Warning: squirrels.

Windows Vista: How much RAM is enough?

A reader recently took me to task for something I said on last week's Website Wednesday Night, noting that

I do however have to differ with you when your talking to a lady who is looking for a laptop for standard use and you recommend Sony and could not agree with you more. On the other hand to tell her she needs 2 gigs minimum 3 gigs recommended is a bit out of line. The big boxes are selling the Sony's right now with Vista Home Premium with 1 gig and for basic use that is fine. You tell her different and next thing she knows shes going to be taken by the Geek Squad for another 200 bucks.

Since the listener did not provide me with his real email address, I thought I'd post my reply here.

As for the Vista Home Premium RAM requirements, 1GB is Microsoft's recommended system requirement (Microsoft, 2006). Many people, including me, believe that that amount of RAM is insufficient.  For example, the latest issue of Laptop Magazine recommends that users "can get away with 1GB of RAM when running Vista Basic. If you want to step up to Vista Home Premium and get the most out of its Fancy Aero interface, then you'll want to upgrade to 2GB of RAM…" (Spoonauer, 2008). OEMs like Dell and Samsung agree (Thibodeau, 2007).

My upper limit recommendation of is more 'gut feel' than science. While the cost up upgrading from 1GB to 2GB is between $50 and $150 (Spoonauer, 2008), upgrading to 4GB as recommended last year by an IBM Global Services consultant (Thibodeau, 2007) would cost between $400 and $500 (Spoonauer, 2008). Dusting off my economics degree, I ran a cost/benefit analysis and decided that 3GB was an optimal ceiling.

Of course, I could be completely wrong. Any additional information you can send me on this matter would be gratefully appreciated.

References

Microsoft, Inc. (2006, November 8). Windows Vista Home Premium. Retrieved January 19, 2008, from Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/homepremium/default.mspx

Spoonauer, M. (2008, February). Notebook spec cheat sheet. Laptop Magazine, p. 112.

Thibodeau, P. (2007, February 20). Buying a new PC? 'Windows Vista Capable' barely hits the mark - IBM'er says Vista's RAM sweet spot is 4GB. Retrieved January 19, 2008, from Computerworld: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9011523

Time to upgrade Ad-Aware

I've been a huge fan of Lavasoft's free Ad-Aware for the past three years and have strongly recommended that people download, install, and use the program frequently. Ad-Aware is a program that scans for and removes spyware and malware from your Windows-based computer.

In his most recent Washington Post Security Fix blog entry, Brian Krebs points out something that I forgot to mention on WGN Radio and here on my blog: It's time to upgrade from Ad-Aware SE to Ad-Aware 2007. Lavasoft stopped shipping updates for Ad-Aware SE on December 31.

Fortunately, the upgrade process is relatively painless.  Just download the free Lavasoft Ad-Aware 2007, install it, and ... well ... that's it.  The installer removes the old version and installs the new version. 

That's the good news.  The bad news is that if you're still running Windows 95, 98, or 98SE, or ME, you're kind of stuck. Your old version no longer works, and the new version only works on Windows 2000, 2003, XP, or Vista.  Fortunately, Spybot Search & Destroy still works with legacy versions of Windows.

Holiday shopping dos and don'ts

On Wednesday, November 28, Steve & Johnnie and the Website Wednesday Night Cybersquad [of which I am a founding member] talked about some dos and don'ts you need to keep in mind when doing your holiday shopping online.  If you have Real Player [or an alternative audio player like Jet Audio or Real Alternative that can handle .rm files], you can listen to our recommendations online.

GaETC 2007 Podcasts

About three weeks ago I had the honor of being a featured speaker at the 20th annual Georgia Educational Technology Conference. As in years past, the folks at the conference recorded two of my sessions and turned them into podcasts:

Keeping Up With the Googlebots: What’s New at Google (as of November 2007)

• Podcast
• PowerPoint presentation [zipped]
• Flash presentation

What’s New and What’s Different in Microsoft Office 2007

• Podcast
• PowerPoint presentation [zipped]
• Flash presentation

Podcasts for presentations of many of the conference's other featured speakers--including David Pogue, Leslie Fisher, Gail Lovely, Curtis Bonk, Doug Johnson, Annette Lamb, and many others--can be found on the GaETC Podcast page.

Enjoy!

WaPo Security Fix patch list, Summer 2007

Brian Krebs at the Washington Post's Security Fix blog [one of a handful of blogs I read every day] recently posted a list showing when most popular, third-party apps like Firefox, iTunes, and WinAmp were last patched. Since I am a big believer in "patch management," I strongly recommend that you check the apps on your computer against the list to see if you have the latest patches and updates.

Podcast: Back-to-school computer recommendations

As promised, here is the podcast from a few weeks ago where Steve, Johnnie, and I talked about what you should look for when buying a new computer for a student.  While Gray recommends that you get a Mac, keep in mind that Gray makes his living from servicing Macs.  I respect Gray's opinion, but I still stand by my original recommendation: Don't buy a Vista or Mac computer until you first talk to your campus' helpdesk.

