Neither Vista nor XP is perfect
Cox News Service
January 6, 2008
Q: I intend to purchase a new laptop soon. Several people have recommended that I get Windows XP rather than Vista because Vista still has problems. It will be used for home and business with a lot of use with Word, Excel and PowerPoint. What would you advise?
— Dick Spehalski
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A: I disagree about sticking with XP. Vista is a safer and better version of Windows. It's sure not perfect but that's true for XP as well.
Vista is memory-hungry. Make sure you get at least 2 gigabytes of RAM and be sure the laptop has a good video card. With those caveats, I strongly recommend Vista over XP.
But let me acknowledge again that there's enough mixed opinion to make yours a good question. And since some of the people who feel XP is the safest bet are at least as knowledgeable as me, well, take that as fair warning.
Q: You had kind words for the Mac the other day. It's wonderful to see that, even if it was a back-handed compliment from a PC user.
— Tom King
A: I probably spend more time using a Mac than a PC. That's because I use one in my job at the newspaper. My first computer was a Mac, many years ago.
Here's how I feel about PCs and Macs: Neither is perfect and both are a lot better than they used to be.
I envy the passion most Apple folks feel for their computers. Lots of times I feel like an agnostic in a church full of believers.
But, maybe because I've messed with computers so long, I see both platforms as tools. And even at a convention of carpenters you seldom would see a guy getting misty-eyed over a Stanley hammer, or feeling as if a fellow using a Craftsman hammer might be a little odd.
The deal with tools is that it all boils down to what you do with them. And tools (including Macs and PCs) don't change the way I write, nor do they add a few bucks when I'm figuring my family finances.
So while I think it's cool that Mac lovers are passionate about their machines, I also think it's cool when folks are passionate about the work they do with those machines, whichever type they choose.
Please send your questions to Bill Husted at bhusted@ajc.com. While he reads every e-mail, not all are answered. E-mails are selected for publication based on the likelihood that the answers will be of general interest.
