26/02/10
What's this "Choose a Browser", and what do I do about it?
Well it looks like the lawyers have finally got to Microsoft and forced them to offer you a choice of Internet Browsers. If we thought about it at all, most of us thought there was only one - Internet Explorer and despite the geeks bleating on at how slow and useless it was, most of us were quite content with it.
Anyway if you have Automatic updates set - AND YOU SHOULD - then one day soon you will turn on and be offered a bewildering array of browsers. Let's be clear - you can't get rid of Internet Explorer, oh no, it's built into Windows, but you can choose another option to see internet pages. So it is up to you. As they say "the world's your oyster". See tips for advice

01/10/09
What about Windows 7 - should I consider switching?
Windows 7 was released in October 2009, to somewhat less loud acclamation than it's predecessor Windows Vista did 3 years previously. Microsoft was greatly chastened by the appaling response Vista got from the public and professionals, and were determined to downplay the Windows 7 release. They have produced a good product, it seems very stable and has a good deal of support from other equipment manufacturers, as they've had it for nearly a year to get all their equipment working properly with it. It's not cheap however, and upgrading should not be considered lightly, particularly if you are happy with how your PC is working, or if you have oldish equipment such as printers and scanners. There is no direct upgrade from Windows XP so you will need to reinstall all your programs after installing Win 7, you will need to use EasyTransfer to back up your data files and computer settings. If you are upgrading from Vista then you can take your programs with you provided you upgrade to the correct version. Check out the microsoft website to see which are allowed - windows.microsoft.com/upgradeadvisor .

In summary - yes it is very good, do you need it? - I doubt it.

1/08/08

Well it's finally happened. All Windows XP users who have automatic updates set, (which should be us all) are to get the latest Windows version automatically. This is known as Service Pack 3 or SP3 for short. What does this mean? Well for most of us it contains all the latest "bug fixes" since SP2, but won't mean much different in the way Windows operates. During the installation however you will be asked to agree to the license agreement and the download itself will take some time. If you seldom stay "online" more than a few minutes you mak wish to call in PC Life Support and we'll bring it on a disk, saving you some time. On the downside we should expect some people will have some issues with some equipment. You'd be a bit unlucky to be one of them, but if it happens for you - let us know. Thankfully we should be able to "roll you back" to prior to the installation.

5/01/08

On the 12th February Microsoft will force all automatic Windows updates to download Internet Explorer 7 and overwrite version 6. So, the first time you go online after this date things may appear slightly different. Internet Explorer 7 will offer additional features and increased security but it may take a bit of time to get used to the new layout and the differences with the previous version. Don’t panic, here's an article from the PlusNet community site, to highlight the main changes for you and explained some of the new features so that you can start confidently using the new version as early as possible. Try the link to the Microsoft presentation!

21/10/07

We are seeing a lot of people who are being "suckered" into upgrading their Internet security package, when their annual subscription is nearing expiry. Usually this is not necessary to maintain the antivirus, antispam and antispyware and firewall security level, but often additional services and the way they don't seem to offer continuation, unless you persist, are enticing members into buying these new versions. If you have the latest PC, with adequate memory, then you may find the additional features are an advantage, but if you are working with an older, and more modest computer with limited, (but perhaps adequate) memory. It is highly likely that the computer will slow drastically. Call the helpline if you would like advice before your subscription expires.

14/08/07 - updated 03/10/07

Tiscali - is this the true picture? One fellow member has recently been having real problems with her Tiscali Broadband Package. It started on Sunday 29th July 07 when she found she could not connect. On Monday PC Life Support leapt into action and did all the possible checks then, having concluded it was the line, called Tiscali Helpline. Of course they went though all the checks again and being unable to resolve it, promised to call back in 24 to 48 hours - a phrase we've heard often in the ensuing 2 weeks. Equally reliable is the fact that they DON'T call back. Since then (now in the 3rd week) there have been 8 more phone calls, and a visit by the BT contractor "Open Reach" who confirmed it was a problem in the exchange. Our intrepid, longsuffering member managed to get the London number of the Tiscali UK office, and has several times asked to speak to supervisors, all usually "unavailable". In all this time she had only had one call back from a Tiscali employee, who could only confirm that "Open Reach" were scheduled to come out again on the 15th August. When challenged that this was not an acceptable response time, he sympathised but said he was unable to move things on more quickly.
Fellow members, what are we to take from this? I, for one, will be modifying my advice to people thinking about broadband. Do you really want to put yourself through this sort of agony? The choice is yours. Update 3rd OCT - case closed. In the member's own words "life's too short", after receiving a bland letter which says "we're sorry", but couldn't care less in reality.

15/06/07

What about Vista? Do I go for it or not? Well it's been around for some months now and at last PC Life Support is willing to pronounce. Some of the earlier thoughts were based around the fact that Microsoft was selling Vista to the general public with the slogan "Wow". That to me gave the game away that it was all about the look of the thing, and true it does look good. Our experience though has led to the general advice that if it's on a new machine, with plenty of memory, and you are not wanting to interface with older equipment (and some reasonably recent)then it's a good thing. If you have an older PC (more than a year) then it's best to stick with XP, at least until you replace it. Incidentally if you want the Wow! then don't go for the Basic version click here to link to a comparison of the versions.

11/12/06

Spyware has increasingly become a problem in many machines we see. Our experience is that any single antispyware program does NOT provide enough protection. Programs you would expect to be "top dogs" in this, like Norton Internet Security, just do not find all there is. At the least you should have Spybot Search and Destroy and Ad-aware, both of which are free programs for home PC users. You must keep these updated with the latest updates - AND run them periodically to remove known spyware. Our experience leads us to believe that even these 3 programs will not suffice. If you have serious problems you may need XoftSpySE or Spyware Detector, both of these require a fee, but both top the list of the most effective Antispyware programs.

25/09/06

Microsoft has discontinued extended support for Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition and Windows Millennium edition from 11 July. The move, which has been made in accordance with the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy, effectively means that the software giant has ended public and technical support, including security updates.

Microsoft said that existing support documents and content will continue to be available through the Microsoft Help and Support website. "Microsoft is retiring support for these products because they are outdated and can expose customers to security risks," the company said. "We recommend customers who are still running Windows 98 or Windows Me to upgrade to a newer, more secure Microsoft operating system, such as Windows XP, as soon as possible."

In addition Microsoft will also end all public assisted support for Windows XP Service Pack 1 on 10 October. This means that the firm will no longer provide any incident support options or security updates for this retired service pack.

Call PC Life Support for advice and support on this.