From an even different forum, Are you a Windows Vista user? If so, have you been experiencing some problems with some of your USB devices within the last couple of days? Perhaps your keyboard and mouse just stopped working or maybe you're having trouble with some of your other devices. Either way, what a pain, right?! I mean, how are you supposed to get any of your work done on your computer if the devices you count on everyday don't even work? Well, keep reading as I explain what happened and what you can do about it! On April 17, 2008 (just last Thursday), Microsoft made an announcement that one of their recent Windows Vista updates didn't mix so well with certain USB devices. If you're a Vista user, you probably know that a Windows Defender update came through to your computer last week. That update was intended to patch a critical hole in the Defender program and while that may have worked, it did the opposite for USB devices like keyboards and mice. Yep, it caused them to stop working completely. Unfortunately, even though Microsoft is aware of the problem, they are only "investigating the matter" and they don't have any further information about it as of yet. So, all I can really tell you right now is to hang tight. If you're having trouble with your devices, just try to be patient and wait for Microsoft to fix this. I will also continue to keep you updated on this. As soon as I hear anything, you all will be the first to know. No doubt about it! My readings claim 80% or more of the systems are not effected. DA

When evaluating software or hardware, it makes sense to ignore the popular press, especially the tech blogs and to an extent, consumer opinion. Change is difficult for us humans and the early reviews of XP bear it out. Below is a snapshot of cnet's Windows XP review back in 2001. I got to this page using the web archive. Note that cnet bemoans the fact that a user can only load XP on one computer. Really cnet? And note user opinions: 48% disliked XP after its first several months. Microsoft was roundly criticized for not having an OS that would work across all platforms: computer, tablet and mobile phone. Now Win 8 is negatively reviewed for not having a start button. Anyone remember when the criticism was that Windows had a start button? I use Win7 home premium on this computer and Win7 Pro on my daytrading rig. The next computer I buy will have Windows 8. I am sure it will be fine. Here is a link that might be useful: XP back then

After much debate, I decided on XP because of software compatibility issues and information sharing between the new computer and the older XP. Both computers are used for work and must work together. I purchased the new computer to upgrade, down-the-line, to Vista. One problem I didn't consider was MS Office. The new machine was only sold with Office 07. The older machine has Office 03. All Word docs have to be saved at 03 docs on the new machine in order to be opened on the older machine. I guess it depends on what you use it for. I didn't have time to fool with getting Vista to work with what I need for work.

do you mean in add remove programs? you should only have the latest version located there if that is what you meant, having old versions is a huge risk to your security. Now the newest version will remove the previous version but you do have to remove all the other old versions manually. JavaRA is an excellent little tool that will do all the hard work for you. Download JavaRa and unzip it to your desktop. (at bottom of this post) * Double-click on JavaRa.exe to start the program. (Windows Vista users Right-click JavaRa.exe > Select Run as Administrator) * Click on Remove Older Versions to remove older versions of Java. Then download and install Java SE Runtime Environment (JRE) 6 Update 16. Download Link: Java SE Runtime Environment 6u16 Java SE Runtime Environment 6u16 Note: UNCHECK any pre-checked toolbar and/or software options presented with the update. They are not part of the software update and are completely optional. Here is a link that might be useful: javaRA