Windows Views

>>The debut of Microsoft's new Windows Vista and Office 2007 made headlines with promises of new and improved capabilities, but business owners should think twice before running out and buying the recently released operating system and software package, local computer consultants say.

Windows Vista and Office 2007 could require a bigger investment than anticipated, including new computers, upgrades to existing ones and training. As a result, companies that have not budgeted for these needs this year might want to wait before buying it, because there are inevitable kinks when systems are changed.

"It's not just the cost in dollars [of the new system]. There is a cost in training, time and frustration with having to learn new things," says Mike Peterson, owner of Computer Medics, a support and service company in Fort Myers.

Peterson recommends that people wait until they need a new computer to switch to the Vista system.

Since the new system looks so different from Windows XP, Vista's five-year-old predecessor, it could require additional computer training. Microsoft has tossed out familiar menus and buttons, and replaced them with a "ribbon" of settings that change according to a user's specific task.

"There is going to be a large learning curve," Peterson says. "It's more like the Macintosh system. It's closer-looking to Macintosh than Windows XP."

The Office 2007 features might also be eye-opening to the average business owner, says Elaine Levidow, whose Fort Myers company, The Training Domain Inc., provides computer classes and consulting. Office 2007 users will be taken aback at how different the new Office looks from previous versions.

"It's going to be a surprise for people," she says. "I was saying to myself, 'Where are the menus? Where are the menus?' And I'm very well trained."