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Randy Johnston
Randy Johnston has been involved in computing for over 25 years. In addition to being a top-rated and entertaining speaker presenting technology seminars worldwide for K2 Enterprises (www.k2e.com), he is also Executive Vice-President and Co-owner of Network Management Group, Inc., a full-service computer networking and service company. Randy recently published Technology Best Practices for Wiley Publishing. You may contact Randy by e-mail at randyj@nmgi.com, or by phone at (620) 664-6000.
Computers & Software
2001-12-01 14:29:00
Operating systems
Question: Every time a new operating system comes out, such as Microsoft's new XP, I am always reluctant to change because (a), I don't need any new problems that are attributable to bugs, and (b), I don't want to have to go buy new versions of all my software to accommodate the new operating system. Should I be worried? How often should one change an operating system? Will I have to go get new versions of all of my programs?
Answer: Your reluctance to change operating systems reflects good business sense.  According to studies from the Gartner Group, Microsoft operating systems have a practical life cycle of about four years.  During the first year, the product has compatibility and bug problems.  Most of these problems are corrected through fixes to the operating system called service packs, and we normally recommend waiting to deploy new Microsoft products after the first service pack has arrived.  This is commonly 4-6 months after the initial release. You do not have to be the first person or company to use a technology product to maintain a competitive edge.Microsoft recently released their latest version of their Windows operating system, named Windows XP.  There are two versions of this product, one called Professional and the other called Home.  We only recommend the Professional version for businesses, even home-based businesses, because of the networking technology that is included in this version of the product.  The other product is designed for a home computer that is primarily used for recreational purposes, and that is not attached to other computers in a network.  We are recommending Windows XP Home over Microsoft's prior home operating system, Windows ME.  Windows ME has so many technical problems; it should never have been released.Another key part of your question concerns upgrading.  We normally don't recommend changing from the operating system that originally shipped on your computer hardware.  You are far more likely to have compatibility problems by attempting to use a new version of an operating system on older hardware.  As quickly as technology is upgraded, it is probably a wiser fiscal choice to replace your computer on a regular basis every 3 or 4 years.  You will get the benefit of greatly improved productivity because of the speed of the hardware, and the new features that are supported by your applications.  Further, you will spend less on upgrades during the time that you own the computer.  In all the years we have made the "don't upgrade" recommendation, we only have one exception, and that is for all computer running Windows ME: upgrade to Windows XP now.  If you insist on upgrading, never upgrade to a new OS on hardware that is older than two years.Finally, many of your applications will not be compatible with Windows XP in their current versions.  When you choose to upgrade to Windows XP, we would suggest you also plan on the expense of upgrading all of your applications at the same time.  You may get lucky and only have to upgrade some of the applications.  Waiting to upgrade is also advantageous here.  Some vendors take 6-9 months to upgrade their product to be completely compatible and to take advantage of the new features added to the operating system.
 
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