It will be different this time

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November 14, 2009

By Greg Bott / guest columnist The Meridian Star Sat Nov 14, 2009, 10:53 PM CST

Despite the often anti-Microsoft sentiment expressed in the media and even more so in higher education, I am pro-Microsoft. Maybe that's just the residual effects from the "kool aid" when I worked there years ago, but it's an amazing, innovative company that has greatly impacted the world. But even I stop fast forwarding my TiVo to watch Apple's Mac vs. PC commercials. Very funny.

In its Get a Mac campaign, Apple has put Windows 7 in its cross-hairs. If you haven't seen the commercials, welcome back from your coma and go to http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/ to join the rest of us. In the commercials, the PC says, "Trust me" about Windows 7 and the Mac reminisces about all the operating systems (including Windows Me) of which the PC has said, "Trust me." It concludes with "It'll be different this time."

I can't tell you whether it will be different or not, but I can say that Windows 7 is a giant step in the right direction. So should you upgrade to it? As a consultant, I'm compelled to give you the standard, non-committal answer: "It depends."

As with buying a computer, it depends on what you're going to do with it and what kind of a user you are. Here's a more definitive answers: If you're a home user that already has a computer, No, don't upgrade unless you've purchased your system in the last few months. In that case you should have a free upgrade to Windows 7, take it.

For the rest of you with XP, buy Windows 7 with your next computer. Although Windows 7 is a compelling operating system with significant new features, it doesn't bring enough actual, tangible benefit for a user that already has a computer with Windows XP. The cost and effort required for the is generally greater than the benefits you'll receive.

As a home user buying a new computer, though I am biased towards Microsoft, I'd recommend you strongly consider buying a Mac. The key decision criteria between Mac and Windows is compatibility and price, and to a lesser extent security. The idea that Macintoshes are inherently more secure than Windows is false. Macs are secure by nature of obscurity--they have less than 5% of the world market and until recently they ran under a more obscure processor architecture--as they gain popularity, more trojans like OSX.Trojan.iServices.A will appear. For now, obscurity works in your favor and you will likely have far fewer spyware and malware issues with a Mac than you will with a PC.

If it's in your budget and you can accomplish your tasks on Mac or if you are willing to purchase software to enable Windows to run on your Mac, I would recommend Apple as your next computer vendor. However, the amount of software and choices available for the PC still dwarfs the Mac. And as much as I love my own Mac, my primary operating system will be Windows for the foreseeable future.

Much of the same logic applies if you're a small business. I advise businesses to think in terms of bottom-line impact--what will you be able to do with Windows 7 than you cannot currently do with Windows XP? How does that improve your ability to make a profit or serve your customers? Without a compelling answer, you too, should wait until your next computer purchase.

Technically yours.

Bott Technology Solutions helps small to midsize businesses with computer

technology needs and may be reached via e-mail at gregbott@bottinc.com or at

601-207-0509.

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