so hows vista?

Im getting a free copy in a week and was wondering if I should install it, anyone got any feedback? I checked online and so far it seems to suck.

 

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other than costing about 300 dollars there is nothing wrong with it.

 

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A lot of people don't seem to like it. One of the major problems I keep hearing about is that there are still TONS of drivers needed that aren't available from the OEMs yet.

It's become such a problem that Dell (or the other big outfit - can't remember which) are no longer loading it by default on their new systems. Instead, you can request XP.

I'm not even going to bother with it myself. Instead, I'll be happy to wait for the next version after it because Win2KPro suits my needs just fine and is still being supported. It has never crashed on me and all my drivers work.

 

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I'm currently running it. There are a few annoying things, mostly to try and secure the operating system. For instance if you run an application, it doesn't run on the first click... you have to accept it should run. This stops things running by accident however it doesn't remove the possibility of "non-verbose" methods of running something.

You might have some problem if you try installing a CD/DVD Emulator since most have rootkits and by Default the OS treats rootkits as malicious and therefore pretty much removes them (unlesss you look at the install instructions closely)

The drivers can be awkward for things, for instance a webcam I picked up shipped with win98/XP drivers. It wouldn't work on Vista without checking online for drivers and even then the drivers weren't "signed" which meant a wrong click for searching for drivers would mean they wouldn't install at all.

There are some interesting differences to the OS however in regards to how windows are shown on the desktop and Taskbar (You can get a small preview of the window) but these are pretty much borrowed from a number of Linux operating systems.

Personally if I had to pay for the OS, I wouldn't bother (mainly because of its cost), if you are getting it free or as part of a package a new computer then by all means endulge, however I wouldn't suggest finding an old computer and trying it with an install of Vista. It's a resource hog and it's meant for new machines.

I currently have only dabbled with the 32-bit instance, the main reason for this is the potential that some of the laptop drivers and extras aren't supported which could put a cramp in the overall functionality. Why have a machine that although 64-bit only half works?

 

thx for the feedback! looks like its going to sit under my bed for a year or two.

 

I am using it because I got a free copy a while back.

I like it fine. Back when I installed it, there were a few compatibility problems with programs I used with XP. Those are quickly being fixed, and it's pretty rare for me to run into something that is incompatible.

It is rather hand-holdy at first. It asks you for permission every time you run something. You can turn that off though. You can also disable the default windows firewall and spyware remover, and use third-party software (which I recommend doing).

After you get it all set up, and get it the way you want it, it's really pretty nice.

 

What are the REAL advantages (if any) of Vista over XP?

 

A cleaner draw method? That New Car scent?

 

Some of the interface has been improved, like the Start menu program search and new ways to sort files in the file manager. DirectX10. That's about it really.

Unless you're a member of the MPAA, then Vista is a god send. DRM built right into the kernel, security checks at every step of video playback and so on. All turned on by default, so it's using up resources even if you don't have an HD drive installed. And after all this overhead and security HD encryption was already cracked several times, which makes all of it useless.

Personally I hate Vista. Not so much because it's not a good OS (though there's obvious driver and compatibility problems) but because it offers very little innovation over XP yet comes bundled with a lot of stuff I wouldn't put anywhere near my computer. It panders to the content industry and flips consumers the bird in the process, and that's something I simply won't support. It's a matter of principle I guess.

 

Now microsoft office has to be purchased separately, it's not bundled with your OS. I personally like XP, a lot more practical. But since Vista is the new industry OS, all software will be geared toward it' a given to take it.

 

Thats nice Peta, of course Office was never bundled with MS os's/
Your so smart you should know that.

 

I just love this...

 

Vista was launched early to book revenue and induce mass panic purchases of newer devices/software

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At least that's what I'm seeing. I've installed a few instances for clients, and I've noticed (at least one in particular) has to spend over $1000 in new software and devices to make Vista work like his older XP installation. Needless to say, he's now considering dual booting or downgrading :|

 

Vista, I have 'Home Premium' and it's OK. Some truly annoying security features, and too much stuff has been dumbed down for home users.

I had a hard time adding a shared printer even with the Vista driver at my disposal. Everytime I browsed for the printer it tried to download the driver from the server, and failed because it wasn't a Vista driver, even though I had already installed a Vista on the laptop. I had to map the printer as lpt1: from a command prompt in the end.

But Vista is pretty, seems stable, and so far, it has been able to use everything I have plugged into it right away (mass storage devices, digital camera, PDA, mp3 player)

You need 1Gb of RAM if you are considering it. An obscene amount imo, but there you have it.

 

thanks a lot for the feedback, just one more question.

Is using torrents and limewire considerably less safe on Vista than Xp? because thats what I'm hearing from people generally.

 

Make sure you have Vista drivers that support the hardware.
Make sure your hardware is good.
Disable some of the annoying security features.
You should be mostly dependent on a hardware firewall and a security suite anyway, so if you have those you'll be fine.

After using it for a few months, I can say that it's really pretty... and that's the only reason why I use it over XP.

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I installed Vista and saw a significant decrease in speed. Using a program called "performance test" from passmark, I scored 673 on XP..and 250 on Vista (Nelson from the Simpsons says "Ha Ha") Plus drivers for my wireless card are not available for Vista...no internet?....no thank you.

There really aren't any super-neat...gotta have new features either. I was really disappointed. Unless they release a SP1 for it and things improve...I'm sticking with XP.

If you like the look of Vista, but want to keep XP, there's a freely available program called "Vista transformation pack" that will give you a Vista-style look, without a serious hit on performance.

 

I concur with that...Within a month of use of Vista on a Dell XPS (Dual Core P4, 2GB, 500GB), Vista has slowed to a "relative" crawl...relative meaning that it perceptually performs no better than XP on a regular P4.

Despite Microsoft's urging to the contrary, folks should be wary of moving to Vista IMO.

 

I can't think of a reason why it would be.

Those technologies rely on parts of the OS that, AFAIK, remained largely untouched by the XP->Vista upgrades.

The part of p2p that is most open for atttack is social engineering - i.e. tricking you the user into downloading and running something - would actually be safer on Vista due to it's U.A.C. system. At least you have a chance to stop malware from running when you download what is supposed to be the last episode of Battlestar Galactica.

 

i luv vista , u kinda need a super computer to run in well tho.. 1 gig of ram or more..