I am an early adapter and a quick shifter -- except when I'm so the
opposite. And changing my OS or my CPU has always been in the "aww, do I
hafta?" column for me, although I do succumb eventually.
My slow-mo switching is not only about the cost, but also about the disruption of deeply-etched routines. I don't want to take time to burn in a bunch of new menus and moves. My eyes and hands already know what to do without thinking twice. So when it comes to my daily work life, I'd rather be extra-adept at an old routine, if it still gets a good job done, rather than learn a new one. It gives a nice illusion of maximum ease and maximum speed.
The mental sense of hunt and peck involved in a new OS or a new GUI puts all kinds of kinks in the seamless flow I get from my old faves. Just call me the Legacy Lady.
I am so hard-over about this, that when brainstorming drafts and sketches in "Back of the Napkin" mode, I still open my older versions of Word and PowerPoint. It is so much more faster and fluid for me than squinting at menus in their '07 equivalents.
In short, I am the kind of user I am sure they love to hate in Redmond.
XP Groupie
This point of view has let me extend the
useable life of XP Pro quite a bit, and in that I understand I have
plenty of company. But my sources suggest I will lose out on a lot if I
wait too long to switch to Win7. My Inner Skeptic doubts this, but the
Fast-Adapting part of my brain is reluctantly reading reviews so I will
be ready to jump when I give in and switch.
If you are also just forming your first impressions of Win7, this recent posting at Windows Secrets is useful. In "Some versions of Windows 7 worth it, others no" Woody Leonard offers a handy summary, plus his opinions about which new bells and whistles live up to their promise. Or not.
For those of us still stuck like glue to our legacy apps, Win7 offers an "XP Mode." But Woody suggests it is not so hot. Instead get this free VM Player and run it off an old retail copy of XP, says he. And for those still debating which Win7 version we really need, Woody compares the features in each as well, along with some bottom line pointers that will help you choose based on what you need to get done.
It
will be interesting to see if I get seduced into making this switch
before Christmas. Something tells me "probably not." But sometime in
2010, I may get pulled into the fast lane along with everyone else who
proceeded me. Stay tuned for the rants -- or the raves.
Comments