Windows 7 - AND 64-bit!

Posted by cverrier on Fri, 11/09/2009 - 14:26 in Blogs 3036 8 comments | report

As a Microsoft Partner, I got advance copies of Windows 7 (the full final version) for my own use.

Needless to say, and based on my own overwhelmingly positive experiences with the pre-release copies, I re-formatted my main work laptop and installed it. I also decided that now was the time to move into the brave new world of 64-bit.

The 64-bit version of Windows does offer some tantilising benefits. It can run faster (when software is written to take advantage of it) and it can also support MUCH more memory (RAM), which produces benefits when running lots of applications at once, or using Virtual Machines - something I do more and more.

The other big advantage of 64-bit Windows is that there is a somewhat higher technical threshold for hardware developers, so it raises the prospect of a future where dodgy hardware drivers cannot cause crashes and Windows will achieve the same sort of bulletproof serenity as an Apple.

A full-scale reformat and re-install can also be a good opportunity to 'spring clean' - (You cannot upgrade from 32-bit to 64-bit, you HAVE to do a clean install). So I made sure that I only installed the applications I really wanted, and that they were all the latest versions. I reorganised my data folders, and even set my screen options to produce an entirely clean desktop without even the Recycle Bin to mar the view. (Have a look at the screenshot at the top of the page - Lovely! - the wallpaper is one supplied with Windows 7)

All of my software has installed itself and worked without a murmer - Properly written 32-bit applications run perfectly happily in a 64-bit world (and even Microsoft hasn't produced a 64-bit version of Office yet - that will be coming with Office 2010).

then I hit a snag....

I have a Kodak i40 scanner - A very nice bit of kit, that does all my office scanning, and which I also use now and then in presentations and training on various Document Management products.

It transpires that Kodak have not written a 64-bit driver for it, and they probably won't, and that's that. The scanner will NOT play with my shiny new laptop. The very thing I'd sought (a computer clear of old and outdated software and drivers) had come back to bite me in the backside. It looks as if I'll be moving up to the new Kodak i210 scanner and the old one will be heading to eBay. I could reformat and revert to 32-bit Windows 7, of course, but that somehow feels like defeat....

What to take from this?

- 64-bit IS coming - and it will produce a faster, more reliable PC on your desk. Windows 7 could be the real turning point when 64-bit becomes 'mainstream'. Windows 8 (which should be out around the time of the London Olympics) will almost certainly be 64-bit only.

- Most 32-bit software should just work (although make sure your supplier supports it).

- Check that your hardware is supported - Manufacturers HAVE to completely re-write for 64-bit, and they won't always bother for older kit.

Comments

- UPDATE -

cverrier | Mon, 14/09/2009 - 22:31 | Permalink

It also transpires that Flash Player isn't supported yet on 64-bit Web Browsers.... so all the pretty graphs on the homepage of my bookkeeping software stopped working....

sigh...

- UPDATE -

cverrier | Mon, 14/09/2009 - 22:33 | Permalink

AND There's some kind of glitch with Adobe Reader opening PDF files in a browser window....

Come on Adobe, pull your finger out!

Sigh (again).

Early Adopters.... suffering with new technology every day...so you don't have to.....

Possible workaround

marcspillman | Thu, 17/09/2009 - 11:40 | Permalink

You could consider installing Microsoft Virtual Machine on your Windows 7 install and then get Virtual XP (both are available as free downloads from Microsoft). Then you could install the drivers for your Kodak in the virtual XP environment and print from there.

It's not ideal, but could act as a workaround until there are further developments from Kodak in terms of driver development.

Virtual XP

cverrier | Thu, 17/09/2009 - 12:08 | Permalink

Nice idea, and normally you'd be right.

For those who don't know...

Windows 7 has a feature that tries to help people with elderly software that worked on Windows XP, but never liked Windows Vista.

If you Install the (free) Virtual PC software, then you can install your dodgy old appplication into a virtual copy of Windows XP that looks and behaves exactly as if it is running as a normal Windows 7 application. It's very slick. Microsoft GIVE you the Windows XP licence that you are using as well.

now back to the plot...

I have a Sony VAIO laptop - it's fast, has loads of disk space, nice keyboard, and looks gorgeous. Sadly, Sony have seen fit to disable a feature of the Intel Core 2 Duo processor that is demanded by the new Virtual PC system. A few other manufacturers did the same thing. They are now having to revise this policy because Microsoft won't sign them off as 'proper' Windows 7 laptops until this is done.

In the interim, however, no Virtual PC mode for me!

I still have VMWare and Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 - both of which run fine on Win7 (and a bit faster becuase they are running in a 64-bit host) so I'm actually doing my scanning via that approach. Not as slick as I'd like, but it works.

Windows 7 & 64 Bit

fineran | Thu, 17/09/2009 - 21:42 | Permalink

Ah yes, this sounds familiar! The "NEW" Microsoft OS that leaves all others in the past, 64 bit for the latest hardware - what benefits it will bring to you! Go back a few years and we had Windows XP-64bit, with the same promises, new software "just around the corner" trouble was that everything that you needed and wanted had to either be bought again, or would be available - soon!

I find it hard to take - the constant insistence to buy ever faster hardware, new peripherals, scanners, printers, camera's etc etc, when the ones you have have work well, and still have life in them, and the only reason seems to be to fill Microsofts pockets with yet more licence fee's.

