Doug's Mailbag: Win 7 Upgrading, The Government Knows All
With this week's news that Win 7 SP1 is on the way, Doug asks if this is the push to get you to upgrade to Microsoft's newest OS:
Yeah, right! Seriously?
I jumped ship (figuratively) when I acquired my first public beta on Windows Vista -- warts and all! I officially jumped ship on XP when Vista "went golden." I jumped from Vista to Windows 7 just as quickly. Windows 7 is the most stable version of Microsoft Windows I have ever seen (and I've been using Windows since Version 2.11, in 1987).
There are the pioneers (early adopters like myself) and there are the late adopters, the ones with arrows in their backs (because they are entirely dependent upon obsolete software).
Anyone still using Windows XP (especially SP2 or earlier) who is without a plan to move to Windows 7 at their earliest opportunity either has nothing of value stored on their computer or is being exceedingly reckless. If you have Windows XP now, you can upgrade to Windows 7 for as little as $120. Considering that Windows 7 will run all of your aged Windows XP code (either natively or using XP Mode), there is just no reason to continue to put it off!
-Marc
One reader shares his thoughts on the government's involvement in electronic security:
I obviously can't speak to the efficacy of these secret data-collection programs, whether run by Microsoft, NSA, or any other of the thousands of organizations that constantly try to amass personal data. They are, after all, secret.
All I can do is wonder who names these projects. "Perfect Citizen," really? "ECHELON" sounds a little foreboding, but apparently someone felt the disconcerting need to seriously creep out all of us not-quite-so-perfect citizens.
-Gregory
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Posted by Doug Barney on 07/16/2010 at 1:18 PM