Over the last few weeks, Microsoft has been researching reports that state that Windows 7 has been ruining batteries. Well, two days ago, they came out with an update stating that Windows 7 is not ruining the batteries, this is all part of the plan.

If you want a heafty read, look over this long post by Microsoft on their blog. It basically states that Windows 7 uses internal reporting in the batteries to determine when your battery has started going downhill. They set this alert up when 60% of the battery has effectively failed. This means that when you charge your battery, you only get 40% of the original charge, even though the battery says it’s 100% charged. This situation ends up with a 100% charged battery lasting only 45 minutes when it use to last almost 3 hours when it was new.

So, it’s not Windows, but your battery that you need to consider replacing. Most batteries retail for approximately $99. This is one reason I buy an extra battery every time I purchase a new laptop.
Justin

I get asked this all the time, and most recently yesterday afternoon while working on a client’s computer.

So, here are my current recommendations:

Currently Running XP: No, unless you want to spend more money for the newest thing. Windows XP does not transfer to Windows 7 easily. There are 3 ways to upgrade it, all are considered costly and may cause Windows 7 to run slower, or you’ll be missing some things. It’s best that you wait until you either buy a new computer or you start running into issues where programs just don’t like to run anymore. At that time, you can make an informed decision on the hardware you’re using. Prices of computers and laptops are going down every day.

Currently Running Vista: Yes. The upgrade from Vista to Windows 7 is relatively painless. Protocol16 has done many upgrades for clients and we report a high success in our upgrades (actually, no failed upgrades yet).

Currently Running a NetBook: This is one of those hard decisions. Windows 7 will run on Netbooks, but it might be very slow, depending on the exact model you’re running. We’d need to know the model and a few other details to discuss it.

As always, if you have any questions and are anywhere near Portland, we’ll be more than happy to talk with you.
Justin

PS: We have some REALLY big news coming soon…

GOOOOD MORNING PORTLAND!

I found an interesting piece of news today that really caught my attention, and I wanted to comment on it.

The other day, the NSA testified that it had “worked on Windows 7” in conjunction with it’s release cycle. They basically stated that they worked with Microsoft during the build of Windows 7 (they did this with Vista as well) to make it more secure.

Well, the next day, various people started putting a few dots together and ended up screaming about back doors, black helicopters and government agents – you get the point.

While I know, for a fact, that Antivirus companies look the other way for specific things on computers – due to law enforcement, I haven’t seen anything on that fact for the government. As an ex-government employee, working around computers, I can say that the changes in security from XP to Vista to Windows 7 have been things the government had been doing for awhile.

There are certain ways to secure Windows, as well as other operating systems. The government has it’s own way of doing those things. I personally use some of these methods in my every day usage of my own computers. Protocol16 even uses some of these methods when securing client computers. One of the biggest things done is separating the Administrator from the User. Most people using XP or Vista use the computer in Admin mode. I’ve talked about this in the past, as well as how I think you should leave Universal Account Control (UAC) on, for security. Windows 7 takes that a step further by separating the tasks that someone does into 2 categories: User and Admin. Internet Explorer, when fired up – even from an Administrator, is started as a normal user. Even things like the Command Prompt (the older DOS looking screen with a black background and white text) is started as a User instead of Admin. These are things that I’m guessing came out of the recommendation from the Government.

I’ll give away another secret as well. The NSA is not the only organization that worked on Windows, and won’t be. Microsoft takes recommendations from thousands of companies every day. For instance, Dell worked on Windows 7 as well… They recommended changes to both Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 when they found issues with their own hardware. Even Microsoft’s current TV campaign of “I suggested X feature” tells that they do listen to feedback.

But, don’t believe all the hype. Many of the features in Windows 7 where, in fact, in Vista. I got worked up the other night (read: Yelled at the TV again), when I listened to a commercial talk about how Windows 7 has new child monitoring and the actor talked about how he had suggested it. That feature has been in Windows Vista since the beginning.

Make your own decisions based on what you think is right. The NSA doesn’t just work on Windows, they work on Linux and Unix too…
Justin

I was asked by a client yesterday if their aging Dell GX270 running XP would support Windows 7 or should they just buy new computers for their small office… I figured I’d share the answer with the good people of Portland, since I know a lot of businesses out there still run this older type of hardware.

After some quick research, I found that one simple change can be made and Windows 7 should be able to work with a GX270. Again, Windows 7 is considered the first OS in history to actually downgrade the computer requirements from the prior version. Think about this: Windows 7 is made to run on a lot of the tiny Netbooks you see flying around Portland.

