One of the most important things about setting up a business is efficiently managing startup costs. For many companies nowadays, IT infrastructure is one of the larger upfront costs of starting a business, but an efficiently-spend budget can lead to an overall reduction in overhead related to maintenance costs and equipment replacements. Computers don't come at the premium they did in the 1980s, but a business-class machine can still run a pretty penny. A large sticker price might leave a business owner wondering why a consumer-grade machine can't do the trick for an employee who isn't running resource-intensive applications. As it turns out, there are a host of reasons a consumer-grade computer might lead to far higher costs to your business despite the initially tantalizing price tag.

 As the end of 2022 approaches in the coming months, so does the support for Windows 8.1. That's right, Windows 8.1 will reach end of support on January 10th, 2023, that means that technical assistance and software updates for 8.1 will no longer be offered. Not only will Microsoft halt software updates to Windows 8.1, but the company will be halting security patches as well.