Windows 7 is out in force. According to our stats here at PCMech, about 15% of you guys are already using Windows 7. However, a whopping 51% of you guys are still using Windows XP. And 22% of you guys are using Vista. Chances are, if you’re using Vista, you might be thinking about an upgrade. However, a lot of XP users are comfortable with it and are...

If you have several machines you want to upgrade to Windows 7, such as your desktop, laptop, family computer, etc., rather than purchasing individual Windows 7 licenses for each, take a look at the Windows 7 Family Pack. This package includes 3 upgrade licenses of Windows 7 for the current MSRP of $150. If you do a bit of shopping, you can find it cheaper. Even...

If you are a student looking for an economical way to upgrade to Windows 7, through this special offer you can purchase an upgrade for $30. The requirements for this offer are as follows:You qualify if you have a valid .EDU e-mail OR an e-mail address through one of the educational institutions listed here. You are enrolled in coursework, current proof or...

Now that Windows 7 is released, you early adopters may be interested in exactly how to migrate your existing install to Windows 7. If this is the case, check out this Microsoft article: Step-by-Step: Windows 7 Upgrade and Migration. The article walks you through all the scenarios:Windows XP to Windows 7 Windows Vista to Windows 7 Old XP/Vista computer to a new...

Full disclosure, I would probably be considered by many to be a border line tree hugger. Among other things, I hate throwing items away which can be reused or recycled by either myself or someone else, especially hazardous things such as computers. That said, I always try to “max out” what I have before considering getting something new. Recently I...

I made mention last week that if you were running XP illegally, you could still get Windows 7 by buying Vista, then buying the Windows 7 Upgrade and the total cost would be around $138. NewEgg now offers free Windows 7 coupons with certain Vista license purchases. The cost now? $109.99. With free shipping. This is something that wasn’t available last week,...

(Note: If you are running Windows XP or Vista legally, this article does not apply to you.) I’m not going to pretend for a moment that there’s more than a few of you out there running Windows XP illegally. You’ve seen the very nice $50 price tag of Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade and said, "Okay, I can afford that, but can I upgrade a...

Put simply, I don’t upgrade operating systems. Ever. I install any OS new and recommend the same to anyone else. It doesn’t matter if it’s Windows, OS X or Linux. Don’t upgrade. Back up your stuff, wipe the drive and start from scratch with the new OS. To note, I don’t do this with incremental updates (e.g. XP Service Pack 2 to 3)...

Note: My upgrade didn’t work but my new 8.10 Ubuntu is freshly installed. Here are the immediate things I noticed from my initial use of the OS:Above: When I customize my appearance settings to “Subpixel smoothing (LCDs)”, “Slight” is now automatically selected and this is cool. Saves me a few clicks.Above: You can now create a...

At the present time I’m trying to upgrade my Ubuntu 8.04 to 8.10 but the servers holding the files are getting slammed right now (first day of release – it’s expected). You can upgrade your Ubuntu 100% from the internet just by clicking a few options and letting the update manager do its thing. See video below for details – it’s...

There are times when you just have to ask the question "WHY?!", and this is one of those times. Google has performed a Gmail upgrade for those still using Microsoft Internet Exploder Explorer 6. Yes, you read that correctly. Version 6. Not 7. Evidently there’s still a fair amount of internet users getting by with version 6 of the IE browser. If...

In the past, whenever you purchase an upgrade release of a Microsoft OS, you have to provide proof that you own a previous version for the upgrade to continue. Typically, you prove this by either installing on top of an eligible OS or by inserting the older installation media during the installation process. Well, the same is true for Vista upgrades versions,...

If you are a Ubuntu user, you are probably well aware of the recent 8.04 upgrade release. As you know, you can either do a clean installation (format and install fresh) or an upgrade installation (install on top of your existing OS). If you are pondering which is best for you, then I recommend this recent article on Linux.com: “Ubuntu 8.04: Upgrade or...

In order to write blogs you need a blog engine (the CMS software). Over the years I’ve used several and this includes but is not limited to MovableType, b2evolution, Drupal, Serendipity and several others. The “big two” I’ve used most are MovableType (abbreviated MT) and WordPress (abbreviated WP). For several years I was a die-hard MT...