“Have you noticed anything about it locking up… more frequently than it should? I got your newsletter and was checking it out. We have it on a laptop at home and it’s locking up more than what it probably should, but that could also be the laptop itself.”

My response:

It’s funny that you mention this. Recently, my Windows 7 has been hard-locking after recovering from power-saving mode. Unfortunately, it’s happened to me randomly and I suspect it has something to do with software that I run throughout the day.

However, with a laptop, by default it probably goes into sleep mode. Is that when you’re having a problem?

Finally, keep in mind that this is RC software and not finalized, so hopefully whatever the issue is, it won’t follow us into the full version.

“Just got your news letter and have a question, I pre-ordered a copy of 7 Pro (upgrade) back in June, I believe, when you could get it for ½ off, but the Ultimate was not available for that promo. Am I correct in saying the only difference in the two versions is BitLocker?”

My response:

It’s not the only difference, but as far as a feature that guys like you and me would use, BitLocker is really the only thing you’re missing.

The article on the web site links to Ultimate’s features if you want to read more on it.

Honestly, for me it’s going to be Home Premium at home and Professional on my laptop.

“Hello guys,
I hear that the new version of Windows 7 has a major flaw. If you are upgrading from a XP version, that one loses all data from the drive. Prior applications and programs need to be re-installed. Is this True? If so, are there plans to get around this problem?”

We have an upcoming article that is going to deal with the upgrade paths for Windows 7, but to address your question, there is no direct upgrade path from WindowsXP to Windows7.

You can buy a Win7 Upgrade, but what will happen on an XP box is that it will be a clean install. In other words, all programs, data and settings will need to be manually re-established.

Also I think Apple will need less of a market share to attract pop-ups and possible scams, because OS X attracts two types of people for the most part. Music people or very basic users who have money. If a person can target 90% of the market but not everyone there has a lot of money it doesn’t do them as much good. However Apple is A LOT more expensive than PC, which means that other 10% or whatever it is has more money to take. Why target China’s population that has little money? When you can target let’s say the UK which has much more money per person?

Watch out Apple users you aren’t invincible, just scarce.

1. Apple “closes off” its platform, which means that those software developers out there that want to create programs for the Mac have to go through a LOT in order to do so. With Windows, there are standards, but the standards don’t always have to be adhered to.

2. Vista’s doom was brought about by a lot of hardware vendors not having drivers ready when Vista was released. Microsoft was indirectly responsible for this by changing the hardware specs a few months prior Vista’s launch. When you switch to Vista and your sound and video cards don’t work, that’s a biiiiig problem.

3. “Stability” is inversely proportional to “freedom.” If I locked my kids in a closet, tied them up and put gags in their mouths, someone could label my kids as being “well behaved” and “stable” since they’re not making any noise or causing trouble. Conversely, if I take my kids to a playground full of other kids with jungle gyms to climb and swings to play on, then the “stable” label is replaced by “running” and “doing what they are supposed to be doing,” which is having fun.

(Boy, I hope this comparison doesn’t make me look creepy)

So, to sum up, Apple = closet, Windows PC = playground.

As for Linux, that’s just a big field in the middle of nowhere that allows you to build whatever you want