So, Windows 7 will work with most computers, but if you don’t know – feel free to ask and we’ll research it for you. If you have any computer repair questions and you’re in Beaverton, Portland or anywhere in the Metro areas, just let us know (we’re always on call) and we’ll be on site as quick as we can. We’re only a phone call away!
Justin

Microsoft has decided to release a promo website, specifically for college students. While the website is interesting, the real goodies are that the site offers Windows 7 for $29.95 for college students. Simply visit this page and follow the instructions. Note: for this, you pretty much need a .EDU address at your college, but there is a list of other schools that qualifiy.

With the release of Windows 7, Protocol16 is offering to upgrade your computer to Windows 7 for $19.95, instead of the full price of our labor for a reinstall. Windows installs typically cost $99 and they’re the only flat-rate work we do!

Get Windows 7 Installed or Upgraded for just $19.95, plus the cost of the license!

Here are the requirements to get this special pricing:

-The upgrade & install pricing is offered as a pick-up only service. Your computer will be returned as quickly as possible, as long as we don’t run into weird issues – we expect to hold your computer for 1 day or less. Microsoft has stated that the larger your user profile is, the more amount of time is needed. No offense, but we don’t think anyone wants a tech in their house for hours on end…

-A Windows 7 license must be purchased with your upgrade. Windows 7 license costs are as follows:

Windows 7 Home Premium New Install: $199.99
Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade:  $119.99

Windows 7 Professional New Install: $299.99
Windows 7 Professional Upgrade: $199.99

Windows 7 Ultimate New Install: $319.99
Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade: $219.99

-Protocol16 will present a terms and conditions statement to the customer at the time of pickup. The customer must agree to the statement and sign, or no pickup will be offered.

NOTES: “New Install” means that you will lose all data on your hard drive. Protocol16 utilizes full retail versions of Windows 7 instead of OEM options for various reasons, to include the ability to transfer the license later. All pricing for Windows 7 is set at the required Microsoft pricing point. Not valid with any other coupons or discounts.

We’ve seen this same deal listed from $39.95 to $180, depending on your location and who you choose! If you would like to take advantage of this offer, give us a call and setup your pickup appointment.
Justin

Barely 13 hours into the Windows 7 bonanza, Protocol16 ran into it’s first Windows 7 upgrade problem.

Our customer had Vista Home Premium, 32-Bit and they were attempting to upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate, 32-bit. Windows 7 would appear to install then the computer would restart normally. Windows 7 would appear to load and then…restart. As it restarted, the Vista screen came back (this is called a Rollback). Our customer was a more experienced individual and was stumped.

The only “error” that would pop-up for the customer was that the installation had failed and the computer had been rolled back – with an OK button.

In the logs, the upgrade installation complained about Symantec Endpoint Protection and Network Access Control being installed. We also noticed setup log complaints of a SoundMax driver on the computer (the Driver is the software that allows Windows to talk to the hardware). We removed the sound card driver and the Symantec software and restarted the install of Windows. Windows 7 magically came to life with no complaints.

Windows 7 will complain about most Antivirus software packages because they place locks, checks & balances and other “features” on the operating system. This can cause your antivirus to literally think that it’s being attacked while Windows is upgrading.

On another note: BACKUP YOUR DATA BEFORE ATTEMPTING AN UPGRADE! On one of our test computers, we ran through the upgrade process a few weeks ago and, while it “upgraded”, Windows 7 no longer kept a record of the installed programs, the network settings, etc…

We always recommend following the guidelines the installer sets for you. Unfortunately, there are times where other issues unrelated to the actual install due to how other software acts on the computer… For those times, we’re here for you.
Justin

A heck of a lot of businesses around Portland and Beaverton seem to think that once they get a few employees, that they’ll need someone specific to handle their internal IT needs. More often than not, this usually turns out to be the person that knows the most about computers. Occasionally, a business owner will panic and attempt to hire a full time IT/Computer guy. Well, I’m here to tell you, that’s not needed.

We completely understand the need to save money. We know, unlike the phone company, the phone book companies and other types of companies, that businesses are not made of money. That’s one of the reasons why Protocol16’s prices are so low compared to other competitors. Some of the big-boys charge TWICE what we do, for the same qualified people. I know first hand, I use to work for that type of company and I would be brought in as a technical expert. I was even flown to a foreign country once to install a network. It’s not fun installing a network in the dead of summer, in Sicily…

There’s a secret in Portland, though. You don’t need to hire a computer guru, you don’t need to worry about problems and if you’re thinking of upgrading your computers, you have someone to call. Protocol16 offers consulting for small businesses.

