Computer Talk - What kind do you have, etc.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

What kind of computer do you have? I have a Compaq Presario V6000 Notebook PC laptop which was new in April 2007.

I avoided getting Vista, but now I hear that is no longer an option. So eventually I'm going to have to switch over to Vista. They say it's been improved since it first came out.

One of our sons says I should switch to an Apple computer, but my husband says they're too expensive. Besides, I don't welcome a new learning curve. Every day the learning curves get steeper for me.

[Jim]

Actually, you can get computers without Vista, especially now that Microsoft has pulled it from the upgrade path. They've pretty much acknowledged that it is their latest 'Windows ME', garbage IOW. You might have to go through the 'small business' to get it, rather than 'home or home office' but it's available on most major brands from the manufacturer, not outlet stores. You actually buy a Vista license, but get XP Pro installed. XP PRO not XP Home. The latter isn't as bad as Vista, but it's fairly horrible.

I pretty much stick with Dell for desktops & Lenovo for laptops & I buy on-line. They're pretty good & easy to order. Stay away from Acer & Gateway. Both are notorious for old chipsets & such to give them a better price point.

Actually, unless you're a gamer, most anything you buy now will be OK for the next 3 years. If you get a good PC & stick with one Microsoft operating system (OS), you'll get 5 years, maybe a bit longer. If you want to upgrade the OS, you probably should just get another computer. Unless you go to Linux & then you can stretch hardware for longer. Still, Linux isn't 'there' yet for most users.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for all that information, Jim. I'm going to pass it on to my husband, Ed. I'm sure he'll be very interested because he has to make a decision about what computer to buy now that his laptop has given up the ghost.