Inside Small Business | Small Business & Home Business Marketing

Should I upgrade to Windows Vista?

David Grenda, Founder, Grenda Computer Consulting

As everyone knows by now, the new Windows Vista software has hit the market. The normal path for such things involves Microsoft releasing the new operating system while the previous rendition is still available. In this case, that is the various flavors of Windows XP. Eventually, Windows XP will no longer be supported and Vista will be the version everyone uses.

As the new Windows Vista operating system is more widely used, there will undoubtedly be minor issues that arise and need to be corrected by Microsoft. This is accomplished by the release of what’s called a “service pack”. A service pack is a software update that a Vista user installs on their computer. It contains various fixes and enhancements to the basic operating system programs.

Since as a business owner your primary concern is the stability and usability of the programs in your enterprise, the normal first round problems of a new operating system should probably be avoided. This is why I recommend to my clients that they continue using Windows XP until at least the first Windows Vista service pack is released to the public. Additionally, many of the computers currently running just fine on Windows XP will not have the hardware performance necessary to run well on Windows Vista. After the first Vista service pack is released, Vista should be incorporated into your computing environment as you bring new systems on the network.

This discussion about Vista leads to a related topic I am frequently asked about. This involves the numerous choices available for software, and how there are other options available to a business outside the normal Microsoft platforms. In my next installment, I’ll discuss these options and provide you with some insight into their suitability for various business applications. I’ll also discuss how important it is to ensure your computing environment remains supportable by mainstream technicians, and how not to end up with something you cannot get fixed if you part company with your current IT support specialist.

Posted on Tuesday, July 17th, 2007 at 2:00 pm and is filed under Computers, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.