Ignorance of America towards Tech

Todays rant has to do with a common issue that goes on here in the office. So many people knock Windows Vista as being the horrible operating sytem, I'll admit I used to as well. The more and more I talk to our customers I find that it is not Vista that is usually the problem. Its that they went to Walmart and bought the cheapest machine they could find and the hardware just doesn't support Vista properly. As tech types would know, Vista needs 2 gb of ram and a 2 ghz processor to run properly. Unfortuantely for those that aren't tech types, they assume that if it comes on the pc then it must work fine. Most of these pc's have maybe 1 gb of ram, usually 512 mb, and 1 - 1.5 ghz processors. Just because it comes with Vista doesn't mean it was built for Vista. It was built to be cheap so that people will buy it. Then when they get it home, set it up, and try to use it, they don't go any faster with the new pc than they did with the old one. So before you buy your next pc, know what you want it to do, and then ask someone at the store to help you find the pc with the features you need. I love Walmart and other department stores for many things, but unless you know your tech, they may not be the best place to buy your pc. If you insist on buying a pc there because of the price, do your research. Whether it is through an educated friend or through the internet. Just don't call me telling me your internet is slow when it is really your cheap ass pc.