I tested a pre-release version of Windows Vista last year. I
thought that the eye candy was nice but there really wasn't a
lot about the program to make it worth upgrading my PC to use
it. Since then I've heard stories about problems with Vista that
made me even reluctant to upgrade to it. But, things happen. I
"needed" a new laptop to demonstrate programs for the Flight
Simulator S.I.G. <wink><wink> Many of you will be buying new
computers in the next year or so, so I'll share some of my
experiences and impressions with you.
I took the plunge in August 2007 and bought a new HP laptop. And
of course it only comes pre-loaded with Windows Vista. (
Note -
If you buy a new PC, make sure you get at least the
Vista Home
Premium Version. The Home Basic Version is crippled, you won't
like it, and the manufacture may even provide the Premium
version as a "free" upgrade.)
I opened the box, plugged in the battery charger, turned the PC
on (per the instructions) and the computer worked. HP
pre-activates Windows Vista saving you from going through the
exercise of activating it. I had to answer a few questions of
course; name, password, my preference for mydesktop, etc.
Nothing too difficult. So now I have Windows Vista and it works.
Connection to my wireless home LAN was important to me;
fortunately Vista made that very easy. Just follow the Internet
Wizard, a click here, a click there and you are connected. The
first thing I used the Internet connection for was to check for
Windows Vista updates. There were about 18. I'm not sure what
they were all supposed to do, but for now, I decided to trust
Microsoft and installed all of them.
The next few days were spent playing with the computer, learning
what things did. I sure miss the days when you got a "real"
manual with a PC. It took me five days to discover a pressure
sensitive strip at the top of the keyboard that lets you
increase and decrease speaker volume by sliding your finger over
it. Searching the Hewlett Packard web site I located a manual
for my computer (in .pdf format) and downloaded it for future
reference.
I never have cared for the touch pads that they put on laptop
PCs to provide a mouse function but this one works pretty good.
Still, I prefer a real mouse. Unfortunately, this laptop doesn't
have the standard mouse connector like my old laptop. HP only
provides USB connections so none of the mice I have will work on
it. A check at the web site of my favorite PC supply store
indicated that they were out of stock. As luck would have it,
later the same day, I was walking past the writing supplies area
in my local Safeway when I spotted a laptop mouse manufactured
by Targus. For $19 and change I bought a cute little two button
USB optical mini-mouse (no mouse pad required) with a little
thing on the connecting wire that lets me pull out as much or as
little wire as I need. Problem solved! (Update – I lost my
original mouse after about three weeks. I discovered that Office
Max sells a variety of mini-mice made by different
manufacturers. I bought another Targus mini-mouse.)
Personal computers are very personal. I spent most of the first
week that I owned this computer, customizing it. I added utility
and application programs that do what I need to do the way I
like to do it. Vista may offer “better” ways to organize and
present information. If so I'll probably discover them. In the
meantime my desktop looks similar to my old Windows XP computer,
littered with desktop icons that are shortcuts to various
programs.
This article has been provided personally by the
author solely for publication by APCUG member groups. All other uses
require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above)..
