Question: I’ve got Windows XP and would like to stick with it. How long will Microsoft support XP? Will I get herded into a Vista upgrade at some point?

Answer: Microsoft may be putting all its marketing resources
behind Windows Vista, but Windows XP has plenty of life left in it. The company
is working on a third service-pack update for XP, which it plans to ship in
the first half of 2008.

Elsewhere on its site (http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?p1=3221), Microsoft
says "mainstream support" for the Home Edition of XP, meaning continued
development of security fixes and other patches, will stop April 14, 2009. "Extended
support," in which it will only release security updates, will end April
8, 2014.

Source: Washington Post

Question: I set my Web browser to remember my bank user name and password, but it won’t type them in for me. Is something wrong with my browser?

Answer: this is a site-specific thing. The author of a Web
site can prevent visitors’ browsers from logging in automatically by adding
extra source code ("autocomplete=’off’ ") to a sign-in page.

When your browser reads these instructions, it will ignore any saved passwords;
you’ll have to type in that information yourself. There are ways to tweak browser
settings to bypass this restriction, but none of them are easy. For most people,
the only option is to complain to the site.

Many users will also react by using a simpler password — less secure, but
easier to remember. Or they may jot down the password on a Post-It note stuck
to the monitor. In this way, a measure meant to enhance security (by making
it impossible for a stranger to walk up to your computer and log into your bank
account) can wind up undermining it.

Source: Washington Post

Question: I am considering upgrading from Windows XP to Windows Vista but am worried my broadband modem may not be compatible.

I use an AOL-supplied BT Voyager 105 modem. I ran the Windows Vista: Upgrade Advisor but the advice was confusing. There were two possible references: PPPoEWin Miniport and Globespan USB ADSL LAN Modem. There was no compatibility advice so I don’t know whether I should upgrade.

Answer: AOL is not providing drivers for some older USB modems it has supplied for broadband customers. These include the BT Voyager 50, BT Voyager 100, BT Voyager 105, Thompson Speedtouch 330 and Alcatel Speedtouch.

Their advice is to buy an Ethernet-based modem or modem router. These connect to the Ethernet network socket on the back of the computer.

This socket looks like the one for the modem but is wider. If the computer does not have the socket, an internal card can be bought cheaply. An example is the Belkin 10/100 Network PCI card, which costs around £10.

Source: What PC?

Question: Is it possible to plug in a TV cable to my computer and use it like a VCR to record programs?

Answer: In most cases, you just need a TV tuner card for the computer and a program to do the recording. Some TV tuner cards are designed for installation inside the computer and some are external boxes that connect through a Mac or a PC’s U.S.B. port. Both provide the jacks to connect a coaxial cable or antenna to the computer so you can pipe in the programming.

Several companies sell TV cards, including Hauppauge ( hauppauge.com ) and AverMedia ( www.aver.com/multimedia.html ), and you can find many more around the Web. Some cards include their own recording software, but programs like SnapStream’s Beyond TV ( www.snapstream.com ) give TiVo -like powers to your Windows PC. You can also buy the Beyond TV software bundled with a compatible TV tuner card if you haven’t made the hardware purchase yet.

Some TV recording software includes onscreen program guides that let you easily select the shows you want to record, and a few can also handle high-definition content, so shop around. Extra features, like the ability to easily burn shows to DVD or export them to versions that play on a portable video player, are also becoming common.

ADS Technologies ( www.adstech.com ) has a number of internal and external TV recorders and Elgato Systems ( www.elgato.com ) offers the EyeTV 250, an external tuner box and recording software, for Macs running OS X.

If you plan to record a lot, you might want to consider adding an external hard drive to the mix to hold all of your programs, as high-quality video files can be rather large. For example, a guide on SnapStream’s site ( www.snapstream.com/products/beyondtv/faq.asp ) estimates that five hours of recorded video at the “good quality” MPEG-2 setting needs 10 gigabytes of space — and just one hour of HDTV can eat the same amount of hard drive real estate.

Source: The New York Times

Question: If I buy a new PC with Windows Vista, can I move my iTunes music over to it and still have it work reliably?

Answer: Conflicts between Apple ’s iTunes software and iPods and Windows Vista cropped up this year right after Vista, Microsoft ’s latest operating system, went on sale. Vista users discovered that iTunes songs they had bought did not play on the PC, that iPods would not synchronize with it and, in some cases, that iPod content became corrupted.

Things have improved for Vista users over the last few months. Both Apple and Microsoft have released software updates to fix the majority of reported issues. When setting up your new Vista PC, be sure to download and install all available updates from Microsoft. The company has specific information on the software patch for the corrupted iPod problem at support.microsoft.com/kb/936824 .

You should also download and install the latest version of iTunes before it connects to the Vista PC. Apple has an illustrated guide to getting iTunes on a Vista machine and a link to the latest version of the software at tinyurl.com/2ezwu2 .

Source: The New York Times

Question: Can I upgrade my existing Windows installation to Windows Vista, or do I have to back up my data and reinstall from scratch?

Answer: Whether or not you perform an in-place upgrade (where Vista replaces your existing operating system, but leaves your current files and installed programs in place), you should back up your data first. You can always perform a clean installation (where you begin by wiping the hard-disk partition and its contents clean). This is often the best choice–first because it may be faster than upgrading (even if you include restoring data files and reinstalling applications), and second because it minimizes problems and conflicts stemming from old applications and drivers. In-place upgrades may be more convenient, but you can’t upgrade every existing Windows version in-place. Our feature article ” Everything You Need to Know About Windows Vista ” includes a chart that lists which versions can be upgraded in place .

Source: PC World

Question: Are there any tools to help me figure out whether my PC is up to the job?

Answer: Your first stop should be PC Pitstop’s Vista Readiness test, which runs right in your browser (Internet Explorer required) and offers a brief comparison of your system’s hardware to Vista’s minimum and recommended system requirements. Microsoft’s own Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor provides a more thorough assessment. After you download and install the program, it scans your system and prepares a report analyzing your system’s basic hardware compatibility (CPU, memory, and disk space), and detailing whether your installed applications and drivers will work with Vista.

Source: PC World

Question: What are Windows Vista’s system requirements?

Answer: That depends. To run Windows Vista Home Basic, the minimums are an 800-MHz or faster processor, 512MB of memory, graphics hardware capable of SVGA (800 by 600) resolution, a 20GB hard disk with at least 15GB of free space, and a CD-ROM drive (though you’ll have to request a set of installation CDs from Microsoft if your system lacks a DVD drive). If you want Vista’s Aero interface (and you do), you’ll need a graphics card that can handle DirectX 9 graphics APIs with Pixel Shader 2.0 3D texturing, has a Windows Vista Display Driver Model (WDDM) driver and at least 128MB of graphics memory, and supports 32 bits per pixel.

Source: PC World

Question: I trust my own security precautions, and I’d like to turn UAC off. How can I do it?

Answer: In Control Panel, select User Accounts and Family Safety, User Accounts , and then click Turn User Account Control on or off . This of course triggers a UAC prompt that you’ll have to answer before you can proceed. But it’s a small price to pay for your freedom.

Source: PC World

Question: Do they actually help with security?

Answer: Yes, there is method in the madness, and UAC prompts do help protect you. By forcing you to confirm that you wish to take various actions, UACs prevent spyware and other malware from making changes to your system without your knowledge.

Source: PC World