Windows Operating Systems - How to Decide

In the last two issues of Get Connected, we discussed the pro’s and con’s of Windows 7. The new operating system was just released here in Israel and Microsoft is working hard to create a ‘buzz’ around it.

For the last month, our techs have been testing the system. Compared to XP Pro, the differences are minor. There are a few nice new bells and whistles, but we are not certain that switching away from XP will offer that much of an improved user experience to warrant the costs of changing over, plus there are definite hardware and non-support issues that must be reviewed before switching.

Win 7 performance is better than Windows XP SP3 and Vista SP2, but only if you run 64-bit Win 7. One potential gotcha: Much of the performance gains are reliant on having up-to-date 64-bit hardware drivers and components. That may mean buying new hardware, as older hardware may not have the necessary components and updated drivers.

“If it ain’t broken don’t fix it.”
If you’re considering upgrading from XP to Win 7 on the same machine, Microsoft doesn’t directly support this, and recommends that a fresh installation be made on new hardware. Any attempt to upgrade will move the directory structure known as Documents and Settings into the new, Unix-like ‘user’ directory structure, and registry settings for Win 7 will break many applications.
Many applications will need post-Win 7 upgrade adjustments, or even re-installation. Win 7 also needs at least 5GB of extra space to perform an in-place upgrade from XP temporarily.

If you are planning on buying a new computer, then Win 7 is definitely worth installing. Win 7 has the inherent architectural changes that secured XP, but it also doesn’t have the estimated 1,300 patches (including Microsoft Office patches) that XP SP3 has. The user interface has improved dramatically with Win 7, and migrating to a fresh environment rids machines of the clutter that has built up over the years.

On the other hand, if you have a Vista Business operating system, this would be the time to consider a change. Some vendors, such as HP, have Win 7-specific information on compatibility, while others have promised Win 7-specific drivers - especially for 64-bit kernel use. A 64-bit installation is what we recommend, and the drivers need to be 64-bit to gain best performance. The 32-bit version of Win 7 has little performance advantage over Vista or XP, and the 64-bit version can be much faster.

How Far Has Microsoft Come?
If you have a hard time remembering your first version of Microsoft’s operating systems, check out the following Windows commercial from Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s current CEO - he was employee number 24 when Bill Gates started the company.

What Next?
For those of you who want to make the switch from Vista to Win 7, please call Efrat Networks. The upgrade should be done by our experts to confirm that this is the right move and to avoid loss of data. If you wish to buy a new computer, we can help design the right configuration to fit your needs.

What to Know About Bezeq’s New Network

Israel’s long-time telecom monopoly, Bezeq, is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in what they claim to be the most modern communications infrastructure in the world. They are not upgrading their infrastructure, but rather installing totally new infrastructure. Bezeq is moving their Internet gateways out of their central offices and into our neighborhoods connected by fiber optic cables.  Our connection to Bezeq Networks will still be through our copper phone lines, but only for the short distance to Bezeq’s street installed equipment. 

This sounds exciting if all of your business and leisure online activity and communications are centered in Israel. With 15Mbps or 20Mbps fiber lines, you may  experience internet like never before. However, if your business activities are in the US, these lines will not make a notable difference. The reason is that while  Bezeq’s infrastructure connects us to Internet Service Providers (”ISPs”) such as Netvision, Bezeq International, and 012, these ISPs still limit their services to destinations outside of Israel at consumer grade level because of their limited bandwidth abroad and the demand for these connections. 

Those of our clients who depend on the Internet for connections to their servers abroad, VoIP, and video conferencing will not benefit from Bezeq’s NGN in the near future. However, offices or families with a large number of users will find these connections beneficial because of their capacity to carry multiple streams simultaneously. 

Since Bezeq has a history of premature product launches, we advise our clients to hold back on the hype until Bezeq’s new offering has a chance to mature and the bugs in the network are reduced or eliminated.

