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Your questions: Should I upgrade to Windows Vista?

I was asked via email this week a couple of times for my opinion on whether consumers should upgrade their Windows XP computers to the upcoming Windows Vista. Today in the Seattle Times, there’s a question from a reader of the Personal Technology Q&A column who asks “whether there would be any advantage to my upgrading to Windows Vista?”


The author, Patrick Marshall, recommends that they hold off on upgrading from XP until Vista is glitch-free:



“I wouldn’t recommend anyone upgrade to Vista on a machine they care about until the new operating system starts shipping, and maybe even for a while after that. I’ve been using Vista on a test machine for several months and there are still a number of glitches.


“Once Vista ships, you may want to consider upgrading, especially if you’re using your computer for such things as online banking. Fact is, while Vista offers a new slick look to the operating system, the more significant improvements are in security.”


OK, that makes sense, and falls in line with my general advice: waiting until Windows Vista is released and shipping makes sense for many consumers. At our home, not all PCs have been migrated to the latest Vista builds for various reasons… mainly related to legacy games for the kids that only run under Win9x compatibility mode. Many advanced consumers and computer users have already installed the Vista release candidates to get an early look at what to expect. I know of many consumers using the latest versions of Vista, and their experiences have been generally positive.


At home, I have found that the latest release candidate performs much better and is more reliable than XP (disclaimer: I work at MS), and admit that I run Windows XP and Vista side by side for various reasons. (In one case, I’m waiting for a hardware BIOS upgrade for my Tablet). That’s why I set up a dual boot system when I started with Vista RC1.


PC World published their own Ten Reasons to Buy Windows Vista last February, when they said…



“while the sleek new look and polished interface caught my eye, it’s what’s under the covers that impressed me most. Microsoft’s done a great job of improving security across the board. Things like Windows and spyware library updates are streamlined, and I definitely appreciate the more robust Backup software.



“Here’s what to be excited about:




  1. Security, security, security.


  2. Internet Explorer 7.


  3. Righteous eye candy, with the Aero Glass interface.


  4. Desktop search.


  5. Better updates via Windows Update, making it easier to keep your PC secure.


  6. More media: Windows Media Player, Windows Photo Gallery, DVD Maker and a new Movie Maker.


  7. Parental controls.


  8. Better backups with improved built-in data-backup software.


  9. Peer-to-peer collaboration.


  10. Quick setup.”

If you have one PC at home, run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor to evaluate your current PC, as I mentioned in a previous post. That will provide a good assessment.


There are also reasons that some customers may decide not to upgrade, due to PC hardware limitations or legacy software incompatibilities – that will be the case for our kid’s PC, until we test their must have game software. That includes their favourite educational software like Encarta that is included in Microsoft Student, edutainment titles (Knowledge Adventure’s Adiboo!), general entertainment titles like our own Zoo Tycoon, online sites like PBS Kids! to MSN Games and Disney’s ToonTown (which seems to work fine so far in IE7). 


I’m off now as the kids are up – time to finish making Halloween costumes. We have an extra hour thanks to daylight saving time.


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Problems accessing the Internet with Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor? Try this

Yesterday I recommended the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor in my post “How can I find out if my PC is compatible with Windows Vista?”


A reader commented that he having difficulty using the application, getting an error msg that he “didn’t have an internet connection and it can’t contact the web service.”


So I tried it out on my remaining PC at home that is not running Windows Vista (waiting for an updated driver) and the Upgrade Advisor (aka VUA) ran fine. Then I tried it on the kid’s PC, which runs Windows XP due to the number of old games running under Windows 9x… guess what? Upgrade Advisor failed to connect to the Internet.


Well, I spoke with the Upgrade Advisor team (thanks, guys) and they gave me the following advice: if you have problems connecting to the web service during the scan, please carry out the following steps:



  1. Launch Internet Explorer

  2. Go to Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections -> LAN Settings

  3. Select option for “Proxy Server” and use address field: “itgproxy” with Port: 80

  4. Check option to “Bypass proxy server for local address”

  5. Click “OK” twice, and re-launch VUA to initiate the scan

  

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“How can I find out if my PC is compatible with Windows Vista?”

