Firstly apologies…
To our esteemed editor, who has been asking for this article for the past week, only to receive it as the presses start to roll, I promise to try harder next month Dave!
Secondly, annoyance at Lexmark, who, in their infinite wisdom feel that it’s a really good idea to sell printers with software that is not compatible with Windows Vista. I mean, anyone should be able to go out, buy a printer and take it home and install it – right?
Most printer manufacturers have realised now that Windows Vista is being shipped with new PC’s and laptops and have made their products available with Vista compatible software.
This month, I was asked to help a couple who were pulling out their hair trying to setup a printer they had bought.
The printer was a Lexmark and it came with Windows XP software. The first thing I did was logon to the Lexmark website and download what purported to be the correct driver for Microsoft Vista – thank heavens that they had broadband as the file was almost 100Mb!
After several failed attempts to get it installed and after speaking to the Lexmark technical team, (who failed to get it working and also failed to explain why their software didn’t work) we returned the printer to the shop.
They and their technical team tried but also failed to get the printer to work.
To cut a long and boring story short, Lexmark finally came up with some new driver software that actually worked when I installed it a week later .
This experience got me thinking about how I can try to help you avoid this sort of unnecessary hassle. So based both on this incident and a few phone calls I have received this month – here are a few tips.
1 Even though its over 1 year old now, remember that Vista is still a ‘new’ operating system. If you are buying a new computer only allow the shop to sell you a peripheral (something that attachs to your computer) if it has the “certified for Windows Vista” sticker on its box.
2 Remember that printers nowadays don’t come with all the cables that you need in order to connect to your computer (you usually need a USB cable), so if you are buying one for Christmas for someone remember to get the cable as well – nothing worse than receiving a present that you can’t use!
3 Most computers sold in Spain come with Windows Vista pre-installed, but it will be the Spanish language version. This month I have received a number of calls from people asking how to “change it into English”. The simple answer is that you can’t. The only operating system that Microsoft sells that allows you to change the language is Windows Vista ‘Ultimate’ edition, most of the systems sold have Windows Vista ‘home basic’ or ‘home premium’ version installed on them. If you have already bought a laptop without Windows Vista ‘ultimate’ edition then get your computer guy to upgrade you. You can then change the language to English (or whatever you prefer).
If you have not yet bought a computer then consider using a supplier, like BlueMoon Solutions, who are able to provide computers with an operating system and keyboard in English.