Guard Dogs

Those of our clients who have asked our advice on home security and installed burglar alarm systems, know that we always advocate a family dog as the best first line deterrant for the prevention of burglaries.  Many of our clients think that we are kidding and scoff at our suggestion.  Since burglary is a “silent crime” and is committed through stealthy entry into our homes and offices, the family dog then is the best detector and noise maker to deter a thief.  So what do you do if the family dog, a real dog, is not an option?

Efrat Networks has solved this question by creating a barking dog alarm that connects to our security systems that when tripped sounds like a dog is behind the door, ready to attack an unsuspecting burglar.  Using a combination of outside and inside detectors, we provide early warning to our clients inside their homes while dissuading potential thieves to leave well enough alone and perhaps choose another target down the street. 

Ask us about our barking dogs that keep potential burglars at bay.

Tips for Your Home and Office

In less than the minute it takes for you to read this first paragraph, a talented thief can break through your window bars or pick the best of door locks to get into your home or office. Without a well thought-out alarm system, you will return home or to your office only to discover that the thief got away with all of your valuables.

With the increase in break-ins to both homes and offices, insurance companies are now requiring the installation of alarm systems before granting insurance coverage. Efrat Networks is a leader in the installation and maintenance of both simple and complex alarm systems. We don’t view the alarm system as a “rubber stamp” for the insurance companies, but rather a way to prevent theft.

Our objective is to keep the thieves away. To do this, we like installing ‘watch-out’ detectors and ‘curtain’ sensors on the perimeter of the home. These are well known to thieves and can be installed in full view or somewhat hidden. Usually, when they see either of these devices, they will opt to avoid any attempts at a break-in.

Along with a thief, the gardener, cats, dogs, birds and other animals, can set off the alarm at the perimeter by entering the line of sight of these sensors. Efrat Networks uses special methods to prevent, or at least minimize, false alarms caused by animals. However, without an infrared camera on the house’s perimeter, you’ll never know for sure if a thief or animal set off the alarm. What is important here is that the thief will not get close enough to the house to start a break-in.

For apartments with little or no perimeters to use as protection, Efrat Networks supplies and installs wired and wireless alarm systems covering all entrances, accessable windows and the inside of the apartment. These systems can be easily activated by a keypad or a 4-button keyfob. In addition, if you leave the house and don’t remember if you set the alarm, you can set it remotely using your cell phone or any land-line phone.

If you are living in a home that is over 10 years old, a wireless alarm system will, most likely, be the best solution. Adding new wires through old tubes can be a costly challenge. On the other hand, new homes or new builds are ideal for wired alarm systems.

In today’s society, when it is no longer possible to rely on a lock and bolt to keep thieves away, Efrat Networks offers excellent and cost effective solutions to give you security and peace of mind.

Windows Operating Systems - How to Decide

Ever since the release of the Vista operating system, Efrat Networks has received ongoing inquiries as to the benefits of Vista over Windows XP. While there actually may be some benefits, we continue to recommend to our clients to stay with XP Home or Pro. Vista is heavy with unnecessary bells and whistles that will severly slow down your computer speed.

Windows 7 is supposed to be released this Fall, and Vista will be ‘trashed’. Apparently, we’re not the only one’s who have avoided use of Vista…

Some general rules of thumb:
1) Don’t be the first on your block to have a new Microsoft Product.  Microsoft relies on millions of end users to de-bug their products in the field.  It pays to wait and see.  Let someone else, the “first adopters”, pull out their hair on Microsoft’s new and green products.
2) If you live in Israel, rule #1 applies even more, because there are always language issues in whatever version is released. Hebrew language issues will be fixed in subsequent service packs and updates.
3) If you are forced to purchase Vista along with a new laptop, ask for Vista Pro. This version can be downgraded to XP Pro without requiring the purchase of an XP license. If you get the laptop with Vista Home and you have a spare XP license on hand, call Efrat Networks and we’ll help you to switch over to XP.  However, this means that the old computer has to have its XP operating system removed before the transfer to the new computer.
4) If you are ’stuck’ with Vista Home, you should also take advantage of Efrat Networks’ expertise to help you slim it down faster than Jenny Craig can say “frozen dinner”, and we’ll help you eliminate those Vista functions that are totally useless for your day-to-day operation of your computer (close to 50% of the functions that run in your computer memory), thereby streamlining your processing speed significantly and giving you a much more pleasant overall computing experience.

