Windows 7 has definitely arrived, but don’t panic, XP will not disappear overnight

Windows 7 is all the rage at present, and it is generally agreed that it is a serious improvement from the short-lived, much hated, Vista.

We were all warned that, when Vista came on the scene, support for XP was going to disappear quickly and everyone was urged to migrate across as soon as possible. The well-documented problems with Vista, and its general sluggishness, caused an outcry and XP was left alone, to potter along until Microsoft could release Windows 7.

For the portable market, where the numbers are increasing year on year, the choice is very limited. Most come now with Windows 7, Vista is sold mainly on older stock, and XP is scarcer than hens teeth.

Let’s have a look at all 3 versions of Microsoft Windows, and consider some of the issues surrounding each:

Windows 7

• Definitely sleeker, much faster and generally better to use than Vista (some argue its faster than XP, but the most of the hardware it runs on is vastly superior, we have the slowness of Vista to thank for this shift in PC specifications).
• Still a few compatibility issues, particularly as regards legacy/old software applications. Some hardware doesn’t seem to work totally with Windows 7 as yet, but we’d have to assume the manufacturer will release drivers for W7 quite quickly now.
• Laptop manufacturers have all jumped on the bandwagon, and the vast majority of new laptops come only with Windows 7 as their Operating System (OS). This is less of a hassle to the domestic market, but can prove to be a headache for the business market, since they are more likely to have legacy applications/hardware to take into consideration.
• Layman customers, particularly domestic, are being mis-sold these new laptops and Windows 7, with little being told to them of the differences between 32-bit and 64-bit operation. Lots of the new laptops are being shipped with Windows 7 64-bit, which can cause some problems when running legacy applications, designed for 32-bit operation. Before installing 64-bit Windows 7 onto any existing hardware, ensure that ALL components are 64-bit compatible, and that you have no specific software applications which will not run on 64-bit.
• Microsoft has thrown everything at Windows 7, so it is here to stay. We will all have to get along with it one day, as new hardware comes with Windows 7 pre-installed. So maybe embracing Windows 7 earlier rather than later, might be the best way forward.

Windows Vista

• Whilst Vista SP2 (Service Pack 2) definitely brought Vista and its operation forwards leaps and bounds, it is still considered slow and cumbersome, and riddled with spurious errors.
• Vista is not the Operating System of choice for new laptops, so sales of it should die out quickly. Most will prefer Windows 7 to anything Vista has to offer.
• From an IT support point of view, Vista still has way too many spurious errors, which can take some time to repair, than Windows 7 or XP.
• Those who managed to miss Vista altogether are the real ‘winners’, because they will eventually have to move to Windows 7, but have managed to avoid the nightmares Vista has caused some users.
• Support for Vista RTM (ie version before any Service Packs are installed, SP1 or SP2) is set to be withdrawn on 13 July 2010, so we would urge users to upgrade to SP2 as soon as possible. Sometimes these Vista SP’s can cause problems when attempting installation. A quick trip to your local computer repairs guy will cost little, but will allow the repair guy to upgrade machines to SP2 manually.
• We do not recommend that users spend the money migrating from Vista to Windows 7 on existing platforms, unless there are specific reasons. We do, however, recommend you ensure your existing copy of Vista has been upgraded to Service Pack 2 (Vista SP2).

Windows XP

• XP is still a very popular choice of Operating System and, even with its Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) errors, it is still a solid choice of OS.
• IT system builders have been threatened since the first release of Vista, that support for XP would disappear relatively quickly. The backlash, mainly due to the poor performance of Vista, meant any such ideas had to be shelved quickly.
• Some legacy applications still run best on XP, and will continue to do so, until developers come out with a new version of the application, designed specifically to run under Windows 7.
• Support for XP Service Pack 2 (and previous) will be withdrawn on 13 July 2010 (source: OEM System Builder Team on Twitter), so we would urge all users to ensure they have Service Pack 3 (SP3) installed as a matter of urgency.

Conclusions

We see no reason to run out and buy Windows 7 to replace an existing Operating System version, and maybe it is best your existing hardware remains on the OS it currently has.

You will have to consider Windows 7 at some stage, choices are particularly limited with new laptops, but you need to look very closely at your existing applications and whether or not they are fully compatible with Windows 7 before you take the plunge.

Windows 7 has a ‘Windows Program Compatibility Troubleshooter’ added, which allows you to run specific applications in a compatibility mode, or as older versions of OS. This will work in most cases, but some legacy applications will not even install properly, so this tool is useless in that event.

