Well winter has finally arrived in the GTA and Burlington. After an elongated fall which carried into January, the cold weather and snow arrived three weeks ago. Well as you read this Microsoft’s new operating system “Vista” will be hitting the retail market place. There are various upgrades available and pricing ranges from $159.99 to $199.99, depending on what your present Windows XP installation is comprised. Before you think about going out to buy the new Operating System (OS), run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor. This downloadable program will examine your PC give you a compatibility report and advise you which upgrade is best for your system. It will also advise you which components and programs are not compatible with Vista.

With Vista now available in retail systems, the big question is how much of an improvement is it over XP? We check out the first systems bundling Microsoft's newest OS and tell you what you will, and will not, be getting with Vista. Some of us (Consultants) think moving to Vista is worth the upgrade. Here's why. You make the decision, for me I’m staying with Windows XP for a while longer. There are always issues with a new OS, patches which will fix unforeseen anomalies. The PC maker Lenovo (IBM’s PC Manufacturer) is rolling out a new small form factor desktop, which will include a number of additional features compared to previous models, as well as the Vista operating system. Get the details.

On the security threat front, the Storm Worm, which started as a Europe-centric attack has now spread across the globe. Worse yet, in addition to propagating spam, this particular piece of malware is leaving Trojans in its wake that create back doors into systems that can be exploited by future attacks. About the only people who are happy about this development are probably the folks at TJX, which saw coverage of a credit card data breach quickly overshadowed by Storm coverage. Nevertheless, the TJX incident at this juncture raises more questions than it answers. Here in Canada, the CIBC investments disclosure about losing a backup drive brought further fears about privacy invasion. Best prevention is to make sure your virus, spyware and adware updates are current.

On the Macintosh front, a survey of those already using Adobe's CS3 Photoshop CS3 beta, analysts at Piper Jaffray say they believe the full release of the software will help boost Mac sales. 87 percent of polled beta users like the update.  Apple has also shipped a high-priority update for its QuickTime media player to correct a flaw exposed during the controversial MoAB (Month of Apple Bugs) project. The vulnerability is a buffer overflow in the way QuickTime handles RTSP URLs.  Macintosh is also making inroads into the business market with its business applications, including but not limited to Microsoft Office 2008, that are starting to get some real IT notice. Even Microsoft took time this week to clarify some earlier pro-Macintosh comments made by Jim Allchin, which means that Redmond has probably become more concerned about Apple in the small to medium business sector. Microsoft has built plenty of eye candy into the early version of Office 2008 for the Macintosh, but it's an open question whether this new edition is decidedly better than the current version. Mmm...eye candy...  For years Macintosh customers have waited in vain for Apple to introduce a Mac Tablet. Finally a tablet model has appeared, but it's not a pure Apple product. It was designed by Apple Reseller Other World Computing. Find out more.

And now for some useful tips! Wondering when is the right time to buy or replace that PC or Mac; well here are tips for buying a computer that will outlast the norm. Without resources to create an elaborate network infrastructure, many small offices choose wireless networking because it's flexible, inexpensive - and easy to install and maintain. Here are some tips for setting up a wireless network.

Here is our featured tips, create a new file without launching its application. Did you know that you can create and name a new text document before you even launch a text editor? Here's how:

1. Right-click your desktop.
2. Click New and then Text Document.
3. A new text document will appear on your desktop ready to be named. Type the document's title or description and you're finished.

View only unread messages in Microsoft Outlook Express
Is your Inbox getting a little crowded? If it is, you can hide messages that you've already read. Here's how:
1. Right-click the toolbar and select the Views Bar.
2. Select Hide Read Messages in Views.
Now you no longer see messages that you've already read.

Stop an unresponsive application
Many of you know this trick, but this is a useful one that everyone should know. If a program "freezes" or stops responding to you, do this:

1. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete on your keyboard.
2. Click Task Manager.
3. In the Windows Task Manager window, select the program that's not responding, and then click End Task.
4. A confirmation window appears. Click End Now.
5. If this doesn't work, you can shut down by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete and then clicking the Shut Down button.

Featured tips is courtesy of the book Windows XP Killer Tips by Kleber Stephenson.

Here are some more tips for Word and Excel users, CREATE SOPHISTICATED PROFESSIONAL DIAGRAMS WITH MICROSOFT WORD TOOLS. For small diagramming tasks, Microsoft Word may actually be a better choice than its specialized cousin, Visio. This download introduces Word's basic diagramming tools, explains how each feature works, and then creates a sample diagram to illustrate the process.  If users are spending time trying to match up each data label in your chart with its corresponding data point, then you may need to remove some of the clutter. In this Excel tip, MARY ANN RICHARDSON shows how to make your charts easier to read by substituting custom data labels for data series markers

Spring cleaning is still a few months away--but if your PC's insides are dirty, that could make for a sluggish system. Here's how to whip things into shape. Signup for our Spring and Fall PC maintenance program. For more information contact us. Dirt and dust can damage your PC and hurt its performance. Fight back!.

For you digital media buffs easily transfer videos from your digital camera to your computer using Windows XP and a USB cable or memory card reader.

Safe computing until next month.
 Robert

My PC Consultant