If you haven’t, upgrade your system for optimal Aurora performance

With Aurora coming out soon, we would like to reiterate a point we've made previously (here and here, to name two) that we recommend that you upgrade computers every couple of years to a top notch system. We've often taken the approach to upgrade now, before a new version ships. You want to get your new computer up and running, be familiar with it, get WinTOTAL form filling software going on it with all your files, databases, and so on, and have it ready for a new version. That way, when you get the new version CD, you just plop it in and it all works. Otherwise, you're asking yourself to learn a new computer, get the old WinTOTAL installed with all your data files, and then get the new version going. Not ideal in any work environment, particularly what we and you hope is a busy one.

Look at it this way: It's your business system, not a college term paper word processor. Hardware, even loaded with all the fundamental software you need (Windows, MS Office suite, Outlook, etc.), has never been less expensive – in fact, if you haven't priced systems in two or three years, even, you'll probably be surprised how affordable robust PCs have become. And if you use Vault with Exact, the transition to a new system is even easier.

We're often asked what the "minimum" system for an appraiser should be. (It's probably not a good idea to think in terms of "minimum." After all, you don't want your business to run minimally, you want it to run well.) Even though Aurora will run on "less," here's what you'll want on your PC or workstation at the very least:

• Windows XP (Home or Professional)
• 1.5 GHz+ Pentium III class processor
• 256 Mb+ RAM
• Video Card with 64Mb RAM
• 1024 X 768 (XGA) screen resolution

If you still haven't upgraded to Windows XP (we wrote about that in July here), you're missing the boat. Microsoft itself is "gently" urging its customers to upgrade and is discontinuing support for almost every OS in its arsenal but XP. It's only a matter of time before Windows 98 is put out to pasture completely. Even more important: Microsoft will no longer release security updates or patches for Windows 98, meaning your system could be at the mercy of hackers or identity thieves.

Recent stats from our support department show that Windows 98 users are roughly four times more likely to have an issue that requires in-depth troubleshooting by a senior technician. And those issues are three times more likely to simply be "unsolvable." Believe us, we still test our software for Windows 98 compatibility. But, here's the problem: Windows 98 is less capable of handling a variety of programs installed on your computer, not to mention running several programs at the same time. When you get too many things going on this seven year old operating system (that's 429.25 "tech-years" which are much different than "dog-years") it just stops doing what's asked – often without the courtesy of an error message. XP is much better at handling multiple applications and simply more reliable for your business – that's why we recommend it.

When Aurora is released we want everyone not only to be able to use it but to use it to its fullest capacity. Upgrade now, if you haven't.