We have noticed some poor selling of Windows 7 machines, as 64-bit is becoming as widespread as 32-bit with some manufacturers in particular. The layman user is not aware of 64-bit and the fact that it has serious compatibility issues with some specific applications, which were designed primarily for 32-bit operation. Unfortunately, some unscrupulous retailers are simply forcing this onto the unsuspecting buyer, without checking to see if it will cause them problems. 64-bit is definitely faster than 32-bit, and will be the architecture of the future, but until all applications and hardware components are totally compatible, it cannot completely replace 32-bit just yet.

If you were lucky enough to avoid Vista, then ensure you have upgraded your XP to Service Pack 3 and run a while yet with it. As and when you purchase new hardware, look towards introducing Windows 7 and migrating your whole system across over a period of time.

Home users tend to have less legacy applications, than business users, so the jump to Windows 7 is not such a drastic move. Still, the Home user nowadays has loads of little applications, performing a multitude of specific tasks, and these would need to be looked at (Google them for known Windows 7 issues) prior to making the jump.

Don’t just dump XP yet. It has been supplied up until very lately on the new Netbook range of PC’s (mainly because Vista runs way too slowly on their cut-down hardware capabilities), and Vista scared a load of people away from jumping forwards from XP. We can still purchase it and sell it with new PC builds (though this might dry up sooner rather than later), and all in all it seems XP is going nowhere just yet. The removal of support for versions up to SP3 is a bit of a red herring, as the vast majority of XP users will already be using SP3, and can happily work away with their existing setup.

Our advice – only move to Windows 7 when considering new hardware, and we would still urge you to watch out for Service Pack 1 to be released (past experience has told us this is a necessity for new Microsoft Operating Systems).

If any of our customers has any specific issues with Windows 7, or would like to discuss a potential new hardware purchase before taking the plunge, please call us, advice costs nothing but saves a lot in some cases.

As reported by the BBC yesterday (Saturday 16th January 2010), the German government has warned web users to find an alternative browser to Internet Explorer (IE) to protect security.  It closely followed Microsofts admission that IE had been the ‘weak link’ in recent attacks on Googles systems.  Microsoft have obviously tried to defend their browser, but I think the German government have come out and said what almost everyone else was thinking - Internet Explorer should not be our browser of choice.

Internet Explorer is installed as a part of Microsoft Windows installations, and as such a large percentage of people use it without looking for alternatives.  Below we have listed a few excellent alternatives, and all are free to download and use:

Firefox

Firefox is an excellent browser, lightning quick and packed full of useful features (tabbed browsing, built-in spell checker, private browsing, etc).  It has numerous handy addons available and is our browser of choice at Comspec.  Nowadays we use IE simply for testing websites, rather than as a serious option for browsing.

Chrome

Chrome is Google’s entry into the browser sector.  It is very quick, refreshingly minimalistic and seems to have no compatibility issues.  A host of top-notch features (task manager, download manager, flexible tabs, etc) make this an excellent browser choice for anyone.

Opera

Opera is a peculiar little browser.  It is very quick, but has been known to have some compatibility issues.  It is a ‘fun’ browser, yet very practical.  Some of its features are useful (thumbnail previews, voice interaction, etc) and as this browser develops, it will become another excellent choice for users.  Our verdict on this one is to certainly try it out, but you’ll probably find you revert back as the problems appear, even though you will like the look/feel of it.

Safari

Safari is the Apple (Mac) browser, only now its available for the Windows PC too.  A very lightweight browser, making it very fast, but we’d tend to only recommend it to the semi-IT literate user, simply because it lacks a number of basic features (anti-phishing, parental controls, etc).  A great browser in looks and useability, but just lagging at present in features.

We are always asked by people for something a little different for their desktop, most people finding the stock wallpapers supplied by Windows, etc, to be a bit on the bland side.

The following sites will give you access to thousands of free desktop wallpaper images, free to download, and simple to install.

• http://wallpaperstock.net/
• http://www.freedesktopwallpapers.net
• http://www.best-wallpapers.com/
• http://www.desktopia.com/
• http://www.wallpapervillage.com

So why not take advantage of the thousands of free images available for download on the internet, and brighten up your computing experience.

Whether you want a cartoon desktop, or a beautiful lady, or maybe a nice landscape, the sites above have something to suit everyone.

Once you download the wallpaper, simply right click the image and choose ‘Set as Background’ to have it fill your screen each time you start Windows.

Happy browsing

Some examples of the desktop wallpapers on offer from the above sites:

Note - ensure you check the licensing of each site you download from, most are for personal use only.  Distribution of these images might infringe their copyright, so ensure you download them only for personal use.

The number of scam emails people receive nowadays is increasing dramatically, and they are becoming more and more believable and sophisticated.There are a number of spoof (scam/phishing or whatever) emails doing the rounds at present, such as:

• Facebook (asking users to click on a link to receive updated passwords)
• Ebay (asking you to pay for an item you never ordered)
• UPS/DHL (providing a link to get details of an imaginary delivery)
• Various Banks (asking you to update your details by clicking on a link)
• Paypal (informing you of limits being placed on your account and asking you to click a link to fix)

These are only a selection of the ones we have received lately, but we have noticed that these are becoming more and more believable, and are designed to look more and more like they have come from the company in question.

