My Vista Experience

Wow, I didn't realize how long it's been since my last post.

Today I thought I'd cover my experience so far with Windows Vista. Ever since Microsoft delivered the death knell to Windows XP, I figured it was high time to make the switch and try to get comfortable with the latest and greatest from Bill Gates. As it turns out, it's really not so bad. Now, don't think for an instant that I'm a Microsoft fanboy or anything. I just think it's strange how people forget about the growing pains of Windows XP over the years. I seem to remember a time when the naysayers were harping about the same problems with XP as they are now with Vista. I'm sure when Windows 7 makes it debut, there will be considerable fussing about that as well. Let's get back on topic though, shall we?

Just so you know the animal I'm dealing with (e.g., my computer), I will give you a general overview of my system.

Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (2.2 Ghz. dual core)
Nvidia nForce 4 SLI X16 based mother board
4GB of PC3200 memory running in dual channel
320GB SATA II hard drive
GeForce 8800GT graphics card
SATA DVD/RW drive

Now, this particular configuration is certainly not the bleeding edge of computer hardware, but it's no slouch either. It has served me well over the last 2 years. When I decided to make the swich to Vista, I was expecting some minor headaches and problems, but really had none to speak of. One thing I made sure of though, and that's to do a clean install of Vista, not an in place upgrade.

Since then, I've found out that Vista is not too much different from XP. I'm not going into a full blown review of all the features and knicknacks. That's been done enough on other websites. I will say that there is somewhat of a learning curve with Vista, but nothing that can't be tackled with regular use and a visit to google every now and then. I've played games such as Call Of Duty 4, downloaded and edited photos and video, browsed the web and read/written e-mail. Pretty much everything the average user would do. With all of that, I'd have to say it's been a smooth transition so far. The only thing I had to do was upgrade my printer, because sadly, my trusty HP photosmart 7660 was not fully compatible with Vista. I think that's a small price to pay for a major OS upgrade.

In my opinion, if the average customer is willing to spend the money on a system that's not considered a "budget" computer, their overall experience will be a pleasant one. They should keep in mind that if they have aging peripherals (think older than 2 years), then it shouldn't be expected to be fully compatible with Vista. I think the major OEMs have done a decent job in providing low to mid range systems that can handle Vista out of the box. It's not uncommon now to find off the shelf systems with 2-3 GB of system memory and dual core processors for a price that's not hard to swallow. The only upgrade I might suggest is the video card, only because on board video might not get you the whole "Vista Experience".

So, if you're looking to buy a new system, but were a little worried about all the bad things you were hearing about Vista, I think you can safely put them aside. With the release of Service Pack 1 and manufacturers putting out decent hardware, software and drivers, go ahead and buy that new computer. I think you'll be pleasently surprised.

VOIP Telephone Service

Just thought I would comment today on how much I love my new telephone service. We used to have regular ole' telephone service (i.e., Verizon, BellSouth, MCI), but have recently switched to a VOIP service. For those of you not in the know, VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet protocol. Basically what this means is your telephone is connected to your broadband internet connection instead of the phone jack that's on your wall. All you do is connect the VOIP phone adapter that you get from your VOIP provider to your cable or DSL modem and then plug your phone in to the adapter. After that, you go through a relatively simple setup procedure and then you are able to use your telephone like before. Of course this a fairly new technology and it does have it's hiccups, but by and far it was worth the investment for me.

The main reason I decided to go this route is because of my Wife. Since she is German, and her entire family is from Germany, our phone bill was getting rather expensive. That's when I decided to make the leap. I did my homework and checked out several different providers to see what was available. Now I'm paying about $45.00 less than I was when using the traditional phone service.

I do recommend that people who are interested in VOIP, be sure to educate themselves before making the change. There are several different providers for VOIP with assorted pricing and features. I think the number one thing to watch out for is the 911 service the VOIP service provides. People should familiarize themselves with the policies and functionality of the 911 service that a particular provider has in place. I myself still have a basic phone line in place in order to use my DSL service, so I can still use that line to contact my local 911 Service. For those people who use cable internet, and want to completely cut the cord with their traditional phone service, should pay particular attention to the 911 service of the VOIP provider they are interested in. Another thing to keep in mind, when your broadband internet connection goes down, so does your VOIP telephone. If you still have a traditional land line or a cell phone, then your safe. If not, you will be without any kind of telephone service.