Enter Open-source software, Linux in its many guises, and strangely the hardware that has been assigned to the skip magically works fine, is fast, supports printers, scanners, camera's - seamlessly, and without a hitch, the applications that most people use - "Office" type applications, spreadsheets, word processors, presentation software, e-mail, web browsers, image editors, etc etc are free of charge, and either included, or freely available for download. What's the catch? - Well as its free - it must be rubbish! or then again maybe not. "If there isn't a major company and team of developers behind it then you wont be able to get support." The open source community generally fix problems in days or even hours, and you get a friendly e-mail thanking you for pointing out the problem! (have you ever tried getting a problem addressed by the "big M" - "Sorry sir, you need to buy a new one" is the favourite response!

Come on everyone! Look at Open Source software, try it, you may even like it! No it isn't for everyone, but if you care about value for money, reliability, dependability, and freedom, then it might be for you, and NO, you don't have to be "Geeky" to use or install it, and it can even co-exist with Microsoft, or indeed most other OS's. My fourteen year old daughter wouldn't go near it, until her PC had a problem and I let her use a netbook loaded with Ubuntu (Linux) and now I can't get it back! Now she wants it on her desktop too, and a couple of her friends have started using it too. Okay, so its good for kids - did you know that Google runs on Linux servers? and chances are that your ISP uses Linux too!

We were promised the Golden Goose with Vista - and instead got a bloated turkey, I have tried Windows 7 too, and yes, its way better than Vista, but I cant see any significant benefits over XP, and you can bet your bottom dollar, that you WILL end up having to replace most software, and hardware to get it to run properly. As for all the "Live" features we are promised, you can keep them. I for one prefer to be able to work on my documents etc even when I cant get web access, and as for the "cloud" - On your Bike! Let my confidential documents into who knows keeping - Think again!

All good points...but

cverrier | Thu, 01/10/2009 - 11:43 | Permalink

'Open Source' also means no service level agreements - who do you kick if you have a problem and you don't have the technical skills to open up the source code and fix it yourself? You can ASK for help, and hope that someone will respond, or you can pay a programmer to do it for you, I suppose - but suddenly it's not so 'free' anymore.

Open Source relies on interested and enthusiastic amateurs who tinker because they love to tinker. It tends to mean that only 'interesting' projects get the attention. If you want developers to build boring stuff, you have to pay them.

Find me an accounts-production package for Linux please? How about a tax package? Bookkeeping even? (VAT support included of course).

As I've said in the past - we're all in business here - IT in this environment isn't a hobby, it's a tool that needs to be as boring and as low-risk as possible. When you have 50 fee-earners sitting around twiddling their thumbs because something just went bang - it's not funny.

Like it or not, Windows is the product that the world uses. I read a great comment recently on this - "I love tinkering with my gorgeous kit-car and updating it and fixing new bits on it, but when I need to get to work every day rain or shine, I get back in the Ford".

Windows 7 has been shown to make fewer demands on hardware than Vista, so the argument about the pressure to buy new hardware doesn't hold in this case. (Where it did with Vista, which was pretty bad in this respect). My earlier posts about a new scanner were more to do with Kodak 64-bit drivers rather than any problem with Windows - It would have been fine on 32-bit Windows. 64-bit has taken time, and the takeup of 64-bit XP was tiny (more to do with costs of RAM, I suspect, than anything else). Nevertheless, 64-bit IS coming, and there is a dramatic increase in the number of 64-bit systems out there - mainly as servers, but also on the desktop.

The drive of this post, while lighthearted, was to raise awareness of the coming changes (not this year for most people, I agree, but soon), and pass on some experiences about what to watch out for when contempating the move. Pre-warned is pre-armed.

64 bit and Quickbooks

cathwalker | Thu, 07/01/2010 - 11:48 | Permalink

I love my new Windows 7 64 bit laptop. It is all shiny and has no accumulated rubbish from years of abuse!!

It will not, however, and fairly fundamentally for a Quickbooks accountant, run Quickbooks.

Actually, I lied when I said it would not run Quickbooks. The upsetting thing is that the software installs and runs apparently perfectly - until you have to register it. You dutifully call Intuit for a registration code, type it in and get an error, which means that you cannot register it and therefore cannot use it again (perhaps unless you reinstall the software every 5 or so uses!)

The quickbooks accountants helpline solution was get a new laptop, or a new browser. Oh, and they are not sure whether Quickbooks 2010 (apparently due in May or June, so roll on Quickbooks 2011!) will be 64 bit compatible either. Get a life Quickbooks, and move into the 21st century.

Update re Quickbooks

cathwalker | Thu, 07/01/2010 - 13:19 | Permalink

Just thought I would post an update to my Quickbooks 2008 64 bit post.

Not sure what the problem was, but after some messing around (reinstalling etc) I managed to get it registered. No thanks to Intuit/Quickbooks who just dumped me. So, it seems that Quickbooks 2008 will work with 64 bit.

The morale of the story in relation to 64 bit is, don't let your software provider use it as an excuse to not help you with a problem!

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Putting Computers into Practice

Charles Verrier has worked with IT systems for the accounting profession since back when the Internet was all fields.

For many years, Charles was Product Manager for 'Singleview' - the Document Management system marketed by Solution 6/MYOB.

He now works freelance after many years working for assorted suppliers to the profession. Charles is not an accountant, but he does hang around with them a lot.

This blog focuses on all aspects of IT and its application to accountants in practice, with occasional forays into pure technology and geekery.

(old hands may recognise the blog name as a tag line used by MICL many years ago. It's not used any more, and I'm pretty sure I came up with it in the first place!)

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