The consumer’s personal computer upgrade

It never ceases to amaze me on the challenges of replacing ones personal computer. Assessing this over my 20+ years in the technology business, the process has not gotten any better at all, especially for the consumer. Now be prepared… I’m about to date myself. Thinking back a bit to the effort and complexity of upgrading my first 286 to a 386 – that was an absolute cakewalk compared to what we go through today (alright, my first major PC upgrade was an 8088 to 286… I just couldn’t break down and admit it).

It’s pretty obvious that on the business end of things, IMAC (Inventory, Moves, Add, a Changes) has evolved into a billion dollar industry. With products like MOM, SUS, SMS plus a few other acronyms that I spare the details on, the business computing upgrades, although it has it challenges, there are rich tools to assist in the process. But for the consumer, this process of replacing one computer remains somewhat daunting. Sure migration tools come with your system, but they make quite a few assumptions that if not considered could leave a consumer with quite a few problems to deal with if they aren’t careful. One of the biggest problems that the migration tools don’t mange for you very well is when you have chosen (more like been forced) to move to the next operating system level. The whole game changes then and if you think you’re going to be able to just click a few buttons to accomplish the task – think again…. One thing that has always bother me about software movers is that they don’t account for one o the reasons your probably upgrading in the first place. That’s, your current is slow probably do to a configuration issue or incompatibility with the current software loaded. Why would I use a tool to automatically port that stuff over to my new system and take the chance of my old computer ghosts following me into my new system?

Getting comfortable with a new PC isn’t an easy task. This is especially true if you’re making a major OS jump like moving to Vista. What remains a constant is that you will be left with the basic process of reinstalling all of your software and device drivers. It’s a mundane necessary evil that part of the new technology process. If you want to make a bundle of money in this industry, here’s an area prime for some help.. Anyhow, in my situation, I fully expected for this lengthy process and planned for it by putting literally one full day aside to complete the transition to a new PC. Although I basically accomplished the task of getting the “personal” back into my computer, it took week’s afterword to get back up to what I consider to be a reasonable productivity level. My recommendation for the consumer that isn’t the most tech savvy individual on the planet? Spend the extra bucks for a tech support group like FireDog or Geek Squad at Circuit City or BestBuy to handle the conversion for you. Trust me, it wont be without its problems, but at least you have some recourse when the bugs start coming out later on…

Regardless of what type of computer you buy, Notebook, desktop, or tablet PC, when considering the purchase of a new system, make sure you set aside enough time to get the new computer up and running. As I stated - it took a full day of fiddling with it for me. I’m sure the supertechies out there can do it faster. Regardless don’t plan on taking the new system straight to an important presentation with a client. Rest assured you will experience Murphy’s Law if you take that route.

Identifying your computing environment

If you’re considering adding to your technology inventory, or retiring a well deserved work horse (See The Vistas of expansion in a Personal Computing Environment) its best to step back and take a look at how things are working today. I my conversations with folks over the years, I get the sense that the majority of us buy personal computing equipment almost as an impulse buy. Let’s get the cheapest or the fastest or the latest fad device into our hands. In most cases the best approach is to do a little diligence and assess the entire situation including the hardware options (See Guidelines for selecting the right Tablet PC ).

Since a personal computing environment varies from individual to individual, let me set the stage about my objectives. Since I have a small network in my home office, I have found that by default I have started to move (not purposely mind you, more like natural selection) to a utility based environment, that is each computer I own has begun to take form as a primary tool and less of a general purpose tool. My music and entertainment stays on one system (two if you count my Tivo) and my business needs on another and my home based apps (like Quicken) on a third; with all of them connected to a small NAS device. Over the years this has evolved to a fairly comfortable layout. It’s like a comfortable pair of shoes that you have owned, you put them on in the morning and forget the fact that they are there… And like shoes when it’s time to replace them, it takes awhile to get things back to the way they were.

It’s almost comical to admit that I too have a bit of resistance to change in me - something I often comment about as unfavorable trait in other individuals. I guess, the older we get the more we resist change. This isn’t due to being stubborn and I certainly can claim to be a technologist while showing technophobic tendencies. No - this is more of experience talking. I unfortunately know that the claims of the golden egg that the technology companies like Microsoft or HP declare often aren’t delivered as they would like you to believe they will be.