President's Message

October, 2006

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. My tee shot on 15 was just plain ugly…I mean it started right, stayed right, rattled around in the trees, landed on the cart path then bounced and rolled to a stop right in the center of the fairway about 80 yards from the pin… From there I chunked a wedge and three putted for bogy… Oh well, that’s golf.

Upcoming Events
• “Patch Tuesday” October 10th, Don’t forget to visit the Microsoft update site. http://update.microsoft .com.
• WiMAX World Conference & Expo, October 10th –12th - Boston World Trade Center, Boston, MA, http://www.wimax world.com.
• Steaming Media West – October 31st – November 2nd - San Jose McEnery Convention Center, San Jose, CA, http://www. streamingmedia.com/west.
Do you know of any upcoming technology conferences? Please send me the details… I’ll include them in my next column.

Windows Vista Pricing
Microsoft has announced pricing for Windows Vista - from $99.95 for the Vista Home Basic upgrade version to $399.00 for the full version of Vista Ultimate.

Version Upgrade Full
Home Basic $99.95 $199.00
Home Premium $159.00 $239.00
Business $199.00 $299.00
Ultimate $259.00 $399.00

Buying a Computer
With the holidays approaching I thought this would be a good time to update my PC buying guide.
There are two basic rules to computer shopping:

1. Faster isn’t always better. Most of us don’t need the fastest available microprocessor for our day-to-day computing tasks. We’d be better off with something in the middle, and then investing in more memory (RAM), higher performance hard drives and a better video card.
2. Size matters. Stay away from those all-in-ones—Apple’s excellent iMac is the only exception—or small form factor designs... They limit expandability. Look for a minitower case. When it comes to monitors, don’t skimp on size or quality. Invest in the largest, highest quality monitor you can afford.

What Should You Look For?
First and foremost, make sure the PC you’re buying has the Windows Vista
Capable logo. That means it meets the minimum requirements necessary to run Windows Vista. Beyond that, I’d start with a system based on the Intel Core 2 Duo dual core processor. From there it’s really a question of what you use your computer for. If you’re a typical home user who spends most of your time on web surfing, e-mail and word processing, you can get along fine with a system based on an Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 or E6400 processor. I’d suggest something with 1GB of RAM, an entry level ATI or Nvidia graphics card, a 160GB hard drive, a dual format, double layer DVD burner and Windows XP Home.
If you’re a power home user, who’s working with digital photos or editing home movies, I’d skip the entry level Core 2 Duo’s and step up to the Core 2 Duo E6600 or E6700 (If you’re completely power crazy, go with the Core 2 Duo Extreme Edition X6800 processor—It’s a screamer). I’d also suggest investing in a better video card, a 250 or 500 gigabyte hard drive and 2GB of memory.
For small office or home office users, I’d suggest the same basic configuration as for a power home user, but would replace Windows XP Home with Widows XP Professional.
Last, but not least, make sure your new computer has at least 6 USB 2.0 (universal serial bus) ports and 2 IEEE 1394 (FireWire) ports.

Notebooks
Personally, I wouldn’t buy a notebook unless I had a specific need for one. In my experience, they fail more often than desktops. If a notebook is going to be you primary system, look for one based on the Intel Core 2 Duo T series processors with a discrete graphics controller and dedicated video memory… be sure it has built in WiFi and Bluetooth.

Warranties
A good computer system should include a three-year warranty. Ideally, that warranty will include next business day on-site service. That means if the manufacture is unable to troubleshoot a problem with you over the phone, they will dispatch a technician to your home or office to make the necessary repairs.
Most computer manufacturers also offer service contracts or warranty upgrades at a reasonable cost. These contracts normally “upgrade” the base warranty from next business day to same business day or 24/7 on-site service. If you can’t afford extended downtime, invest in one of these contracts.

End Notes
That’s pretty much all I have time for this month… I finished The Traitor, by Stephen Coonts a few days ago… It’s a good read. I’m a couple a chapters deep in Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs, I’ll let you know what I thought of it next month. So far, so good.
As always, you can send me your comments, questions, criticisms or book recommendations at jasetaro@mags.net or jasetaro@yahoo.com.
Cheers,
—Jeff Setaro