have to open up your PC to others that need one, especially if those persons outrank you in the corporate hierarchy even by just a hairline. Needless to say, your constitutional right to privacy isz virtually suspended when you’re at work.

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Install and Uninstall Internet Explorer 8

Internet Explorer 8 is currently the latest form of Microsoft’s browser and is available as a beta test version. It follows on from version 7, which introduced tabbed browsing in response to growing competition from Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and others. Version 8 has further improvements including a redesigned interface, RSS feeds and a search box.

How to Install Internet Explorer 8

Before installing Internet Explorer 8, you will need to determine if it is still a beta test version. If it is, then it isn’t in its final release form and so there may be some instabilities and possible conflicts. However, it has reached beta 2 and so most of these problems should be resolved by now.

You also need to be sure that your system can support Internet Explorer 8. In general, it can only be installed on later versions of Windows – Vista, XP and Server 2003 and 2008. These should also have the latest service packs installed, which need to be final versions.

You should also look at the release notes for Internet Explorer 8 because there may be issues that you need to know about. These may have workarounds that you can use if they occur during or after installation.

If you decide to go ahead, download Internet Explorer 8 from the Microsoft website. You will need to choose the version of Windows to which you are installing and can only install if you have a genuine version of the operating system.

Follow the instructions to download and install Internet Explorer 8. If the installation fails, possibly due to the version of Windows, a message will tell you why it was unsuccessful and an installation troubleshooting guide is available from the Microsoft knowledgebase. Otherwise, the installation will complete and you can restart your computer and open Internet Explorer 8.

How to Uninstall Internet Explorer 8

Having installed the new version of the browser, you may want to delete Internet Explorer 8, either because it is causing you problems or since you plan to use a different browser altogether. However, Internet Explorer is now considered an integral part of Windows and cannot be removed entirely — at the best, you will roll back to a previous version when you delete Internet Explorer 8. Furthermore, if you are running Windows Vista, Internet Explorer is considered an ‘update’ rather than a program and so does not appear on the list of programs.

To uninstall Internet Explorer 8 from Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, select Add or Remove Programs at the Control Panel, choose Internet Explorer 8 at the list of programs and click Remove. For Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, select Programs and Features at the Control Panel, then click the View Installed Updates link. Choose Internet Explorer 8 at the link and click UnInstall this update to delete Internet Explorer 8. In either case, you will revert to the previous browser version.

The reason you can’t get rid of Internet Explorer altogether is that parts of it are used by the operating system and so removing it will cause problems.

Most Netbooks Still Run on Windows XP

Don’t lay the wreath yet on Windows XP. While Microsoft has been constantly posting obituaries on its best-selling OS, PC makers are stubbornly reviving the respected program. At the forefront of the campaign to keep Redmond from euthanizing XP are Acer and HP.

Both PC makers are steadily flooding the market with netbooks. In case you have little or no idea what those contraptions are, netbooks are ultra-portable PCs that are rivaling laptops for space in people’s backpacks. They are fast becoming the mobile PC of choice because of their size, weight, and price tag.

Intel Atom

Most netbooks are powered by the Intel Atom processor. This chip was primarily designed to be the heart and soul of mobile devices, such as smart phones, and portable PCs that are smaller than laptops. It’s not as powerful as its multi-core counterparts, but the Atom can let you do your office chores without much hiccups.

So what do netbooks and its processor have to do with Windows XP’s survival? Pose this query to every computer geek or PC shop salesman and they’ll give you one unified answer – “a lot!”

Limited Specs

Netbooks mainly run on XP since Vista is too heavy for Atom to carry. Atom’s strength and capacity is only half of a Pentium M’s. Adding to the mini laptop’s disability is its limited specs. Most netbooks have only 1GB of RAM. Run Vista on that amount of memory and you’ll know what Alzheimer’s disease means.

As long as netbook specs don’t jump beyond the current bar, this mini PC will continue and remain to be powered by Windows XP because it’s the only viable OS for its limited capability. So don’t think that having a machine that’s bundled with XP will give you a Back-to-the-Future experience. As far as this family of computers is concerned, XP is still the way to the future.

Five Ways to Speed Up Your PC

Remember when you first bought your computer? The good old days when it ran like a champ? You’re not the only one who wishes they had a time machine. As time goes on, the speed of your personal computer is bound to decline. It will be slow to respond to simple requests such as opening files and programs or surfing the web. While this has become common in the Windows environment, you don’t have to be stuck with these performance issues. There are ways to speed up your PC.

How to Speed Up Your Old PC

1.) Limit Programs Running at Startup

All the applications on your computer require memory, a critical resource the operating system relies on to perform various functions. Sometimes these applications automatically run silently in the background every time your computer starts up. Most of the time, you won’t even know it. These are usually the programs you see in the system tray at the bottom of your desktop screen. Unless it is an anti-virus program, firewall or other security software, there is probably no need for these applications to be running. By stopping these applications, you can preserve memory and dramatically speed up your PC.

2.) Remove Unused Software

Sometimes, addition by subtraction is the simplest way to speed up your computer. It is common to accumulate a large number of software programs over time. After a while, there might be quite a few that you use rarely or not at all. These programs take up disk space and even when not used, they still interact with the operating system and can have impact on the speed of your computer. If you are in possession of the original installation disks and don’t have a frequent need for these applications, remove them to free up space on your hard drive. Removing two or three large programs can help the system breath a lot easier and speed up your PC.

3.) Clean Your Hard Disk

Though you might not be aware of this, just because you are done with a file doesn’t necessarily mean your PC is. In fact, the Windows operating system will hold onto piles of junk files you thought were long gone months ago. These could be temporary internet files and other data you no longer have any use for. The Windows Disk Cleanup Utility is a handy tool that allows you to easily speed up your PC by cleaning out those irrelevant files taking up space on the hard drive. Consider it like performing a oil change, a small part of a tune-up and one that should be performed on a regular basis.

4.) Remove Malicious Items

Malicious software like viruses, Trojans and spyware are notorious for hogging system resources and slowing down PC performance. Hopefully, you already have a reliable security program installed on your computer to remain safe from the latest threats. If so, you should run your scanner frequently to detect any sneaky programs that may be slowing down the system. Doing so can speed up computer dramatically.

5.) Defrag Your System

The more files and applications you have installed on your computer, the greater the chance that they are misplaced and scattered throughout the hard drive. This could actually be hundreds of files depending on the size and age of your hard drive. If your PC gets heavy usage, it is recommended to run the Windows Defrag utility every now and then to put those files back in order. When used in conjunction with the steps above, this tool can put the finishing touches on restoring performance and helping to speed up your PC.