The importance of moving with the times

The importance of moving with the times

I hear from my clients all the time that they hate having to keep changing things, and they are happy to just stick with what they know.

I hear you, I really do. If I could make the tech world stop for you I would. I feel your pain. But alas it simply doesn't work that way.

Remember the old Beta versus VHS days? You do? Ok you are my age then or older :-)

Did you like Beta better? Too bad. You could dig your heels in all you want. If you decided to stick with it eventually your last Beta tape player died a death and you had nothing on which to play your vast collection of tapes.

Software marches on. It changes. Some software simply disappears into the ether. If you hang in too long with dying technology you find yourself in a pickle because you can't access your precious data any longer.

Is this a pain? Yep, sometimes it really is, but it's just reality.

If you rely on a certain program, like Quickbooks, or Quicken for example, for handling your financial or business information you need to upgrade within a short period of time – usually 3 years or less. That way you will likely have an easier upgrade process.

For example, maybe you use Quick Books for your business and you have version 2009, it works great, you see no reason to change. Then suddenly support ends for version 2009 and certain. features no longer work. You buy a copy of 2016, but find that you cannot import your files from the 2009 version into 2016 because the 2016 version only allows imports from versions 2013 and up. It happens all the time.

One major area with this issue is email clients. If you use really old software to handle your email, and suddenly that email client is no longer supported, you will find yourself struggling to find ways to get all of your old data into a new email client.

So what is the answer?

You may hate change. I hear you. I feel for you. And just so you know I'm not responsible for this…

The best way to avoid issues is to upgrade your most vital software, email clients, photo handling software, financial software, office software, every 3 years at the latest.

Wait too long to upgrade and you may find yourself struggling to find a way to import your old data into a new format. There simply may be too many changes in the software to handle converting your older stuff.

This is especially true of Operating System; Windows and Mac OS for example. If you get too far behind you will find yourself running software that is simply no longer secure, because it has long been abandoned by its maker.

Many people will balk at this. They say it's a money making scheme, and if they are happy with the way things work they will simply stick with what they have.
Again, I hear you, and I empathize. Sadly though, with all the scammers and virus writers out there it simply doesn't pay to use an Operating System that is no longer being patched, and using old software in general is one day just going to be a real pain, especially when inevitably you have to buy a new PC or Mac and you are faced with trying, sometimes unsuccessfully, to migrate your files, emails, and photos to a new system.

My advice? Love it or hate it you need to keep up to a certain degree with technology. If it's too daunting for you, every two years or less have a trusted computer tech analyze your system and let you know what is outdated and needs to be updated.

It might cost you something to upgrade. In the long run though it could save a lot of stress, especially with each move to a new computer.

If you hang on to old hardware, running old software, for several years, you will eventually simply have to say goodbye and leave things behind that can't be moved when the old system dies.

It is just how it is.Right or Wrong. Love it or Hate it.

I'm sorry. I really am.