Wall Street Journal Columnist Computer Recommendation May be Flawed

Last Sunday Wall Street Journal columnist Walter Mossberg wrote a piece entitled Wait a while to buy a new Windows computer. While some of his recommendations are sound, there are a couple that I took issue with.

Mossberg advised consumers to wait to buy a new computer until after Windows Vista is released on January 30, 2007. While Microsoft and retailers like Schrock Innovations are offering express upgrade options to those who want to upgrade as soon as Vista is available, Mossberg accurately points out that a complete install of an operating system is always better than installing an upgrade.

But that is where we begin agreeing to disagree.

I do not recommend that you immediately purchase Vista as soon as it is released. Historically there have been bugs and problems with compatibility in newly released Microsoft Operating Systems. Think back to when you upgraded to Windows XP from 98 or ME. Remember all of the software that was not compatible? Remember that you had to buy a new scanner because your old $99 Scantek no longer worked with the new OS?

There is also some evidence that Windows Vista will be more of a challenge in this regard than XP was. There is a LOT of new and untested code in Windows Vista. The OS contains a completely new networking protocol, and a new security feature that is revolutionary in its ability to prevent worms from spreading across computer networks. While all of these new toys have worked great in beta, nothing is real until a few million people start running it.

We recommend that our customers allow other pioneers to take the arrows, and then fall in line after things settle down for a few months. Unfortunately, that means buying a new computer now rather than waiting until after Christmas. After January 30, ALL computers in the box stores will come with Vista by default. Of course, we will still be able to custom build you a Windows XP box if you wanted it.

There was one other small thing in Mossberg’s column that I agreed with. Windows Vista is going to require a LOT more memory, hard drive space, and processor speed than Windows XP does. He recommended nothing less than 2 GB or RAM memory, a 200 GB hard drive, and a dual core processor for Windows Vista Ultimate (the highest tier of the Vista family).

We couldn’t agree more with that thought. That’s why our 2006 Holiday special comes with a dual core processor, 2 GB of memory, 1 TB (yes, 1,000 GB) of hard drive space, and a 19″ wide screen display just for kicks. You can learn more about the Holiday Special at http://www.computersale.schrockinnovations.com.