The New York TimesTechnology section has an article online today “On the Horizon: A Vista Upgrade.” In it, the author provides some answers to the question: How can I find out if my current computer hardware (including my scanner and printer) will be compatible with the coming Windows Vista system? Will this be as simple as merely downloading new drivers?


From the article…



“If you are holding off on any hardware purchases until after your Vista upgrade, Microsoft recently announced that about 250 hardware and software products for sale this holiday season will be labeled “Works with Windows Vista” or “Certified for Windows Vista.” Products with the “Works” label will work fine with Vista, but “certified” products (including some graphics cards), will be able to take better advantage of certain Vista features.


If you are planning on installing Windows Vista on your current computer, you can check to see if your hardware can handle Vista’s system requirements at www.windowsvista.com/getready.”  


Many PC OEMs (like Dell, HP, IBM, Gateway, Toshiba, Sony…), third party manufacturers and software makers are beginning to list the products that are compatible with Windows Vista. To check your current PC, you can evaluate your current PC with the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor.

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FC’s “Talk to Our Customers? Are You Crazy?”

In Fast Company, there is a good article (quick read) from the July issue, Talk to Our Customers? Are You Crazy? by Ian Wylie. The author looks at how Credit Suisse is working to “think different” about its customers.



“Stephan Kubler spends each and every working day spying on Credit Suisse customers. He’s part of a small team led by customer-experience renegade David McQuillen, a 36-year-old American who’s challenging the top executives at the blue-chip Swiss bank to get out of their Zurich offices and–gulp!–meet some customers.


…says McQuillen: “You need to go out and talk to customers to find out what they want.”


“You can do this stuff in two or three days–you don’t have to spend half a million dollars on research. Just go and observe.” 


I completely agree.


I was asked recently how much I interact with customers. I’ll argue not enough, but as I’ve noted previously, we run surveys, focus groups and lots of meetings to talk about customers. I meet with people across the company and hear what their customers — our customers — are telling them, asking from us, lamenting about and (in some cases) giving us praise. I get more out of visiting with customers in retail shops, on the road, in formal gatherings (sometimes in our Executive Briefing Center – here’s one example), via phone and email. And I share this with the people I work with across the company: some people are better at getting the word out than I am, but I work at being an advocate every day for our customers and partners…


And our execs hear the word on the street, too: this from Fortune Magazine:



“[Steve] Ballmer asked [Kevin] Johnson to work closely with [Ray] Ozzie and run organizational interference for him. Before this new platforms job, Johnson had spent 2 1/2 years running Microsoft’s sales, where he talked to customers every day. He shares Ozzie’s user-first obsession more than any other top executive, and the two bonded immediately.”


And this from Kevin Turner in the Mercury News:



“I travel around the world. It’s a global job talking to customers and partners and our people. Here I’m meeting with an all hands. I’m meeting with customers and partners and having the same spirited discussion and take it a back to our people.”

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Mac or PC Security, it doesn’t matter: be prepared

In a comment I received to a recent blog posting on being careful when it comes to viruses, I wanted to mention something when it comes to computer security: whether you have a PC or a Mac, you will have to be concerned about security and protect yourself.


If you own a computer – PC or Mac (and we have both at home) – you should run AV software, have a firewall on your internet connection and practice “safe computing.”


But we have to be careful to reach broad-based conclusions. It’s better to anticipate an attack and be prepared and protected rather than hope that you won’t be the victim of an attack. As I said in a past post, see our Security at home site for more ideas on how to protect your computer. It has info on avoiding online scams with the Microsoft Phishing Filter, anti-virus, anti-spyware, security updates, Office and Windows update tools… well worth your time. Mac users can look here on Apple’s site for more info on protecting your Mac.


As USA Today reported earlier this year…



“Windows-based PCs have felt the brunt of attacks for years because those machines command more than 95% of the worldwide market. Macs mostly have escaped the attention of hackers. Until now.


“Unless they consider themselves very savvy, Mac users should run anti-virus software just like Windows users,” says Larry Seltzer, security center editor at news site eWeek.com. “Mac users need to start developing a sense of cynicism about content that comes unsolicited, even if it appears to come from a user they know.”


Of interest is eWeek’s Larry Seltzer’s article on “What Will Apple Do When the Malware Comes?”


As our COO Kevin Turner says, (paraphrased): don’t be a victim… be a participant in your own rescue.