Orange County Computer INC.

Advantages of Windows 7

February 25, 2010

Windows 7: Change Can Be Good

So you’re a dedicated Vista user. Or perhaps an unyielding XP aficionado. Nothing is going to pull you away from you’re beloved PC operating system. Your brand loyalty is unshakable. Now this may come as a complete surprise to you, but there’s a new kid on the block that may convince you to alter your thinking and leap headlong into an entirely new OS. The newcomer we’re talking about is Windows 7. Now don’t start turning up your noses just yet. Have a look. See what you think. There are some definite advantages to upgrading your PC operating system to Microsoft’s latest version of Windows. Here are a few.

Take the User Account Control. With Vista, UAC messages seem to pop up non-stop with the warning – ‘are you sure you want to do that?’ How many times have you wanted to shout out, “well nobody’s forcing me to do it!” With Windows 7, you still get User Account Control, but it’s a lot less intrusive than its annoying predecessor.

How much clutter can one user stand? That’s the question that Vista seemed to be asking by including so many extra applications like Contacts, Calendar, Photo Editing, etc. Luckily, Windows 7 has eliminated a bunch of these extra programs. If you’ve really got to have them, they’re yours for the asking. Just download them absolutely free from the Windows Live website.

Let’s face it. Vista never broke any records for boot times. Many users report Vista taking a sluggish 30 seconds or more to boot. The goal for Windows 7 is a peppy 15 seconds. Whether most users get this kind of start-up speed has not been determined. Nevertheless, most folks enthusiastically proclaim that W7 is light years ahead of Vista in the speed department.

So there you have it. Just a few of the many reasons why upgrading your PC operating system to Windows 7 could be a good idea. If you’d like to learn more about the advantages of Windows 7 or are interested in installing it on your system, we’ll be happy to help. We also offer Comprehensive Computer Repair Services and Small Business Managment throughout Mission Viejo and all of Orange County.

Contact our Sales Team for a Complimentary Network Evaluation at 949-699-6619 or Contact Us

Orange County Computer is your Comprehensive IT Solutions Provider.

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The Waning Days of Windows 2000

February 18, 2010

Windows 2000 came into being in February of 2000 and set the stage for later more advanced versions of Windows to come. Windows 2000 series brought us automatic online updating, USB support, and FAT32 support from the consumer OS version of Windows 98 and Windows 2000 Server introduced us to Active Directory which simplified network administration.

Within a few short years, Windows 2000 Professional was replaced by Windows XP, and Windows 2000 Server was replaced by the 2003 server edition. And while the 2000 series was off of the current product list, Microsoft has continued to support all four versions of its Windows 2000 series with service packs, critical updates and technical support for the last ten years.

While still in use today, Windows 2000s’ life cycle will be coming to a complete end on July 13, 2010 according to Microsoft. The end of extended support means that clients that are still running a Windows 2000 Server will need to migrate to a Windows 2008 Server in order to continue receiving support from Microsoft and to ensure the latest and best security for their network.

While Windows 2000’s security is fairly light by today’s standards, having no more security updating at all can mean serious problems for client’s who continue to use the OS without migrating to an updated and well supported version from Microsoft. The older architecture of Windows 2000 has been seriously compromised in the past by hackers and sophisticated viruses. In fact, as recently as September 8, 2009, Microsoft skipped over patching Windows 2000 Server for five rather serious security flaws stating that it would be “infeasible” due to the age of the OS and that to even try to patch them would require a re-engineering to a degree that could lead to incompatibilities with current applications that run on it.

So with the Windows 2000 series on life support and Microsoft reaching for the plug, it’s best to finally give the venerable operating system the boot and look at migrating to an updated version before too much longer. Sure, it may be cheaper to beat a dead horse by continuing to run a Windows 2000 Server or workstation. However, in the long run the eventual down-time and potential security breaches from online attacks could lead to serious problems such as data theft or loss which could easily override the cost of a simple upgrade.

The professionals at Orange County Computer are skilled at these kinds of upgrades and can make upgrading your server a painless procedure.

Contact our Sales Team for a Complimentary Network Evaluation at (949) 699-6619 or Contact Us

Orange County Computer is your Comprehensive IT Solutions Provider.

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Windows 7 Home Premium: Are You Ready?

October 9, 2009

Windows 7 Home Premium OS: Are you ready for the change?
The long awaited solution to Vista Home Premium is due for release on October 22nd. Many of you might be asking, “what’s the big deal and why should I care?” Below you will find many reasons supporting why the launch of Windows 7 could potentially make your computing experience much more enjoyable, especially if you are currently using the Vista Operating System. Windows 7 has been designed to resolve intrinsic issues associated with Vista yet compete with the new MAC OS due for release, Snow Leopard. Microsoft hopes to retain frustrated Vista users before they abandon ship by resolving some Vista Issues. So what exactly does Windows 7 do?

Windows 7 Simplifies Everyday Tasks:
A feature called HomeGroup, makes it’s simple to share music, documents, printers, and everything else with the other PCs running Windows 7 in a residential environment. Windows Search eliminates the chore of hunting through folders and subfolders to locate your stuff. The windows taskbar previews give you a great view of what’s open, and Jump Lists show your recent files with a single right-click.

Windows 7 Works the way you want:
It doesn’t matter how many neat tricks your PC can do if it’s not running as smoothly as you expect. So we designed Windows 7 to help your PC sleep and resume faster. Windows 7 supports the latest advances in PC hardware, like 64-bit computing and multi-core processors. Windows 7 was developed to utilize memory more efficiently which helps your hardware reach its full performance potential. This is probably where consumers will see the biggest difference in comparison to Vista.

Windows 7 Makes new things possible
Once you have that simplified, faster PC, some cool new features would be great. Like this one: You’ll be able to connect to networks—home, work, coffee shop—with a couple of clicks, and with Windows Touch (and the right hardware), you’ll soon be using your fingers to flip through files, work with pictures, and even “paint.”

Can my PC run Windows 7?
Generally, if your PC can run Windows Vista, it can run Windows 7. But if you’re not running Windows Vista, or are just not sure if your system is ready to run Windows 7, contact the experts at Orange County Computer and we’ll verify if your system is compatible. We can be reached at (949) 699-6619 or email support@orangecountycomputer.com. Look for further discussion and diagnosis of Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate in the weeks ahead.

Contact our Sales Team for a computer evaluation at (949) 699-6619 or Contact Us

Orange County Computer is your Comprehensive IT Solutions Provider.

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