As we mentioned before October 22, 2009, was supposed to be the game changing date for consumers, where as well as getting their hands on Windows 7 they would also be able to buy the computers needed to run it properly.

Unfortunately in spite of all the reviews on the web showing the graphics cards needed to run Windows 7 were supplied by ATI, this still wasn't been made clear to new customers caught up by the novelty of the new software. They presumably have to find out by bitter experience that the graphics support is not up to their expectations and make do with that. And perhaps while they're at it, having a repeat performance of their past experience during the Windows Vista fiasco at the same time.

On visiting our local store we find everything is as good as can be expected there given the heavy advertising campaigns of late that insist about what to ask for once you're there. So to make things perfectly clear we refer our readers to this website for more pertinent information on how to choose the best computer hardware for your new Windows 7 machine.

Although the ATI Vision solution should simplify the buying decision in an ideal world it unfortuntely is found to be lacking in practice. Simply put, the wisdom of AMD is not being translated into the intended products in the market place. When a Vision premium equipped computer for example is found to be less expensive than a Vision Basic machine then its obvious there's something wrong in the market place configured options.

Well even if the IT market can no longer turn on a dime like that, the US case against Intel is now drawing to a conclusion close to 5 years after the complaint was originally filed.

Here's a comment at the end of a review that shows how reviewers slant their reports to favour those seeking "un-biased" reporting: "Well you should, because you, along with any other reviewer out there, don't use A MAJORITY OF DESKTOP APPLICATIONS in your reviews! You all use predefined benchmarks, mostly optimized and sponsored by and for intel. What do you expect consumers to be besides completely confused??"

But in the final analysis it really depends upon what results the HPC "consumer" gets for his money (since soon all "real" PC's will be supercomputers) and here is a picture........ What a picture! 75% market share of the HPC systems in November 2009, but only 50% of the horse power. On the other hand AMD with less than 10% of the installed systems has an inordinate share of the horsepower in the HPC market, not to mention four out of the first five top HPC installations.

And here's a fun article for consumers who buy computers for their graphics performance (or lack there of). More here on "graphics resolution that goes beyond that perceptable by human  eye thanks once more to ATI's dedication to the task at hand (hint click on next a few times to get the whole story).

Also it appears Linux is making a big comeback with netbook shipments this year. And it looks as if the unexpected courtship between Microsoft and Novell has some unexpected results: "“Forward-thinking companies are realizing the benefits of an interoperability collaboration designed to address the mixed-source realities we’re facing today and will continue to face tomorrow,”  which can be found here.