Buying a Computer? Wait for New OS

'New' Microsoft OS is major improvement, say critics

(NEWSER) - Microsoft is rolling out a successor to Vista, its universally reviled operating system, with Windows 7 now available in a relatively bug-free beta download. Early users report that the new edition is a marked improvement. David Pogue, in the New York Times, says Windows 7 ends “a big part of the Vista misery,” and Walt Mossberg, in the Wall Street Journal, claims it “leaves Vista in the dust.” More»

Performance and price gaps close but Mac is still value

(NEWSER) - With Windows 7 and Mac’s Snow Leopard operating systems both available, it’s time for Walter S. Mossberg to drop some science on the arduous task of picking a computer. Things aren’t too different this time around: Macs are still more expensive, though “prices on Windows PCs are creeping upward.” And Apple’s OS X is still better than Windows, though with the exit of dreaded Vista “Microsoft has closed most of the gap.” More»

It's even better than aging fallback Windows XP

(NEWSER) - PC users who've suffered the agonies of Vista are finally about to get a reprieve, Walt Mossberg says: Windows 7, to be released Oct. 22, is "a faster and much better operating system than the little-loved Windows Vista, which did a lot to harm both the company's reputation, and the productivity and blood pressure of its users." It's not only better than Vista, it's the better than the venerable Windows XP, he declares, and "a pleasure to use." More»

Move from XP may require external hard drive, patience

(NEWSER) - The latest Windows incarnation beats Vista and XP, but don’t expect a smooth transition: upgrading from XP to Windows 7 is an ordeal, writes Walt Mossberg in the Wall Street Journal. “In fact, the process will be so painful that, for many XP users, the easiest solution may be to buy a new PC preloaded with Windows 7,” Mossberg notes. More»

Walt Mossberg looks back on two decades of reviews

(NEWSER) - Remember when revolutionary dial-up modems arrived on the computer scene or when America Online debuted? Walt Mossberg does, and the Wall Street Journal tech reviewer looks back on 20 years' of columns. Some of the milestones he picks out:

• His first line in 1991: "Personal computers are just too hard to use, and it's not your fault."
• First "pocket" phone: In 1992, he called Motorola's MicroTac Lite the first pocket-size mobile. It was an inch thick, weighed under half-a-pound—and cost about $2,000.