If you use a computer, you probably understand it runs something called an operating system. I bet 99% of you are running either Windows, Mac, or Linux. I can’t even imagine what the other 1% would be. Some DOS 6.22 hold outs?
Anyways, I’ve been traditionally slow as molasses when it comes to keeping up to date with my operating systems. I believe I used Windows 3.11 up until 1999. I totally skipped over Windows 95. In 1999, I installed an illegal copy of Windows 98SE which would serve me well for some of the most critical periods of my life and during the rise of the Internet. Win 98SE was the OS I used while I was in grad school, so it helped me crunch numbers, write reports, gather information from the Internet, and look at porn. In late 2004, about a year before leaving grad school, I decided to install a legitimate copy of Windows XP on my computer. I had waited almost four years since the release of Win XP to finally upgrade. In late 2006, Windows Vista was released and I had every intention of upgrading. I even had a friend, who worked at Microsoft, get me a discounted copy of Windows Vista Ultimate. As the reviews of Vista started to roll in though, I had second thoughts. Many people stated Vista had a plethora of problems at launch. A large number of companies even resisted upgrading and instead chose to strategically continue to use XP. I’ve read that Vista got much better after the service packs were released but I just never got around to it. I’ve stuck with Windows XP for seven years, which is mostly a testament to how much support Microsoft gave it after all this time.
It’s time to get caught up now, so I have decided to upgrade to Windows 7 Professional 64 bit. I know a lot more people at Microsoft now so it was easy for me to get a cheap and legit copy. Second, Windows 7 seems to be miles ahead of where Vista was in their relative release timelines. It’s been well-received and I’ve used it at work for quite a while now with no complaints. Third, I wanna play Battlefield 3 on the PC and it requires Win 7.
It’s a bit of a chore to upgrade Windows from a previous version so I’ll be busy backing up some data, listing applications I need to re-install, and doing the actual install. If you don’t hear from me by Sunday night, assume that my computer exploded.