Follow-up: Back-to-school computer recommendations

Last week I shared with you my minimum hardware recommendations for a back-to-school computer.  To prove that I actually "walk my talk," here are the specs for the new back-to-graduate-school laptop I ordered Sunday night:

• Make and Model: Lenovo Thinkpad T-61P
• Operating system: Windows Vista Home Premium.  [USC's Information Technology Services does not yet support Vista but they will "in a few months."  Besides, having a Vista laptop next to my XP desktop will enable me to answer most of the Windows questions we get on Website Wednesday Night.]
  
• Processor: 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300
  
• Hard drive: 100 GB, 7200 RPM
• Memory/RAM: 2GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM (667MHz) plus an additional 1 GB Intel Turbo Memory card
• Screen: 15.4" WUXGA TFT powered by an NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M video card with 256 MB of memory (1920 x 1200 max resolution)
• Optical device: DVD recordable 8x dual layer
• Ethernet: Gigabit [10/1000] ethernet
• Pre-installed office software: None.  [I purchased a copy of Microsoft Office 2007 from my campus bookstore.]
• Pre-installed antivirus software: None.  [I'll purchase a license for ESET NOD32 [$39] when the laptop arrives in September.]
• Laptop wireless card: Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN [yes, I actually got an "N" card ... but that's only because the other two WiFi cards offered by Lenovo were horrid.]

Total cost?  Don't ask.  Thank God for financial aid.

Podcast: Alternative web browsers

Is there such thing as a safe browser? Not really.  But in this podcast from mid-July, Steve, Johnnie, and I talk about some alternative web browsers that may be be safer, faster, and better than the default Internet Explorer or Apple Safari web browsers that came pre-installed on your computer.

Near the end of this podcast I mention IE View Lite, a free Firefox add-on that lets you open Internet Explorer-only web pages in Firefox.  Once you install IE View Lite, there are two ways to use it:

1. Right-click on any link in Firefox and choose "Open Link Target in IE."  Firefox will open Internet Explorer and load the link you selected in IE.
2. In IE View Lite's options [in Firefox, go to Tools > Add Ons > IE View Lite Options] key in a particular site's address in the Add Site box.  Then click the Add button.  Anytime you go to that page in Firefox, Firefox will automatically launch Internet Explorer and load that page.  No right-clicking required.  This is a great trick for those sites that require IE like banks, Microsoft sites, and even some learning management systems.

Podcast: Safe Surf

Get ready for a bunch of podcasts, folks.  This first one is from a few weeks ago when Steve, Johnnie, and I discussed some simple rules of thumb to protect yourself online.

And if you think my comments/concerns about WiFi connection security are overstated, check out Ars Technica's recent article about WiFi "sidejacking."

Back-to-school computer recommendations

On tonight’s Website Wednesday Night, we’ll discuss what you should look for when purchasing a back-to-school computer.  The following list is what I recommend as the absolute minimums. This is what I'd look for if I were buying a computer today and wanted to ensure that my computer would still be usable in four years. If the desktop or laptop computer you purchase meets or, better still, exceeds these minimums you’ll be good to go.

• Operating system: Before you purchase any computer, check with your university's helpdesk and see what operating system(s) they support.  You don't want to purchase a Mac OS-X or Windows Vista computer only to discover your university offers limited support for those operating systems.  Oh, and if your university has a recommended hardware list, ask for it ... and ignore the rest of my recommendations. If you are buying a computer for a kindergarten through 12th grade student, pick the operating system [Mac or Windows] with which your student is most comfortable. 
• Processor: 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or Centrino Duo/Pro [A little explanation: the goal of this list is to help you buy a computer that won't be completely obsolete before you graduate in 2011.  Both Apple and many major PC manufacturers have recently settled on the Core 2 Duo as a standard platform, so I don't expect it to go away anytime soon. The same cannot be said about the Pentium 4, Pentium M, or AMD Athlon. ]
  
• Hard drive: 80 GB, 5400 RPM
• Memory/RAM: 512 MB for XP, 1 GB for Mac OS-X or Vista [2 GB preferred]
• Screen: flat panel - 13” for a laptop, 17” for a desktop [13"-15" preferred for a laptop, 19" or greater preferred for a desktop]
• Optical device: CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo
• Ethernet card: 10BASE-T (10 Mbps)
• Pre-installed office software: None.  Purchase Microsoft Office from your campus bookstore or Costco/Sams Club instead.
• Pre-installed antivirus software: None.  Ask your university's helpdesk to see if they offer free or discounted versions of Norton Antivirus or McAfee Virus Scan.  Most do.  If they do not, consider either AVG [free] or ESET NOD32 [$39].
• Printer: black inkjet [multifunction printer with built-in photocopier preferred for college students]
• Surge supressor: Anything over $30 and NEVER plug your printer into it [an uninterruptible power supply is recommended if you will be living in the dorms or an older apartment]
• Laptop wireless card: Wi-Fi G - 802.11a/b/g
• Laptop security cable: Combination (keyless) notebook lock
• Warranty service upgrade/protection services: Yes for a laptop [look for a service that covers accidental damages], no for a desktop
• Theft insurance: Contact your insurance agent and have your computer added to your homeowners or renters insurance

Again, please remember these are are absolute minimums.  Try to exceed each.

To save 5% to 10% off the purchase price, buy your computer either from your college bookstore or a computer manufacturer like Apple, Dell, or Lenovo that offers student discounts.