How to reuse your software/hardware when you upgrade!
Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 7:13 pm
All manufacturers updates their products often. That's how they make money. They always encourage people to upgrade. The theme is if you don't, your sytem will be obsolete. Most people buy their arguments and believe when they upgrade their computer, they also need to upgrade their existing hardware or software. After you read this post, you may think it twice before you upgrade!
In real estate,a professional will tell you the three most important factors of a piece of property are "Location, Location, Location". Well, in computer industry, the three most important factors are "Reuse, Reuse, Reuse". Not only it is green to your environment(less pollution, cleaner air, reduced waste), more importantly, you can save money. Needless to say, Microsoft, Adobe, Intel, HP, you name it, are all against this idea. How can you tell? Look at their products, they are not forward compatible. Their recipe for success in business is introduce a product which is incompatible with previous products. When their customers find out their products are no longer working, what can they do? Upgrade, Upgrade, Upgrade. Thus my HP printer I bought 5 years ago will not work in Windows 7. My music software will work in XP but not in Vista or Windows 7. Even my Norton software Ghost v 14 which I bought on Black Friday last Thanksgiving will not work in Windows 7(I didn't know that when I bought it). A month after I bought Ghost they introduce v 15 to fix the problem. The price tag for upgrade ?$49.95 after I paid $69.95! This it is Ok if it is small amount. What if you have a Cool Edit(see Doug,djm on TimeWarp Creates Rainbarrel and Granularity Noise), which will not work in Windows 7 and you don't want to pay $350 to get the same software? Or worse yet, in my case, I have a hardware/software which cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars!
You don't have to buy a new hardware/software just because you upgrade your computer/operating system if you know the trick! Instead of buying a new hardware/software, you can also install a dual(or even triple) boot operating system with say, Windows 7, preinstalled and install a second operating system such as Vista or XP. The beauty of this approach is that you got to keep your old hardware/software and will not cost you a dime (assume you still have Vista or XP somewhere and hardware driver for either one is available) .
For example, I have a Gateway with Windows Vista installed. I have a copy of song writing software called Cakewalk which is incompatible with Windows Vista. Instead of throwing it away, I installed a Windows XP along with Vista (this makes it a dual boot configuration) which makes my Cakewalk function again!
You can also save money in your hardware. For example, my HP printer will not work in Windows 7(it may if I can find the right driver!). Instead of wasting my time searching all over the web which may cause mental anguish, I just boot into my Vista. Whola! my printer starts to work again! Thanks, to dual boot!, but not to Microsoft or HP!
I am so impressed with the saving that now I have a triple boot(XP, Vista and Win7), plus a backup copy each, for a sextuple-boot configuration in my Gateway! There is a surprise benefit in addition to money saving: peace of mind, which is priceless! If a virus ever attacks me in one of my operating systems or one operating system fails, I just switch to another while I try to find a solution. In the mean time, my computer remains fully functional! I might get carried away but you get the idea...
This article first appeared in USB digital input. But it is so important to the general public that it deserve its own place.
In real estate,a professional will tell you the three most important factors of a piece of property are "Location, Location, Location". Well, in computer industry, the three most important factors are "Reuse, Reuse, Reuse". Not only it is green to your environment(less pollution, cleaner air, reduced waste), more importantly, you can save money. Needless to say, Microsoft, Adobe, Intel, HP, you name it, are all against this idea. How can you tell? Look at their products, they are not forward compatible. Their recipe for success in business is introduce a product which is incompatible with previous products. When their customers find out their products are no longer working, what can they do? Upgrade, Upgrade, Upgrade. Thus my HP printer I bought 5 years ago will not work in Windows 7. My music software will work in XP but not in Vista or Windows 7. Even my Norton software Ghost v 14 which I bought on Black Friday last Thanksgiving will not work in Windows 7(I didn't know that when I bought it). A month after I bought Ghost they introduce v 15 to fix the problem. The price tag for upgrade ?$49.95 after I paid $69.95! This it is Ok if it is small amount. What if you have a Cool Edit(see Doug,djm on TimeWarp Creates Rainbarrel and Granularity Noise), which will not work in Windows 7 and you don't want to pay $350 to get the same software? Or worse yet, in my case, I have a hardware/software which cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars!
You don't have to buy a new hardware/software just because you upgrade your computer/operating system if you know the trick! Instead of buying a new hardware/software, you can also install a dual(or even triple) boot operating system with say, Windows 7, preinstalled and install a second operating system such as Vista or XP. The beauty of this approach is that you got to keep your old hardware/software and will not cost you a dime (assume you still have Vista or XP somewhere and hardware driver for either one is available) .
For example, I have a Gateway with Windows Vista installed. I have a copy of song writing software called Cakewalk which is incompatible with Windows Vista. Instead of throwing it away, I installed a Windows XP along with Vista (this makes it a dual boot configuration) which makes my Cakewalk function again!
You can also save money in your hardware. For example, my HP printer will not work in Windows 7(it may if I can find the right driver!). Instead of wasting my time searching all over the web which may cause mental anguish, I just boot into my Vista. Whola! my printer starts to work again! Thanks, to dual boot!, but not to Microsoft or HP!
I am so impressed with the saving that now I have a triple boot(XP, Vista and Win7), plus a backup copy each, for a sextuple-boot configuration in my Gateway! There is a surprise benefit in addition to money saving: peace of mind, which is priceless! If a virus ever attacks me in one of my operating systems or one operating system fails, I just switch to another while I try to find a solution. In the mean time, my computer remains fully functional! I might get carried away but you get the idea...
This article first appeared in USB digital input. But it is so important to the general public that it deserve its own place.