Change is good! We’ve all heard this, but there might be a hint of skepticism out there. After all, we’re all human, and our human nature tends to prefer what’s familiar to us. I mean, what’s the point of changing if “IT’s” working for us?
To quote an early American Politician, Adlai E. Stevenson, “Change is inevitable.” In fact, “change for the better is a full-time job” and one that should be embraced. Quite honestly, if you can’t change for the better and move forward, you’ll get left behind.
This life lesson is as true in the IT world as it is in our personal, day-to-day lives. If we adhere to an “if IT ain’t broke, why fix IT” mentality, we’re destined for disaster. Talk about positive changes in the IT field…think back to the 80’s when companies first started providing personal desktops to ALL their employees. How cool was that?!?!? Remember how we were blown away by the Graphical User Interface (GUI) in Microsoft Windows? Working on our personal computers became more intuitive and multitasking became a breeze. Even storage devices changed for the better. Large, flimsy floppy drives made way to much smaller and resilient memory sticks with exceedingly expansive memory capacity that can fit in our pockets. Aren’t these changes for the better?
So why do most of us still cringe when some new technology enters the scene? Perhaps it’s our age. Maybe we should take a lesson from our children who aren’t afraid to go outside their comfort zone when it comes to a new hands-on device or app. They just dive right in there, and make it work. Why can’t we more “seasoned” adults take their lead?
Windows 8
When Windows 8 debuted in 2012, many of our clients, quite honestly, were put off by the new modern UI-derived Start Screen. But let’s rethink this…remember, change is good! Windows 8 has proven to be faster and more secure. Microsoft did a lot to speed up Windows 8, especially boot times, which are much lower than older versions of Windows. From a security perspective, Microsoft did a lot of hardening to the system under the hood to make it more resilient to exploits. IT Radix Network Technician, Tom Quitt, loves some of the under-the-hood features of Windows 8 like the built in Hyper-V available on the Pro versions because it makes it possible to run test versions of operating systems, as well as older operating systems alongside your main one. Tom also thinks the BitLocker Drive Encryption data protection feature is pretty cool. BitLocker encrypts the hard drives on your computer to provide enhanced protection against data theft or exposure on computers and removable drives that are lost or stolen. Data deletion is more secure when BitLocker-protected computers are commissioned as it is much more difficult to recover deleted data from an encrypted drive than from a non-encrypted drive.
Windows 10 (coming Fall 2015)
Microsoft is taking community feedback very seriously. The most notable change is the new, revamped Start Screen which incorporates much of the manipulative functionality of Windows 8 with the look and feel of Windows 7 that users seem to prefer. Plus, there’s a smooth integration of the Start Screen when switching between desktop and tablet, allowing for an enhanced user experience. Windows 10 is also introducing a new, tiered update approach to distributing updated fixes and enhancements. Users in the FAST tier get updates faster and help test and work out the kinks, while users in the SLOW tier get updates after they’ve been thoroughly tested. Tom is impressed how Microsoft is openly accepting feedback from the current beta testing community while they are still in the developmental phase. By the time Windows 10 is ready for release, it should be a smooth running system.
“Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts,” states novelist, Arnold Bennett. Let IT Radix help you embrace changes that make a positive impact to your IT infrastructure. A year from now you’ll be glad you did!
First published in our February 2015 IT Radix Resource newsletter
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