Computing in 2008
Managing the changes at Microsoft:
MS has announced it will formerly "retire" Windows XP in June 2008 and thus after that time you will be needing to purchase a flavour of MS Windows Vista if you want Windows on a new machine.
should you stay with Win XP or upgrade to Windows Vista?
MS's Windows Vista upgrade advisor here - website also explains the new features of Vista
some features may not function as well on older PC's such as the new SLEEP function
Vista requires more RAM and more hard disk space than Win XP otherwise it will run slowly.
this may mean you will want minimum 1Gb RAM, and preferably 2Gb RAM.
some programs are not compatible with Vista and you will either need to upgrade them or not use them (eg. Nero v6x)
some hardware (eg. printers, etc) are not compatible with Vista
Vista has increased security but part of its implementation (UAC) can make installation of programs problematic and annoying and many people turn off this functionality which is designed to prevent unauthorised writing of files to certain places on your Windows system. Unfortunately, many legacy programs write to these places such as store user information in ini files.
how to manage with the new MS Office file formats in Office 2007 when most people have a prior version of Office:
if you have an older Office version, install the latest MS Office updates, then download and install MS file converter tools
see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923505 for instructions
perhaps you want to create a dual-boot Win XP and Win Vista machine?
New light ultra-portable 12-13" high end notebook / laptop computers
with the introduction of the Apple MacBook Air notebook in 2007 came a number of MS Windows to compete with the stake of lightest, sleekest whilst versatile computer.
Apple MacBook Air:
1.38kg, 13.3" backlit display but no DVD and only 1 USB port;
the advent of new transreflective LCD screens has increased visibility of the screen in outdoor situations, and even uses the ambient light to view the screen reducing battery usage (eg. Toshiba R500)
ultra low voltage (ULV) Intel Core 2 Duo computer chips help provide longer battery life
the introduction of solid state drives (SSD) instead of usual hard disk drives points to the future of portable notebooks as their lack of moving parts provide a number of important advantages:
potentially longer life, especially in portable usage
less susceptible to damage from movement
tolerates movement, no longer need to detect movement and shut down hard drive temporarily
generates less heat, thus less fan required
faster boot, read/write
less noisy
less battery usage thus longer battery life
downside is very expensive at present and smaller storage (eg. 64Gb instead of 120-160Gb as with most laptop HDDs)
Toshiba R500 PPR50A:
less than 1kg including 7mm thick DVD burner (although a bit noisy), and only 19.5mm thin thanks to its High Density Mounting Technology of the motherboard.
world 1st flexible, transreflective indoor/outdoor 12" screen but 1280x800 resolution is more limiting than what I would prefer and has limited viewing angle but this may be very acceptable compromise for those wanting an outdoors laptop at last.
optional configuration with a 64Gb SSD drive allows up to "8-12hrs battery life"
1-2Gb RAM
rugged enough to survive a 75cm drop test but plasticky feel to chasis, keyboard and mouse pad and may not survive usual everyday abuse to business laptops.
its lower heat extraction capability (no battery-draining fans) means it gets hot if used on knees which risk getting burns.
perhaps the best laptop for those whose priorities are portability, outdoor usability, with DVD burner and willing to accept its lacklustre Win Vista performance (get extra 1Gb RAM to improve this), poorer indoor LCD viewability and build issues.
http://apcmag.com/6839/toshiba_r500_worlds_lightest_thinnest_notebook_64gb_flash_hard_drive
Lenovo X300:
64Gb SSD drive, 13.3" 1440x900 backlit TFT screen
DVD burner
1.79kg
Dell D430:
12" 1280x800 LCD
SSD or HDD
from 1.9kg with internal DVD burner
Sony Vaio TZ150:
better build feel and more expensive than the Toshiba R500 but smaller screen and not as viewable outdoors, although better indoors.
not as hot running as the Toshiba R500
Sony Vaio TZ18GN/X:
better build feel and more expensive than the Toshiba R500 but smaller screen and not as viewable outdoors, although better indoors.
not as hot running as the Toshiba R500
only 32Gb SSD
Sony Vaio VGNTZ28GNX:
48Gb SSD; 11.1" 1366x768; 1.17kg
http://www.sony.com.au/vaio/catalog/product.jsp?categoryId=30411
Sony G11:
New cheap, ultra portable notebooks for surfing the net:
Linux-based machines albeit with only 4-8Gb solid state storage make very cheap machines capable of running OpenOffice and surfing the net available for under $A500
eg. ASUS Eee PC 701:
928g; 512Mb RAM; 4Gb SSD; 7" 800x400 screen; Linux OS & apps use 2.5Gb of that storage;