To avoid being scammed, please follow these simple rules:

• Do not provide any personal details if they are requested. Your bank, Paypal, etc will never ask you for personal details in an email. If you have any doubts at all, load your browser and log into your account, as you are totally safe in there to change details if they are actually necessary.
• Never click on the link provided on an email, unless you are totally sure who it came from. Even a link looks authentic, it may well be trying to direct you somewhere else entirely. Again, if you are unsure, log into your online account or telephone the company involved.
• Never fill in a form via email which asks for personal details. Your bank (or anyone else) will never ask for personal details in this fashion. Never give financial details in reply to an email, only ever provide these on a secure website.
• Always log into any online accounts reasonably regularly, that way any queries can be dealt with online and there should be no need for emails telling you to do anything.
• Regularly check your bank and credit card statements to ensure that all transactions are legitimate. If you see anything which may be suspicious, contact your bank/credit card company immediately to get this investigated.
• Always report spoof emails (also referred to as a phishing email), as it helps the company in question to rid us of these scammers. Ebay, Paypal, etc all have email addresses to forward these emails to (eg spoof@ebay.com) and these can be found by checking your online account.
• Always run regular scans using your Internet Security package, as this could catch any keyloggers, etc which might have found their way onto your PC.

Always remember, if you are online and going to provide any financial details (such as a credit card etc), ensure that the web address begins with https://…. rather than the standard http://…. (the ‘S’ tells us that it is a Secure site you are logged into). This can, of course, be fooled by some of the more sophisticated scammers, but as a general rule, it should be adhered to.

The vast majority of these scammers rely upon the general carelessness of internet users, so protect yourself, be vigilant, and do not make their job any easier than it needs to be.

If you want further information, please contact us.

References & further reading:

• The Anti-Phishing Website
• Wikipedia
• Fight Identity Theft
• About Identity Theft

Below is a list of the drivers you will require for the Advent 7088 Laptop (331 Series) for Microsoft Windows XP.

To check your model number, turn the laptop over and look at the little metal plate underneath.

• Southbridge/Chipset Driver
• Sempron CPU Driver
• ATI VGA Driver
• AC97 Audio Driver
• Modem Driver
• Synaptics Touchpad Driver

If you find you are still having problems with one or other component, please visit the following sites to try their version of drivers (in the order we have put them):

• TechGuys Website
• ECS USA

Please let us know if this article was useful.

Windows Vista Service Pack 2 is now available for download, and you should start to notice it appearing in your ‘Automatic Updates’ very soon, if not already.

What is the purpose of SP2?

• Program compatibility fixes (including all previous Vista updates, and some specific compatibility fixes for certain programs)
• Hardware support (additional support for Bluetooth wireless technology and improved performance for Wi-Fi connections after the computer resumes from ’sleep mode’.  You can also record data to Blu-ray disc media.
• Operating system updates (including Windows Search 4.0, plus improvements for TV recording using Media Player)
• Hotfixes (a number of hotfixes to improve Vista, and repair bugs)

Important points to note, before you install SP2:

• It takes at least an hour, so if you are using a laptop, ensure you have it plugged into the mains
• Your PC will restart a couple of times, so ensure you have all other applications closed prior to installation
• You must already have Vista SP1 installed before you can install SP2
• There have been some problems with certain sound drivers and other hardware, but this is not a big issue, you simply need to update these drivers after you have completed the SP2 installation.
• If you had previously installed the ‘pre-release’ version of SP2, then this will have to be uninstalled before you install the full SP2 release.  The ‘pre-release’ version has a limited ’shelf life’ anyway.

For further information regarding Vista SP2, and installation problem information, visit Microsofts website HERE.

Most family homes now have a PC with connection to the internet, and it is a constant source of worry for most parents when they think of what their child could be accessing or seeing online.

There are numerous pieces of software commercially available which allow some measure of protection, but we have found that most problems can be avoided using a free piece of software, such as Bluecoat K9 Web Protection.

K9 is not software for anti-virus, anti-spam, etc.  Instead it deals directly with ‘Web Content’ and browsing, filtering the content available to your child.  When you have it turned on, it prevents the computer user from viewing Web sites that contain unwanted content. It can block more than 55 different categories of content, including pornography, hate speech and sites that promote violence or permit gambling.

To get K9, simply go into your Internet Browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc) and go to the site www.getk9.com.  This is a website designed primarily for parents, and will provide a wealth of information.  Read the information there, then click on ‘Get K9 Now’ to download and install.

