MS Vista

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Baiting Guru Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 12237

I am looking for comments from anyone who has made the leap to the MS Vista OS. (Good, bad or ugly) I know there are plenty of reviews by "computer experts" to be found on the interweb, but I am looking for comments from real people. (You are all real people aren't you?) Wink

And for the sake of all humankind I do not want to make this into a PC/Mac/Linux debate. I have been in those debates before and would rather stick a fork into my eye before getting into another one!

419Eater Admin Joined: 30 Sep 2003 Posts: 7469

I'm SERIOUSLY pissed with Windows and PCs for a variety of reasons, especially over the last month or so (nothing to do with Vista though). After 20+ years of PC use I am switching over to the Apple Mac in a couple of weeks.

Vista looks great (that's it) but I won't be using it Smile

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:30 pm

Welcome to the Mac club Shiver Very Happy

You won't regret it Wink

Oops, sorry Pastor, I missed the Mac/PC debate bit.
Heres a link that may help you make up your mind though:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6407419.stm

Not quite a Newb Joined: 30 Nov 2004 Posts: 23

Some people seem to think that the main reason for upgrading to vista is the new GUI - this, apparently, gives you the new GUI look on XP. Haven't tried it so can't recommend!

http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/OS-Enhancements/Vista-Transformation-Pack.shtml

I agree about PCs, Shiver - nothing but pain. I need to take the leap, but I always get suckered at the last moment by "the bottom line", which is not so "bottom" with Macs...

Baiting Guru Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 12237

Thats why I am shopping around for advise. I figure that if I am going to make a clean break from MS this would be the time to do it. (Between XP and Vista) I don't want to go through the XP security and patch nightmare again with Vista. And from what I have been reading it seems like thats where it is headed.

Like you I have been on a PC for many years and if I make the change it will be painful to say the least.

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:37 pm

^^^^ edited my post with a useful link in case you missed it

Baiting Guru Joined: 06 May 2004 Posts: 4012

Stay away from Vista at all costs.

No kidding. This is something you really, really do not want to have on your PC.

Here's why.

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/175801

Quote:

(...)
While those reviews have focused chiefly on Vista's new functionality, for the past few months the legal and technical communities have dug into Vista's "fine print." Those communities have raised red flags about Vista's legal terms and conditions as well as the technical limitations that have been incorporated into the software at the insistence of the motion picture industry.

The net effect of these concerns may constitute the real Vista revolution as they point to an unprecedented loss of consumer control over their own personal computers. In the name of shielding consumers from computer viruses and protecting copyright owners from potential infringement, Vista seemingly wrestles control of the "user experience" from the user.

Vista's legal fine print includes extensive provisions granting Microsoft the right to regularly check the legitimacy of the software and holds the prospect of deleting certain programs without the user's knowledge. During the installation process, users "activate" Vista by associating it with a particular computer or device and transmitting certain hardware information directly to Microsoft.

Even after installation, the legal agreement grants Microsoft the right to revalidate the software or to require users to reactivate it should they make changes to their computer components. In addition, it sets significant limits on the ability to copy or transfer the software, prohibiting anything more than a single backup copy and setting strict limits on transferring the software to different devices or users.

Vista also incorporates Windows Defender, an anti-virus program that actively scans computers for "spyware, adware, and other potentially unwanted software." The agreement does not define any of these terms, leaving it to Microsoft to determine what constitutes unwanted software.

Once operational, the agreement warns that Windows Defender will, by default, automatically remove software rated "high" or "severe," even though that may result in other software ceasing to work or mistakenly result in the removal of software that is not unwanted.
(...)

This is insane. Shocked

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:41 pm

I use XP (and Mandriva, but this thread isn't about that) and applied some patches to make it look like Vista. No need to fork out on it IMO.

Baiting Guru Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 12237

I made the PC/Mac/Linux comment with a bit of tongue planted in my cheek.
Wink

There is really no way to talk about OS's without that debate starting. Laughing

edit: spelling error

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:46 pm

^^^^^^

Ok, now it's your turn:

Baiting Guru Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 12237

*sticks kleindooties fork in his eye and gives his best Sam Kinison scream*

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:55 pm

Having used it it does look kinda slick. However:

You can't get drivers for a lot of devices/cards/etc yet. Oh, and every time you open a new app or change system settings, it pops up 'Are you sure?' This gets annoying very fast.

