Computer Woes

A few months after booking this cruise I purchased a small "notebook" computer, a 6lb., thin, sexy job with a high-tech-looking "carbon-fiber-esque" cover. It was preloaded with Windows Vista and all the other "necessities." About two months ago it started to crash on a regular basis sporting an ominous blue screen with a cryptic "STOP" message with lots of letters and aughts. I was able to restore after the crashes but it did not stop them. After a bit of investigation I discovered that this was not an uncommon experience with this new Windows Vista. To be safe [I must blog!] I purchased a brand new Dell 5-pounder [not at all as sexy] at BestBuy and set about initializing it and preparing it for my trip. After the initial set-up and installation of the anti virus software and product registration the device informed me it would need to reboot to activate everything properly. Low and behold the evil blue screen made another appearance. This time I could not get it to restore. I phoned Dell and they told me it was most likely a software problem. I called Microsoft. "We can't even talk to you about it unless you pay." Of course this was accompanied by "We apologize for any inconvenience this may be causing you" and "We apologize for the difficulty you are having" "let me check with my supervisor" and so on. I appreciate courtesy in any situation but when these phrases are repeated between every sentence patience grows thin. Well, after supplying MS with my credit card I was told it wasn't their problem as the software came preloaded from Dell. It is Dell's problem. I finally convinced the technician to at least try to walk me through a reboot but he could not get past the blue screen either. I told him how upset this had made me and hung up. The next day I bought a MacBook. I immediately went to WiFi equipped cafe and set up my new notebook. I checked my e-mail and noticed 4 items from MS. I responded to each "apology" with my dismay about their seeming lack of concern for their customers and the the idea of beta-testing on an unsuspecting public and closed with "I am responding on my brand new MacBook which has yet to crash." Be forewarned. Vista is not yet ready for general consumption. There are many problems. They probably won't get solved until someone in the private sector discovers the solution. MS certainly can't handle it on their own. I was told that a new "service pack"was in the works that would address many of the "glitches" but it wasn't expected to be released for another couple of months. Don't buy a new computer pre-loaded with Vista. Stick it out with XP until you are sure that these problems are solved. There is a world of information about the problems with Vista on the web; just Google "Microsoft vista problems."
Now about the Mac. I have resisted buying a Mac for many years because I was generally satisfied with "other world" of PCs [are not Macs also PCs?]. I was also put off by the apparent cult-like advocacy of Mac users. I was aware that it was the tech-de-jour for artistic types and that it was so easy to learn [unless, of course, you grew up in the IBM environment]. I just didn't want to "drink the KoolAde." Well, Mac is now pretty much capable of handling more that the art world and I am going to give it a go. The fact that people don't hate Apple as much as they hate Microsoft eases the fear of viruses and hacking. I haven't found it that easy to use yet but I will get the hang of it and I can still use my home desktop [still equipped with XP] to handle QuickBooks and such. Remember, don't buy a Vista based computer, yet. Wait. Or try a Mac.