How will Windows
Vista affect my using Windows
XP on other computers in my network?
Windows Vista is fully
interoperable (plays well with others) with the other members of
the windows family. Files can be accessed from computers
running other Versions of Windows. Windows Vista can also share
files with computers running other versions of Windows and can
join a Windows domain as well.
Should I upgrade to Windows
Vista?
Before deciding to upgrade
to Windows Vista several factors should be considered.
First and foremost, will all your software run on Vista.
Some application may need to be upgraded before they will work
and some simply will not work. Second, be prepared to
spend more money on computer hardware to get the same
performance from Vista as you would from XP. Third, do you
really need to? Windows XP is a solid operating system
with a very high degree of both hardware and software
compatibility and it will continue to be supplied by major
hardware vendors well into 2009. (see sidebar)
Should I get Windows
Vista Home, Vista Business or Vista Ultimate?
What is the difference
For the small business user
Vista Business or Ultimate will work best. There are other
versions including Vista Enterprise which is mainly used in
large corporate settings. For the home user there are
several choices including Home Basic, Home Premium and Ultimate.
To help you decide here is a good place to start.
What precautions does my
business need to take to keep hackers out of our computers?
Hackers can be a threat but
a larger threat to businesses are forms of Malware.
Malware includes programs such as "Spyware" Viruses and "bots"
which cause varying levels of business interruption ranging from
a mere nuisance to loss of data. The best prevention is a
good antivirus program that includes anti-spyware and is kept up
to date.
Should we use a
peer-to-peer network or do we need a server?
Every situation is different and the only hard fast rule
is that more than 10 users should be operating from a true
server environment. Also specific application require
software that can only be run in a server environment (Windows
2003 and Windows 2008)