To get the ball rolling with Windows 7, DELL has announced that anyone who buys a DELL computer with a Vista license from now through the end of 2009, they will be able to upgrade to Windows 7 for a discounted price of $45 + VAT. So, if you are considering buying a DELL computer, now would be a good time to speak to Efrat Networks about the purchase.

What about Windows 7?

The prize for confusing the the most sane of people goes, as expected, to Microsoft. There are six versions (!!!) of Windows 7: Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate. The hype coming from Microsoft is abound, and the reviews are many. In the next few issues (we have time until the Fall), we’ll try to create some guidelines to help you decide what version to choose (if any, at all).

Home Computer
If you plan to buy a PC for use at home, Windows 7 Home Premium is the preferred version. It will do everything you expect Windows to do: run Windows Media Center, network your home computers and devices, support multi-touch technologies and dual-monitor setups, and more. It’s the main version for most people, for home PCs and laptops.

Home & Office Computer
If you also take your laptop to the office, you should examine the computing environment both at home and the office. For example, do you need to run legacy applications (i.e., old programs)? Do you want automatic file backups built into Windows, as opposed to using Syncplicity?

If the answer to these questions is “yes,” you should buy Windows 7 Professional. It contains all the features of Home Premium, but adds support for Domain Joining, which you may need to log on to your office’s corporate network; Windows XP Mode, which makes old software that’s incompatible with Windows 7 run as if it was running on XP; and Microsoft’s Backup and Restore Center, which is an integrated file and folder backup utility for automated backup of important files. Essentially, it’s for any computer that will spend half its life at your home, and the other half at the office.

If you’re just the average consumer with a new PC, these are the two editions to decide between. But there are four others out there.

In the next edition of Get Connected, we’ll try to clear up what they’re all about.

How much would it have cost to buy a cucumber in the 2nd Temple Market, and what’s the price for a trendy shirt at the Machaneh Yehudah Market, now?

by Orit Shayovitz, Professional Tour Guide

Our tour will start across from the archeological park of Jerusalem, near the Temple Mount.

We will explore and experience market life next to the Temple and observe its reflections in the Jewish Midrash (ancient commentaries on Jewish scripture). The sounds and smells of the open market will certainly stand out.

On our next stop, we will find ourselves in a Roman Byzantine setting, with the two Cardos roads that were the heart of city at that time (between the 3rd and the 5th centuries). You will hear the amazing story of its discovery, and learn what the Jews have to say about Roman lifestyle and developments.

From there, we will continue into the Crusader’s market that transverses the Old City from north to south. We will find that each alley has its own unique, professional workshops, and see what we can buy there today.

Moving on, we will skip directly to the 19th century, to the market in the center of the Christian Quarter - the “Muristan”. There we can learn about Christian pilgrims’ marches and hear the story of old Mrs. Berman and how she started what later became the current Berman’s Bakery, one of the largest bakeries in Jerusalem.We will walk through the Christian Quarter’s market, that used to be a major center for textile trade, then up to the Jaffa gate, and on to the Mammilla neighborhood . The old Mammilla neighborhood that was burnt and damaged at the beginning of the War of Independence in 1947, is today, a fancy, upscale mall.

Walking through the center of town we will finally find ourselves in the most colorful and lively market in Jerusalem, the “Machane Yehuda market”. We will learn how it was established as a part of the process of expanding the city outside of the walls, and see all its hidden corners and new trendy boutiques, cafes and restaurants.
 
Walk and experience colorful markets - the beating heart of the city from the 2nd Temple period, through the generations in the Old City and up to the “Modern” market of Machane Yehudah.

Orit Shayovitz is a licensed tour guide, specializing in the unique and often hidden sites of Jerusalem. If you wish to contact Orit, please send us a message and we’ll be happy to pass it along.