The main features of K9 are:

• Blocks up to 60 content categories (eg porn, gambling, etc)
• Set time restrictions on when your child can access the internet
• Block specific websites not covered in the software automatically
• Audible feature (a barking noise) to alert parents that their child is trying to access or has stumbled across something inappropriate
• Block sites with specific words in their url (website address)
• View reports of all internet activity and administrative actions
• Very simple to use interface

At present K9 does not provide controls for Instant Messaging or Peer-Peer, but these are planned for its upcoming new release.  You do have to register with the site to get a license key for the software, but it is a little price to pay for this level of protection from a piece of free software.

Whilst we ask that parents consider the use of something like K9, we also strongly advise home users to have adequate Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware protection enabled.  There is no need to purchase a product for home use, as AVG have a free version (AVG Free 8.5) which will cover your needs.  It updates and scans automatically, and has no renewal date like the commercial versions.

And now for the scary part, the following are some of the statistics (taken from BlueCoat’s site) regarding youths and the internet:

• 1 in 4 youths have unwanted exposure to inappropriate pictures each year
• 9 out of 10 kids, aged 8-16, have viewed pornography on the internet
• 1 in 5 children, aged 10-17, have received a sexual solicitation over the internet
• 74% of commercial pornography sites display free porn images on their home page

Protect your child today, for free, and give yourself peace of mind.

This screensaver is something we have shown to a few of our customers, and had great feedback on, so we have decided to share it with the rest of the world.  We cannot take credit for creating it, it has to go to Laconic Software, who offer this plus much more on their website.

The basic idea is, you install the software, and it adds a funky new screensaver to your PC, which depicts your desktop going on fire (as shown in the screenshot below).  It also has sound effects, making this an excellent effect for anyone’s desktop environment.

The above screenshot shows a ‘Stonehenge’ desktop background in Windows XP, with a small IE7 window opened, with the ‘Fire Screensaver’ activated.  The screenshot might give you an idea of the cool effect, but it is nothing compared to the full screensaver.

• Download: Free Fire Screensaver
• Publisher: Laconic Software
• License Details: Free
• Version: 1.26
• Operating Systems: Windows 2000, XP or Vista

Not only will this screensaver set your desktop ‘ablaze’, but you can amend the settings to play your own choice of music too (or choose one of the two tracks accompanying the software).

Cool eh?

Asonda Computers, run by Jamie Starbuck of Cornwall, has taken over the Comspec Dropshipping site as from the 1st of March 2009.  The site itself has been moved to a new domain at www.Asonda-Dropshipping.co.uk and will be further developed from there.Jamie and Mark (from Comspec) have worked together in the past, and know each other very well.  Since Comspec has been expanding at an alarming rate locally in Northern Ireland, it was thought that the time just was not available to develop the PC Dropshipping service in the way first envisaged.  The initial plans for increasing the range available and providing further functionality to the new site were being delayed because of local work commitments, and this was holding back the service that would have been on offer to all the Dropshipping Resellers.

So, when an agreement was reached, Asonda rebadged the site on their own domain, and immediately started the task of further developing the service.  We at Comspec took our time on deciding who would be best for the service, and Asonda were top of the list.  Their site development skills, coupled with a similar outlook regarding quality and service, made them the obvious choice.  We have complete faith in the ability of Asonda with regards to specifying and building top quality PC’s, and we felt completely sure that they would offer an increased range of top-notch computers for all the Dropshipping resellers.

We’d like to wish all of our resellers and Jamie (of Asonda) prosperity and luck for the future, and we are very comfortable that Asonda will continue the devlopment of the PC Dropshipping business model in the way we envisaged.

Any existing resellers, your account has been moved to Asonda automatically, and any prospective resellers, please refer to the registration details on www.Asonda-Dropshipping.co.uk for further information.

Future developments which Asonda are currently working on include:

• A much wider and more populated range of products
• CSV File exports
• Further development of forum & technical support functionality
• More ‘top range’ PC’s and Gamer Systems, which have been in demand for some time

Good luck all, and we are sure that Asonda PC Dropshipping will provide you with an excellent service now and into the future.

OK, this utility is difficult to find, and is written for the Epson Stylus Photo R290, but works just as well for the Epson Stylus Photo R285.

Most people will simply want this to Reset the Waste Ink Counter on the printer.

Steps to take:

• Download the Compressed RAR file and extract it to a folder
• Change your system date to 01-04-2008
• Run the batch file called LIMPIAR
• Confirm date as 01-04-2008
• When the utility starts, choose ‘Personal Adjustment’
• From here, choose the option you require (usually Waste Ink Counter) and reset
• Reset system date to correct date

For those of you unable to extract the RAR file, download a free utility such as 7zip to do so.