Consulting through Protocol16 means we show up and take your requirements and offer several types of scenarios that can solve that. That does not mean that we show up, be pushy and tell you what you need to do. If you EVER hire a company to come in and this happens to you – throw them right out the door. On top of that, any company you hire should give you the option of which hardware you move to, or give you multiple offers as to which hardware provider you wish to choose. This is all unless you contact a specific hardware company and request a consultation.

Even if you have an internal computer guy, we can still help take on a bit of the workload for larger projects or suggest options for bringing in new hardware or software.

As always, if you have any questions, please let us know and we’ll be more than happy to help out. Don’t worry, we don’t speak geek, we talk in your language.
Justin

So, it seems the big news in Portland right now is that Windows 7 is coming on Oct. 22. Yes, that’s very true, but there are some important things many of you need to know.

XP to Windows 7 = No-go
Microsoft has decided that Windows XP CANNOT be upgraded to Windows 7. I cannot stress this information enough. I really don’t want to see a lot of businesses and people needing to spend huge amounts of money on Windows 7 upgrades. Right now, the “easiest” way to “upgrade” is to use the Windows Migration Tool to copy your info before you install. (Note: Laplink has also decided to help out, for a fee.) Again, Windows XP going to Windows 7 must be a clean install – this means the hard drive is erased, but there are products you can purchase to help the upgrade.

Windows 7 Is Better
Windows 7 is considered, by many, to be Vista but with Service Pack 3. While mostly true, there are a lot of differences. The first thing most people will notice is that Windows 7 looks different. There’s no more green “Start” button, no more Circle start button – just a standard menu. A lot of people things it looks a lot like the Apple OS X menu.

Windows 7, at least in my personal experience, is actually faster as well. I’ve been testing it on a home laptop and have found it pretty speedy for startups and waking up from sleep. So far, we’ve noticed one issue with it, but it’s due to Toshiba not releasing the software for the problem.

Drivers
One thing that really helps in Windows 7 is that Microsoft has defaulted to the manufacturer for drivers. Drivers are the software that allows Windows to interact with your hardware. A driver would allow Windows to see your Webcam – without that driver, Windows doesn’t know how to work with it.Some people would call this a translation file to allow the two software pieces to talk with each other.

Older versions of Windows required you to visit the manufacturer and update your own drivers. This happened with Windows XP and all versions before it. Windows Vista allowed users to download new drivers from Microsoft’s generic driver repository. If Windows recognized your mouse as a standard mouse, it would update the driver for you. That’s all great, until you have a fancy mouse with 8 buttons… One day, it just goes back to a standard mouse again. Companies have done things to help guard against this, but it still can cause problems. It really causes problems with the component that controls your monitor: the graphics card.

Well, Windows 7 is doing something new. If you have hardware, Windows will see it and interact with it, but will only use the generic driver until your hardware manufacturer releases their version of that driver. Case in point: my wife’s laptop has a fingerprint reader. Originally, we couldn’t find the drivers for it (this is completely because Windows 7 isn’t officially released yet). Well, one day, Windows popped up and said “I found a driver for X device!” When I clicked on it, I figured it would be a generic driver – nope. Windows 7 redirected me directly to Toshiba’s website were I could download the driver directly from them. On top of this, I found other drivers that I needed as well that had just been released. Now, we’re waiting on one last driver that allows us to utilize the touch pad (mouse pad) to it’s fullest extent.

Performance
This is one of the most unique things for Windows 7. Windows 7 is one of the first Operating Systems (OS) that has been released that does not require a more powerful computer. If you remember, when you upgraded from Windows 95 or 98 to XP, you pretty much needed to purchase a new computer, or at least upgrade it. Well, not so with Windows 7.

Windows 7, technically speaking, is a toned down version of Windows Vista. It’s been cleaned up, run through an optimization process then given a few more bug fixes. When Microsoft did this, it actually caused Windows 7 to typically perform better than Vista. This means that if you’re running XP or Vista and your computer is basically speedy enough for you, you can keep on using it with Windows 7.

If you have any other questions about Windows 7 and what is going to happen with your computer, please let us know.
Justin

Microsoft has released some rather important information late last week. Since Oregon is slowing down during recession and a lot of people in Portland are going back to school, I figured I better cover this for everyone.

As the title says, Microsoft has decided to release Windows 7 to college students for a mere $30. If you’re interested, feel free to visit where I got the information from.

We are currently testing Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2, which is based off of Windos 7 and, so far, we love what we see. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call and ask!
Justin