So far, I am very pleased with my service. My calls have so far been crystal clear, I have an abundance of features, and my service has yet to go down. Of course, the quality of your VOIP service greatly depends on how well your internet connection is running.

Here are few of the VOIP providers:

Vonage
Lingo
Packet 8
VoiceWing (Verizon)
CallVantage ( AT&T)

If you are using Cable Internet, you should also check with your cable provider to see what they offer for telephone service.

A Parent's Responsibility

I recently became the proud father of a beautiful baby girl. Since her birth, I have thought about a lot of things that I need to do to help her grow, learn and enjoy her life with her Mother and I. I also have to make sure she is safe. As she gets older, I will have to tell her about some of the more unpleasant things and teach her what to look out for when it comes to the bad people out there. I'm going to try real hard not to be like some of the parents in this world who think a game console and a TV are the best baby sitters around. I will also not allow her to have a computer in her room. I will not go out and buy a piece of software and hope that it will keep her from the less than desirable things on the internet. I believe the best solution is to communicate with my child and inform her of the dangers of not only the internet, but in the real world as well. I think that if I keep the computer in a central location for the whole family to use, that hopefully I will be able to monitor what sites she visits and how much time she spends on it. Now, I know that she will get to an age where she will expect some privacy. I will be more than happy to give her that privacy, but she will have to understand that it is my responsibility as a parent to guide her in the right direction. The internet has opened a whole new door for predators to get to our children. It's now even easier for these people to communicate with our kids. Our children don't even have to leave the house to be exposed to these deviants. That is why it is more important now than ever to monitor what our kids do online, and to take action if and when we see something suspicious. If I don't watch over my little girl, then who will?

Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD, What A Dilemma

I was reading the technology section of my local newspaper this morning and, lo and behold, there's this huge article about the battle between the Blu-Ray Consortium and the HD-DVD alliance. Now, for those of you who are asking, "What's all this about Blu-Ray and is it going to make my head hurt?", I will give a brief explanation of these two budding technologies. Blu-Ray & HD-DVD are the two technologies competing to be the new standard for DVDs. Currently, information that is written to DVDs is done with a red laser. Using the red laser, you can't write as much information to the disk as you can with a blue laser (hence the name, Blu-Ray). DVDs on the market today are fixed at a resolution of 720 x 480. On a Blu-Ray/HD-DVD, the maximum resolution is an astounding 1920 x 1080. In short, when comparing these new standards to the current DVD, there will be incomparable image clarity. The picture should almost seem lifelike. Now obviously, you will also need a HD compatible TV to go along with these HD DVD players when they do come out. Oddly enough, there will be a HD-DVD player on the market this month and a Blu-Ray DVD player in May of this year.

Keep in mind though, both DVD standards come down to basically the same thing. They both deliver high definition media for your consumption. That's what it really boils down to. It's up to you, the consumer, to decide what is the better choice. Really and truly, you could flip a coin to help you decide, and that wouldn't be any more help than if you were to decide on your own. It's anybody's guess as to which format will become the standard for future DVDs. It's the VHS vs. Betamax wars all over again.

So now you see the delimma. If you are like me, you're going to walk into your local electronics superstore and look at DVD players for both formats. Then, you're going to ask that kid that's fresh out of high school which would be the better buy. You know what happens next. The kid looks at the price of both DVD players and will proceed to explain to you why the player with the bigger price tag is so much better than the other. That is, of course, once he sees you're over the sticker shock.

As you can see, I did not go into to much detail about either format. If you want, simply click on the link that I provided earlier in this post for both formats to learn more about them. I'm not necessarily trying to educate people about this new technology. I just want the public to think twice before dropping that almighty dollar (and quite a few of them, going by the projected prices for these players), so that they don't wind up with a betamax.

The First Official Post To My Blog

Well, this is it. I decided to start a blog. First and foremost, I want to let everybody know that my comments on this blog are purely my opinions. I'm not out to try and offend anybody. Having said that, I will not be commenting directly on any single computer manufacturer or their affiliates. I certainly don't want these companies to flame the you know what out of my blog. Also, I am not entirely sure about how often I will be updating my blog. I will be posting comments and thoughts as they come to me, which will not be necessarily every day. Not all of my opinions will be negative, either. There are good things coming from the computer universe. Basically I will be showing you what is going on inside my everwondering mind, oh, and by the way, feel free to comment on my comments as well. I would love to know what other people are thinking about this whole computer phenomenon as well.