3.0
ghz or equivalent processor
2.0
Core 2 Duo is equivalent in speed
256mb
high end Video Card
1gb or more Ram Memory
80gb or larger Hard Drive
DVD
Player /
Windows
Vista will be offered in a Home and Professional version. Dell
INTEL
& AMD WARS
Intel
has decided to drop the big discounts that larger computer manufacturers were
receiving on their Intel processors. Dell in particular, as the worlds largest PC manufacturer, has been affected resulting
in price increases in their Intel based lines.
Dell has retaliated by introducing their first
AMD processor models. Other manufacturers have supplied AMD based systems for
some time to reduce the costs on entry-level machines. This decision has
resulted in a drop in market share for Intel but presumably a better profit
margin picture.
AMD
has to its credit created some fairly competitive processors in recent years
and experienced substantial growth in the home computer sector based on its
popular Sempron, Athlon and
Athlon 64 processors.
IBM
– LENOVA
The
IBM PC is no more. IBM officially sold off its PC division to Lenovo, a
IBM
has fallen a long way since the days of the original PC back in 1981. Once the
behemoth on the block, they were overtaken by the likes of Dell, Compaq, HP and
a plethora of inexpensive clone computers.
On
the other hand Apple resisted the urge to open their architecture and has
maintained a solid niche in specialized computer markets.
MICROSOFT
WINDOWS SUPPORT
With
the introduction of Windows Vista, Microsoft will drop support for all other
products with the exception of Windows XP which will be maintained and sold for
some time to come. Windows 95, 98, ME, NT and 2000 will become official orphans
about that time. Windows XP’s lifespan will extend at least another 5 years,
dependant and how quickly the world adopts Windows Vista.
As usual, we recommend caution in jumping to a new
operation system. There are generally numerous bugs and software
incompatibilities to work out in the first year. There is something to be said
for avoiding the “Bleeding Edge of Technology”
FREE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
Microsoft is offering free
trial copies of their new Microsoft Office Based Accounting Software. This is
likely to bolster sagging Microsoft Office Sales. Many users, myself included, simply think that the 2000 version is as
good as 2002, 2004, 2006, etc. Not all of us need every new feature someone can
think of.