Vista Sucks ? ! ? !

[SignBurst PCs]

I agree... Vista does have a slightly "new" look to it, but it is very similar to XP in most respects, just tweaked.

MS had a "totally new" idea of what Longhorn (VISTA) should be. Developing it became a long and difficult task, much too long. It caused delay after delay. This forced them to go back a long way and use a "known good" set of code to develop Vista, as we know it now (roughly based on XP).

 

[SignBurst PCs]

Joeshaul... thank you for your view.

I think alot of it is too much change at once? A lot chaged in hardware, performance, features, etc in the 5 years between XP and Vista. I think that if they would have stayed constant and realeased something in the middle (maybe 3 years) and eased the transition, we wouldn't be seeing quite the backlash that we are seeing now.

All of the featured that I listed above are functional. I love to personalize my computers, so DreamScene is fun to me. I have tried the image backup several times just to see how well it works (beautifully) on both the existing computer and a all new and different computer with different hardware. I love to watch DVDs on my laptop while traveling and I love the fact that I can watch them in Media Player without having to load extra software. The upgrade to Ultimate has been flawless. When Microsoft gives us our software, they give us licenses to Vista Business and we have to pay to make the upgrade to Vista. Just type in the code and it whiz bang boom, it has worked like a charm every time.

 

[hydo1]

Let me preface this by saying that I do not use Vista on a regular basis, but the several times I have used it I found the UI to be very clumsy. I'm sure a lot of it can be turned off or altered to be less irritating. Microsoft needs to take a cue from Apple and just release ONE VERSION of the OS. Having multiple versions has never made any sense to me. Also, just as a side note, I have a friend who works at Microsoft and he says the general consensus on the campus is that Vista sucks. Enough said.

 

[Bigdawg]

Our Vista machine is slooowww. XP machines aren't while running basically the same config. And I haven't found it to be particularly user friendly when changing (or trying to change) setting.

 

[Techman]

But that is not a Vista problem.

Well, it is a Vista problem

The real Vista was written then abandoned .. and then replaced with a win 2k 3 kernel. So essentially Vista is win 2k3 with a face lift. Likewise drivers were a problem because VISTA charged to lisence manufacturers to license new drivers for our equipment.

Likewise no one wanted to pay huge fees for older stuff. Then we computer techs found ways to work around the driver issue such as noticing that many newer drivers were actually rebranded XP drivers. When an installer util looked at the ID string and found VISTA it said the drivers were not acceptable.
So a few of us enterprising techs changed the ID string and suddenly were up and running. In the past 6 months many things have changed in that driver arena.

And finally, no mater what the spin M$ is laying on the general public... Vista is a flop. Stats are showing that most of the present migration to vista is from windows 2k users and not from XP users.

The price cuts for vista, the price cuts with Office 2k7 are all caused by market forces. And finally. There is a slight rumor that windows 7 will be backwards compatible for legacy equipment.

 

[Bigdawg]

There is a slight rumor that windows 7 will be backwards compatible for legacy equipment.

That would be terrific!

 

[SignBurst PCs]

Let me preface this by saying that I do not use Vista on a regular basis, but the several times I have used it I found the UI to be very clumsy. I'm sure a lot of it can be turned off or altered to be less irritating. Microsoft needs to take a cue from Apple and just release ONE VERSION of the OS. Having multiple versions has never made any sense to me. Also, just as a side note, I have a friend who works at Microsoft and he says the general consensus on the campus is that Vista sucks. Enough said.

It has taken some getting used to (navigation). But after getting pissed off, I looked deeper and found that I could easily customize my explorer windows to make it much easier and even better than XP. Try cusomizing your "links" folder (start, user folder, links) and see how that works out for you.

I agree with the different versions... what a mess. But what you have to consider is that there are many large businesses that want a no frills version to keep their employees on task and not watching movies or playing solitaire. I think that they should limit it to Ultimate (every feature available) and Business (limited features).

 

[SignBurst PCs]

Agreed, it is a flop commercially. But is it because it sucks of because of all the negative publicity. I personally think that people are so comfortable with their systems (XP), that major change is hard.

The driver issue is ugly. But Vista drivers are largely XP based. It is much better than it was 6 months ago.

 

[SignBurst PCs]

This seems to be the trend.

I HATE the version that is out now. It used to be so much better.
I can't wait for the new one.

Doesn't that logic seem to be flawed?

 

[Rick]

Yeah, printer drivers and RIP compatiblity were a HUGE issue. Most of the big RIPs are Vista compatible now (or at least there newest versions are). This helps with the driver issues too, as the RIP software usually has built-in drivers for mainstream printers.

But again, this is not a Windows problem, but more of the printer manufacturers lagging on new print drivers. The RIP software was a little behind as well. This all gives VISTA a bad name, but isn't really their fault.

Not to bring Macs up as an argument, but Macs are having similar issues too. Try running CS2 on an Intel Mac or on Leopard. To take full advantage of CS3 is costly. Or get new IPods and have to upgrade to Leopard on a machine that would have a harder time running it. Us Mac people are going through similar issues and I believe that is the 64 bit/OS switch that is inevitable but a little painfull for everyone.

 

[joeshaul]

This seems to be the trend.

I HATE the version that is out now. It used to be so much better.
I can't wait for the new one.

Doesn't that logic seem to be flawed?

People always hope for a better tomorrow, even if today is crappier than yesterday, it is the nature of being human, so while the logic is flawed, it is our way.

