Changes in IT service providers can sometimes be challenging…for both sides. But rest assured that IT Service Works is not only here to help you through this time and the future, but I’ll also still be maintaining contact with Dutch to be able to get information that you might not have documented, or further background as needed.
If any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me (contact info at Contact in navigation above)!
Typically, changes in the industry are geared toward the holiday season, but this year the big changes are coming early. On October 22nd, Microsoft releases Windows 7 to the public, followed within days by Ubuntu 9.10.
For the vast majority, only Windows 7 will be important. But it is a major change. Those who have been using Vista and its on-and-off annoyances, Windows 7 will be a breath of fresh air. In my opinion, it is what Vista should have (and could have) been. It is far more stable and more refined than Vista, and has some incredible new features.
My personal favorite: the new taskbar. It is no longer the old taskbar that we’ve had since Windows 95. Rather than a bar that simply shows what programs are running, it is morphing into a dock, with auto-previews of the open windows of those programs.
If you would like to check it out before October 22nd, let me know–I have the RTM (release to manufacturing–the actual finalized program) installed on my laptop, and would be glad to demo it.
While Microsoft mades significant strides in Win7, Ubuntu is slowly gaining ground. For those unaware, Ubuntu is a major Linux distribution. And while Linux is used for many server applications, it is making inroads into the desktop world.
What are the benefits?
1. For one, Linux is free, as is almost all Linux software. For some, that is a huge benefit.
2. Performance on the same hardware as Windows is usually significantly better.
3. Security: in part because it has a smaller market share, in part because it is designed completely differently, it has virtually no risk for viruses or malware.
However, Linux is not for everyone. Many businesses run line-of-business applications that are specific only to Windows servers or workstations, eliminating the possibility. But for those using computers for basic office applications, Ubuntu may be a great fit. And once the new version is released, I will be running on my laptop on a second drive and will be more than happy to demonstrate.
SP2 for Vista and Server 2008 released 5/25/2009. Links below.
For 32-bit
Is a 500MB standalone download, so take into consideration. Review will be posted later today.
The new site design is intended to not only simplify the site, but to add some features. A main addition, as you will see in the navigation menu, is the inclusion of a business directory. This addition is one that I am really excited about.
The businesses that will be listed here are ones that I myself have dealt with in some capacity, whether that is professionally or personally. These are businesses that I trust. These are people that I want to refer to you.
The listings will begin to be populated over the next few days, but will be ongoing. If you would like to be considered, please go to the Join page and submit your information!
Also, the use of categories and tags will be changing, since the new layout uses those differently that the previous…so stay tuned!
With Windows 7 coming at us full-bore later this year….yes, this year, I thought it would be time to get the beta installed and check it out. Installed via VirtualBox on my laptop: a Lenovo Thinkpad R61, Core 2 Duo T7500 (2.2GHz), 2GB RAM.
First surprise: installed quickly, despite the virtual environment. 13 minutes to the first reboot, then another 5 minutes to complete the install of other components. The install itself was strikingly similar to Vista’s otherwise.
Once in Windows the first noticeable feature is that of the redesigned taskbar. Would love to say it’s revolutionary, but it’s really not. It’s barely evolutionary. But it is a good redesign, and users will find it quite useful. But again, it’s only a small, incremental change that’s really more worthy of a service pack-level change, not a new OS. (click to enlarge)
Next let’s take a look at the next thing to be noticed: the Start menu. Again, small tweaks. Good tweaks. See the changes below…especially the new Shutdown.
One cool change…yes, I said cool. Rather than having the Recent items as a separate entry, each program has its own. See the Paint entry below as I snagged screenshots.
The surprising thing (in a positive sense) is performance: even in a VM with only 512MB RAM assigned to it, performance was actually very decent.
We’ll take a look at the new Ribbon features in many of the included programs in the next part of this review…