Quite a lot of old software won't survive the leap to Vista; some of my favourite programmes wouldn't install. Its user interface with big bold pictures and layout reminds me of children's programmes and books and strikes me as quite patronising.

You need a pretty high spec machine to run it, and it won't be happy if you've only got the minimum specs.

Check out this article on the BBC website Falling into the Vista trap.

I run a Mac most of the time, so I might be biased. But I would wait about six months until MS release the 1st service pack and hardware/software people embrace Vista a bit more.

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 6:00 pm

Are you familiar with the word "bollocks"? it very accurately describes Vista.

Baiting Guru Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 12237

Thanks Miss. Good info and good link. That confirms my gut instinct. Looks like more eye candy than anything else. And the title of the article "Falling into the Vista trap" sums up the feeling I have had with MS for years. Its a never ending cycle of glitches and upgrades.

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 6:02 pm

@Shiver. Good choice mate, Mac is the way to go every time. No viruses, no spyware and an OS that is light years ahead of windows and actually does what it says on the tin. Add to that the fact that you are no longer funding, spit, Microsoft Evil or Very Mad

and you can't go wrong. Also you won't need Bill Gates' permission every time you want to install something and have him scanning your hard drive every 5 mins.

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 6:09 pm

meyer wrote:

Stay away from Vista at all costs

I'm with Meyer, that thing won't be getting anywhere near my PC.

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 7:21 pm

I'm going to avoid Vista, defo heading to linux, until I can finally settle on a distro I'm using puppy linux, even my wireless card works

http://www.puppylinux.org/user/viewpage.php?page_id=1

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 7:25 pm

meyer said it all really. The very few times it's still necessary for me to boot into Windows, I'll use XP. I hope that'll be the last Microsoft EULA I ever agree to.

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 9:00 pm

Micro$oft would have done well making XP work properly, before they brought out a new OS.

Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 3:10 am

Honestly i think, MS Vista now wasn't really good to use it now.. for me, i'm waiting for their SP2 to come out..

Cheers,
halloween

Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 4:45 am

On top of the reasons shown by Meyer, I understand that M$ crippled the HD player capabilities and all the other IP media so you can't use them in the condition you paid to use it in.

Everything that vista claims as an improvement, has been in Linux for at least 3 years.

And I just read a story about a tech writer who install a game which windoz decided was not approve so it immediately locked the OS down and gave him 7 days to re-register or be locked out of *his* computer and *his* OS for which he paid $300. This could be an example of things to come.

Defiantly wait for the SP2 version, it should have a lot more "safety features" by then.

I too, would really like to hear from someone who is running vista now.

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 571

shiver metimbers wrote:

After 20+ years of PC use I am switching over to the Apple Mac in a couple of weeks.

Might I suggest instead installing some flavor of Linux? All of the it's-not-windows, none of the buying-new-hardware Very Happy

Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:12 am

It took me till late last year to upgrade from win2k to xp. At this rate and especially since reading some of the above comments, I might install vista in about 6 years.

Master Baiter Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 233 Location: USA

Pastor Frank, in our school district, we use both platforms--Macs primarily, but also PC's in the front offices, to run certain applications that were never made multi-platform.

Recently, as resident techie, they've had me testing Parallels software on our newer Intel Macs (This permits the user to run XP or Vista on a Mac simultaneously and seamlessly) You hit a keyboard combo, and screens switch instantly.

I can report to you all--as I have to my boss--that it runs XP perfectly, and at full speed...ie as fast as a PC box. So far, it has run EVERY PC application--old or new--that I've installed, including those applications that were never made multi-platform.

I also tested Vista--and while it DOES run just fine, we ended those tests faily quickly--the ENTIRE PC arm of our department (four guys, two women) unanimously hated Vista, and recommended that the district stay with XP. They cited multiple causes--the general feeling is that it's a prettier version of XP, with more FX, but that's been fundamentally botched from the word go.

So if you need to continue running--or get--a PC, definitely make sure you stay with XP--and faaaaaarrrrrr away from Vista!

Hope this helps!

Master Baiter Joined: 13 Jul 2005 Posts: 186 Location: GA

I love Mac users.

The can take the screenshots and live captures of the games I play on my PC and make them very sexy.

They can't actually play any of the games, but that somehow makes them superior.

Wink