The Craft of PC Building

Some recent news from Apple is creating a lot of talk about manufacturing technology products right here in the US. This is reflecting a move many manufacturers are making by insourcing many aspects of their production.

These companies are learning what we have known here for a long time: we are better off building and supporting the things we sell.

Most of these companies are making the decision to bring manufacturing lines back to the USA for financial reasons. Although every company has to make a profit to plow ahead I think there are some other reasons, besides the financial, that drive our decision to keep virtually all of our operations in-house. Here at Puget Systems those other reasons are also the two big drivers in our decision making process: customer experience and quality of product. No place in our business do those two values show more than in the production department. Here, the craftsmanship of PC building is taken on by a dedicated staff of technicians that leave their personal touch on every system they build.

Comparing Windows 8 to Windows 7 Sales

Last week Microsoft announced sales of Windows 8 licenses have reached 40 million. They provided few details other than adding that most of those were upgrades and that Windows 8 was selling at a faster clip than Windows 7 did three years ago. Of course, this comes several weeks after Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, told a French newspaper that sales of their new Surface tablet, running Windows 8 RT, have gotten off to a “modest” start.

Windows 8: Surviving without the Start Menu

As a sales representative at Puget Systems, I’m often asked by customers considering a new PC if they should have us install Windows 7 or the new Windows 8 operating system. When I began running Windows 8 a few months ago, I kept a running list of features I enjoyed along with a few I found perplexing. Over time, my list has grown and contracted, but a few items on each side of the coin have remained.

One of my coworkers has already put together a helpful list of new features while another helps you decide if Windows 8 is right for you. I’m going to take a different approach by sharing my Windows 8 experience with those of you whom I don’t get to speak or email with each day.