I am very happy with XP, if you take a look at the difference between XP and 9X, XP fixed an inherit flaw with 9x, its stability was non-existent. The reason there were so many hardware compatibility issues was because MS's solution was to kill the old kernel and bring in the NT kernel. This stabilized the OS, gave it more control, but prohibited programmers from directly accessing the hardware via simple interrupt calls, port access, etc. It basically cut the sloppy programmer out of the loop, and gave the ones that still had a job to get up to par. Vista doesn't really fix any inherit flaws that I see, but maybe we will in a few years.

I think alot of it is too much change at once? A lot chaged in hardware, performance, features, etc in the 5 years between XP and Vista. I think that if they would have stayed constant and realeased something in the middle (maybe 3 years) and eased the transition, we wouldn't be seeing quite the backlash that we are seeing now.

Most of the people that I've unfortunately helped "learn how to use a computer" will now have to relearn the basics, which was like pulling teeth to teach em. I think the too much change thing is correct, but I also prefer change for a benefit of some kind. The only real change I saw in Vista was "Look, it's purtty and has doodads!" I understand all the loaded down Window Managers in Linux, people get to make their own so they toss in whatever junk they enjoy. I hoped MS would do better than to jump on that trend.

 

[SignBurst PCs]

Rick, very good point.

I think change is hard. It is especially hard when it is drastic.

We all have thousands of dollars invested in software, printers, etc that all worked with the old stuff (XP). It is hard to swallow that it has to change. Unfortunately, we are going to have to accept it sooner or later.

Do you think it is an accident that the new drivers took so long (or never came at all)? How many new printers (office printers, not large-format) replaced perfectly good old ones because someone bought a Vista PC and their old printer didn't work anymore? How about software for that matter? How many software upgrades were sold to work on Vista? It is part of the business. It is not all MS fault. They have to upgrade and offer new things, just to keep up with competitors. I think that hardware / software may be taking advatage of the situation as well.

 

[SignBurst PCs]

joeshaul, I hear so many people "happy with XP" and want to keep it. But when XP was released, I remember people hating it because it wasn't anything new over w2k, other than the way it looked (teletubbies). It has talken 3 service packs and 6 years to get it where it is today, where everyone feels comfortable with it.

 

[SignBurst PCs]

Don't get me wrong....

I understand the frustration. I had it at first too. I am jsut saying that it is at a point now (after SP1) that I can very easily use without aggravation. I have actually grown to like it a lot.

We still sell our systems with XP64 because of market realities. We have also prepared for the fact that XP will be replaced and gone at some point. We have collected and tested our drivers and have a solid, stable Vista build.

My personal opinion is that people will be much better off making the jump now and getting used to it over time, rather than waiting until the last moment and struggling to adapt in a hurry.

 

[Techman]

that people are so comfortable with their systems (XP), that major change is hard.

They are so comfortable with XP because the cost of going to VISTA is in the thousands.. Not just the $250 for the OS , add on the new over burdened machine, then training time, the lack of legacy support and worst of all the reduced computer speed all adds up to a refusal to accept whats being pushed. In summary Vista is a flop because it doesn't add to the experience it takes away..

 

[Techman]

It is not all MS fault. They have to upgrade and offer new things, just to keep up with competitors.

What competitors?? They got sued and lost in the USA for being an illegal monopoly. They are taking a beating in Europe because they are an illegal monopoly.

I believe you attended way too many M$ partners seminars. I've been to a couple myself and walked away with a feeling I just left a brainwashing..

 

[SignBurst PCs]

Just expressing my personal experiences with Vista, not all the hype that I read.

I seriously enjoy it alot and would NEVER go back to XP by choice.

But I do accept that I have to run a new system. I wouldn't ever recommend upgrading an older machine to Vista, just for the change.

 

[iSign]

I was reluctant to deal with Vista on my laptop, and tried to work around it at first, but accepted my fate, turned off security crap, and have found it to be just fine in the end result.

 

[SignBurst PCs]

You don't think that Apple and Linux are competitors? Maybe not large market share competitors, but if MS doesn't keep up, eventually that will change.

 

[hoppers]

In Feb 2007 I bought a mid range HP laptop (about $900) for my personal use and it came preloaded with Vista...I was looking for XP only and was going to buy one, but figured we all will have to go to it eventually when support for XP runs out.

I dont mind Vista, got used to it fairly quick and dont think its so hard to navigate once you get used to it....installed all my software was fine, I just had an issue with Dreamweaver but googled it and 5 minutes later had the patch installed no problems to report. Photoshop/Illy CS2 had no problems either, I think I heard Vista originally didnt run CS3 but think that is fixed now.

I bought the laptop with 1 gig of ram and well opening Photoshop was a dog....so I upgraded to 2 gigs now. It is pretty good and I can have photoshop and Illustrator open, but for some reason if I have MS Outlook and MS IE 7 open for awhile (with numerous tabs) - it locks up my IE sometimes for about 10 seconds. I dont know why, but I think Outlook is a memory hog and Vista doesnt just sip away at the memory, it takes huge chunks and hordes it (or leaks it). Photoshop sometimes hangs for 5 seconds when first opening it too, but after that its not a problem.

I havent upgraded to Vista SP1 that just came out a few weeks ago, but hoping when I do that my memory issue(s) goes away. The memory issues arent a deal breaker, just an annoyance since they dont happen all the time (and could be related to Virus scan or other software).
Overall Im liking Vista and give it a B- and think XP is less of a memory hog, but Vista has some cool built in features as you mentioned. Oh Im using Home premium btw.

-Hoppers

PS - I also made the explorer look more like XP pretty easily...and turned off the UAC (user account control) since that was fairly annoying.