Windows XP v Vista

x2o

Carmen wrote:

Actually, let me clarify that. I cannot get BB for my steam driven computer that is one of the main factors for updating to a newer model and then get BB
Carmen x

You don't need a built in modem then your best off getting an adsl router from some where like http://www.dsldepot.co.uk/index.asp?

This gives you the option to have a few computers to one connection if you ever need it.

Carmen

Oh my Green, that sounds rather complicated :eek: If I knew what a USB device ( is the the lead that plugs into the USB ports?) I may have thought about it I think it would be simpler if I just add it to the computer at source
Thanks for your help.
Carmen x

Carmen

Thanks x2o

x2o

Carmen wrote:

Thanks x2o

no problem.

for the internet I recommend you ask questions at http://www.dslzoneuk.net they have a lot of people their that know a lot about broadband and can tell you what's the best router is for your needs.

Also if you are thinking of moving to a new bb provider you can see comments and ratings for the top ISP's

Carmen

GreenNotM wrote:

Hmm Carmen all you need is TCP/IP and a network card and a cat 5 cable and a ethernet ported ADSL router ( unless your BB is going to cable ) to get BB, on any PC.

Perhaps you have looked at using a USB device - not the best method of networking as it was designed for attaching printers etc and won't work on NT4 or earlier Windows ...

HTH

PS a modem would be £24 - and a better graphics card £70 with a £58 saving for getting a 1 yr not 3 yt on site warranty and let your new BB provider give you a new Router ... for free

Green, why would I need a better graphics card

superscaper

Carmen wrote:

Green, why would I need a better graphics card

If you're getting a pc with Vista, you're better off getting the best graphics card you can. Even if you don't use games etc, the Aero desktop in Vista uses the graphics card resources to free up your cpu.

Carmen

Ah ha ok, thank you Super.
Carmen x

Carmen

Sorry, I just need to get this straight, if I am buying a new computer with vista already installed, surely the graphics card dell have installed should be enough to do the job
Carmen x


PS. Not needed for any games

x2o

Carmen wrote:

Sorry, I just need to get this straight, if I am buying a new computer with vista already installed, surely the graphics card dell have installed should be enough to do the job
Carmen x


PS. Not needed for any games

If you get any spec comp which has vista it should meet at leased the min spec:

Basic requirements:

* A modern processor (at least 800MHz¹).
* 512 MB of system memory.
* A graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable.

After that your going in to mid to high level spec which is:

A Windows Vista Premium Ready PC includes at least:

* 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor¹).
* 1 GB of system memory.
* Support for DirectX 9 graphics with a WDDM driver, 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)², Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel.
* 40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space.
* DVD-ROM Drive³.
* Audio output capability.
* Internet access capability.

You can find that here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/capable.mspx

zax_2

zenmaster wrote:

I believe that Avast antivirus also works with Vista. I've not tried it myself but their forum states that it works with both 32 bit and 64 bit versions of Vista.

nod32 - which is THE BEST BAR NONE antivirus software runs on vista.
but, i wouldrecomend staying on XP hitstoricaly microsofts software rolls out full of errors and security hole - you are ,imho, far better going for the mature option which is xp.
on another note, stay away from celeron - especially if you ever wantto upgrade to vista(many give out free upgrade coupons with xp). go for a pentium mobile 1.6 or bove but preferably core2 DUO processor with at least a gigabyte of ram.
sure , you'd say, my parents are not gonna need such a fast computer , but its not so long ago that 256mb of ram seemed excesive. get as much as you can. dont forget screen sie, yes you'll pay more for a 17" screen but elderly peole usualy opt for a low resolution to get bigger items on the screen, so the bigger the screen the easier it gets.
price is not the end all and be all of buying a computer - dont forget that!

superscaper wrote:

Why do people get so obsessed with service packs. It's just a name for a collection of updates. Not sure why an arbitrarily chosen cut off for a collection of updates should make it so much better than one small update before etc. And of course there's no such thing as "fixing all the bugs". No piece of software in history or will ever be written that you can prove to be bug free. :j

the reason why people get obssesed with SP's is because it represent a bigger step forward in terms of stability and security , and it means that for now this should do. obviously its a good idea to patch as you go.
no piece of software in history is bug free- maybe.. but no piece of software in history has ever had the amount of bugs, security holes privacy risks, malformed components, etc as Windows. historicaly they have rolled their software half baked and waited to see what is wrong by hackers hacking it and users crashing it. i think i'll wait a while my self before i jump on the vista wagon(also need to save up for a better computer). but most likely will make my last jump in to the linux world and the world of open source in general. i have been using microsoft since dos 5 and windows since 3.11 i never realy liked it but neve knew any better. i followed as they tryed to eliminate their rivals by muscling them out of the game by bundling software for free when a competitor made a better program than theirs and as they bought whom ever they could not better. their practices should boil the blood of any money saver - as they are the epitomy of the bully monoply keeping prices up and information bottled in. the latter is probably why there is so many viruses written for windows - they are hated. hardly any viruses are written for macs or linuxes....but i digress.... stay with xp it will be lively for a good time to come and most of vistas improvemnts are either thrown on the side of the road, incorporated in to xp already or watered down.... for the sake of a little eye candy - i'd stick with xp... but then again, what do i know