By: Jake Ruddy, Director of DE/MD Services, Pro Computer Service

Lately there has been a lot of talk about Microsoft and the various Operating System (OS) options out there. Windows 7 is officially being launched on Oct 22^nd 2009.

No matter where you go in the retail world you are going to have to buy Vista and now will have a Windows 7 upgrade option. If you purchase from an IT firm, chances are they can still get you systems with XP Professional installed.

Either way with all the talk going on it’s often hard for a customer to decide what is right for them.

Residential Users

For the most part all of this talk really doesn’t affect the home user very much.

Most home users are using Microsoft Office, surfing the Internet, playing games, playing music, and editing videos. For the most part you are using off the shelf general software which you can get to work with any OS you choose.

You don’t have industry specific business software that you have to worry about.

For this reason I personally don’t feel you have to be overly concerned about which OS you use. I prefer XP to date, but that is only a personal opinion and I do hear good things about Windows 7. We have it running in the office, I just haven’t had time to play with it yet.

Business Users

Here is where it might get a little bit complicated. Now we have to deal with specialized software that is often older and expensive to upgrade. Sometimes there isn’t a version available yet that with support Vista or Windows 7.

Typically if you upgrade your OS you then are going to require a software upgrade company wide so then it becomes a major ordeal to upgrade the entire company. The overall costs involved make it something business owners dread, rather than look forward to.

The best thing you can do is be prepared, think out your options, plan the migration properly, and allow time for the transition not to be rushed.

The good news is XP will be supported until 2014, so you have some time to plan.

The bad news is that you will be forced to upgrade eventually so it’s best to start planning ahead of time.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly?

The Good:

• Windows 7 boots quickly
• Copying Files, Displaying Menus, etc. has been greatly improved in Windows 7
• Stability is said to be greater
• Disaster Recovery allows users to select folders now instead of requiring entire volumes
• User Account Control (UAC) has 3 user settings so it won’t pop up and confirm every thing you are trying to do
• New Taskbar has improved the interaction between active and inactive applications
• Search has been greatly improved

The Bad:

• Computers more than 2 years old will need to be upgraded to run Windows 7
• If your software doesn’t work with Vista, it won’t work with Windows 7
• With 5 versions available it will be a bit confusing for some

The Ugly:

• There will not be a direct upgrade from XP available. The only options are to run a dual boot system or backup, reformat, install Windows 7, and reinstall all applications.

Overall, I think it might be a little painful to make the change, but once the dust settles people will be happy they made the switch.

Pro Computer Service is the area’s largest Dell Premier Partner serving both residential and business clients in DE, MD, NJ, and PA.  It is our goal to build a strong business ecosystem. We maintain very tight relationships with our customers, employees, vendors, and local business partners in order to ensure that we are in a position to provide the highest level of service at a price people can afford. It is our goal everyday to produce ground breaking solutions for our clients and continually offer value added services.

As we continue to evolve, PCS will innovate and offer more solutions so businesses can take advantage of what new technology has to offer. PCS is your personal IT resource.

Contact Info
Pro Computer Service
302-456-9500
www.procomputerservice.com
jruddy@procomputerservice.com

Testimonial:

Jake Ruddy of Pro Computer Service and his team have been instrumental in taking our IT needs to the next level.  We currently have 6 offices that need to be in constant communication and additionally we have a billing service that does insurance billing for 12 medical/chiropractic offices.  The integration of all of our services was a pretty daunting task.  Jake came to our office, sat down with us to discuss our needs, and came up with a game plan that was timely and cost-effective all the way through the transition.   From experience, it is not that easy to find an IT service that can provide what Jake and PCS has provided.

We highly recommend PCS and Jake Ruddy to anyone interested in a straight forward response to their IT needs, whatever business you are in.

Respectfully,
Stacy S Cohen, DC
President, First State Health & Wellness
2009 Better Business Bureau Torch Award Winner

Dear Anthony,
For some time now I’ve wanted to express my gratitude to you and your group at PCS. Well, today I have finally got around to doing it! First let me say that I was a little skeptical at first about the idea of totally outsourcing the function of information technology but I must say you and your group have turned my skepticism completely around.

The knowledge, professionalism and sense of urgency to our needs that you and your group has shown to possess has been more then capable of meeting any IT need that we have now and in the future. Your staff is a joy to work with and have demonstrated enormous amounts of tolerance and patients working with my team as we learn how to adopt our new IT infrastructure.

Please extend my gratitude and appreciation to your entire team at PCS!

Kind regards,
Hugo Mercoli
General Manager
Moldamatic, LLC