2010 Begins…

Are you ready for a new decade?

Welcome back to a new year, a new decade, and another season of OnMouseClick columns. OnMouseClick strives to keep its readers informed and up-to-date on computers and technology — something that often seems like an impossible task in our fast moving world.

Some of you are probably using a computer that you have had for many years. As far as you are concerned, it works just fine — until something goes wrong. I cannot count the number of times someone has asked my advice on whether they should have an older computer fixed or buy a new one. If the answer to the question, “How old is your computer?”, is five or more years, I immediately answer “Buy a new one.” With the introduction of Windows 7 last October, I would even be tempted to recommend a new computer to anyone who uses a PC (a computer running the Windows operating system) running any Windows operating system older than Vista. (In this column I am only going to be discussing computers running Windows. Macintosh computers will be discussed in a later column.)

When something goes wrong with an older computer, it can be very difficult to repair. Replacement parts are sometimes impossible to find, and the software that will run on older machines is woefully out of date. If you have a computer running an older version of Windows, and your operating system becomes corrupted, you will need to reinstall this system from the disk that came with the computer. There is a good chance that the disks cannot be found, and it is practically impossible to find replacements for out of date Windows system disks.

Other problems occur with peripherals, such as printers, scanners and digital cameras. Newer models of these devices will not work with older computer systems. Printers are relatively inexpensive, and when one stops working it is usually more cost effective to buy a new one. However, if your computer is more than a few years old, there is a good chance that a new printer will not work with your computer. Likewise, if you get a new digital camera, don’t expect to be able to download your photos onto an old computer.

Finally, it is important to understand the versatility of a new computer verses an older one. The processing speed of computers has increased exponentially over the past several years. While you may have access to high speed internet, if your computer operates slowly, you will not be able to take advantage of this speed. Web browsers, the software that allows you to view internet sites on your computer, have all been updated and create a conundrum. If you are running an older browser, you will not be able to take advantage of all the internet has to offer, and if you are working on an older machine, you cannot use modern browsers.

The Windows operating system itself has also changed radically. The interface is much easier to use and the built-in safe guards against viruses, spam, adware, and spyware are much better than they were even a year ago. If you do any online banking or shopping, it is imperative that you have the most up-to-date protections available, which are included in Windows 7. If you are already using Windows Vista, upgrading to Windows7 should be relatively easy. However, if you are running Windows XP or earlier (which means your computer is more than three years old), upgrading to Window 7 is a very involved process, and it might be a good time to decide on buying a new computer instead.

If you are using one of these older computer systems, I hope that today’s column has given you something to think about. In next weeks column I will make a shopping list of what to look for when buying a new Window computer system.

In addition to making this column available online,  I also write a photo blog at LindasLens.blogspot.com. My goal is to post one of my photographs every day in 2010. I also plan to feature some tips for digital photographers, so please take a look when you can. As of January 8 eight photos have been posted, with only 357 to go!