It was coming, but now is official.

Windows XP has not been supported by Microsoft for a bit, but they have released updates for general purposes, and should continue to release a few updates here and there for security – but nothing major.

Well, it’s been decided that Internet Explorer 9 (IE 9) will not support Windows XP. Folks, as soon as the newest browsers out there stop supporting Operating Systems, it’s time to move on to better things. Don’t get me wrong, Windows XP is a great OS – I still use it virtually to test viruses and other things, but once IE9 is released, that’s the end of the line for XP. Windows 7 is a great new Operating System that should support a lot of various hardware. If in doubt, try the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. It’s a free tool that you can download to see if your computer will run Windows 7.

With IE9 supporting HTML5, which can do some pretty amazing stuff (think of Flash type content, without actually using Flash), IE9 will be adopted very quickly, along with other browsers supporting HTML5. While Firefox, Chrome, and others, may support XP beyond this point of time, it’s really time to start thinking about upgrades.

On that note, I’m working with a partner company to provide some wickedly cool technology to businesses in the near future. Keep on the lookout.
Justin

This week has been a heavy-hitter in the computer world.

It appears that one of the most recent Microsoft Updates is causing computers all over to have problems with Blue Screens. Attempting to get into safemode results in the same issue.

This update seems to mainly affect Windows XP, but according to the patch that is causing most of the problems, it can affect 2000 through Server 2008. But again, we’re mainly seeing this with Windows XP.

If you haven’t already applied these patches, don’t do so.

If you have applied these patches, please feel free to give us a call.
Justin

UPDATE: Microsoft has publicly commented on this situation, on their blog.

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

We recently had a client running Windows XP and disabled the automatic updates feature since Vista was out. They figured Microsoft wasn’t updating XP anymore, so they didn’t need to see the prompts.

Needless to say, there are still updates for Windows XP that users should install. There were even updates released this week for XP. If you’re unsure of how to run updates or if you’re currently in need of updates, type the following into Internet Explorer (due to how updates are, it must be Internet Explorer):

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

This address will test your system to make sure you have the latest version of the Microsoft Updater and it will allow you to see if your version of Windows is completely up-to-date, a 2-for-1 special, if you will.

As always, please let us know if you have any questions or are in need of help by giving us a call. We support the whole Portland Metro region to include Beaverton, Tigard, Lake Oswego, Portland, Gresham, Wilsonville, HIllsboro and more…
Justin

I’ve seen this question posted on several websites as well as several blog posts. On top of this, I’ve also been asked this on a normal basis, especially since getting back to Portland and working on computer repair.

While Vista had it’s fair share of problems when it first came out, it’s perfectly acceptable for an Operating System now. After Service Pack 1 came out, Vista really started to shine. Now that XP is just over just under 8 years old, it’s time to let it go. Vista was the basis of Windows Server 2008 and, in the business world, that product is Rockin’. On top of that, SP2 has been released for Vista as well. Windows 7 is considered “Vista SP3″ and even Server 2008 R2 is using the Windows 7 code.

Some people are saying that you should wait until Windows 7 comes out – I’m one of them. Unfortunately, this has a downfall. There is no XP to Windows 7 upgrade. That means, if you don’t upgrade to Vista, you cannot upgrade to Windows 7, you’ll need to do a full install. Fortunately, Microsoft is offering a free upgrade from Vista to Windows 7 at the moment.

“But Windows 7 Requires a Key Management Server!” (Minimum of 25 Vista Installations Req’d, only in a business environment)
Yes and no. Windows 7 can use your internet connection to activate, but when you have many computers reactivating and downloading Windows Updates, you’ll change your setup to point to a server to save bandwidth. This is standard practice in any environment that has a decent amount of computers.

In the end, only you can decide which way you should go. Personally, I would rather have a clean install of any operating system than an upgrade. There are too many odd things that can get carried around with a series of upgrades. A good spring cleaning is good once in awhile.

If you have any questions about Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008, please don’t hesitate to call. I even personally have an MCITP (a big certification that Microsoft offers) for Server 2008.
Justin