Windows Vista, So Civilized. Oh Please....Don't Freeze! At Least, Have the Courtesy to Ask My Permission First

While my Sitemeter shows that visitors come here looking for some unusual things every day (like lapdance haircuts and lonely housewives in Morris County, NJ, to name a couple of my faves), my loyal Roxiticus Desperate Housewives readers know that my blog title is not entirely accurate: I'm neither desperate nor a housewife. A former disc jockey and advertising copywriter, I'm a happily married mom-of-two and the owner of a small investment banking business with my husband, Rex. Since we moved in together more than twelve years ago, Rex and I have had a sweet deal in our household: Rex does all the four-star cooking, and I do all the spreadsheets. My official title of President and Chief Operating Officer means nothing around our LizWorld office, as Rex and Brent often refer to me as "Senior Tech"...or "Junior Tech" if I can't bring the server or laptop back to life.

You may have figured out that I'm hopelessly bleeding edge in my technology acquisitions. I had to have the iPhone when it was first released, I relentlessly upgrade my Canon Digital SLRs each year to the latest greatest most megapixels, and I bought an HP notebook pre-loaded with Windows Vista Ultimate (the one that combines business with pleasure) in April 2007, when Vista was only a month or two out of beta testing. If there's a bug to be found or a blue screen of death lurking in the shadows, I've welcomed them into my home and office on a regular basis. And believe me, computers never pick a convenient time to go down. A few years back, our office server crashed within days of my personal/business laptop failure, and we discovered the fancy RAID backup wasn't functioning properly either, supporting the pessimistic theory that bad things come in threes.

On the average night, after I read my girls their bedtime stories, you'll find me snuggled up in bed with Rex fast asleep and my souped-up HP notebook humming away on my lap: writing offering memoranda for our clients using Microsoft Word, manipulating financial spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel and pasting them into the Word document, boiling it all down to a PowerPoint management presentation...and at the same time, posting to one of my many blogs, working with WordPress designer extraorinaire Lisa Sabin-Wilson to put together my new Roxy WordPress MU community, "Getting Wicked" by dropping at least 150 EntreCards with 12 Internet Explorer tabs open (sometimes in my sleep), and trying to leave a comment on one of Lady Java or Mariuca's blogs...if something is going to go wrong, you know it is going to happen in the middle of the night when Smug Robert, our outsourced technology guy, is nowhere to be found. With all those Windows open, I realize that 4GB of RAM is never enough, and my computer is bound to start searching haphazardly for our NYC server and disconnect from our Comcastic Internet service. Oh, please...don't freeze! Or at least, if you do, have the courtesy to ask my permission first!

As you can see from the snapshot at the top of this post, Windows Vista is so civilized...always making sure you really really want to do something foolish before you do it. I've heard and read some complaints about the security features in Windows Vista being "belts and suspenders," but for someone who makes mistakes, I actually appreciate that Windows Vista checks with me before opening up a program that could wipe out my hard drive or start sending out viruses via my e-mail system.

Another nice touch that Microsoft added in July 2008 is Windows Vista Small Business Assurance, complete with a responsive customer service team available at all hours of the day and night to help with Windows Vista issues. It's perfect for small business owners like me. Or rather, small business owners who are perhaps a bit smarter and much less cutting edge than I am...the offer, which will continue through September 30, 2008, is for small business customers who purchase PCs with Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate after July 1, 2008.

When you buy a new PC with Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate like I did, only do it now through September 30th, 2008, you'll receive free support, compatibility assistance, and one-on-one coaching from Microsoft to help ensure a smooth transition. I may have to buy a big new "Terabyte" PC with Windows Vista to take advantage of this offer and to store all of those 12.2 megapixel photos I've been taking with my cutting edge Canon EOS Rebel XSi...I'm sure I could sneak in a few questions about my existing Windows Vista notebook, like what to do each time my computer shuts down when I step away for 10 minutes and re-installs Vista Service Pack 2 behind my back! I'll let you know if the Windows Vista Business Assurance customer service team is anywhere near as good with spreading the midnight magic as the blogalicious Lady Java.... meanwhile, I'm going to pour another cup of coffee and hope not to spill it...I'm pretty sure not even Windows Vista Business Assurance can get the fuschia shade of Starbucks Raspberry Mocha out of my keyboard.