Is anyone looking forward to Vista?

Rob Williams

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
With Vista right around the corner, who is looking forward to it? By this, I mean that you plan on purchasing it right away because you -want- it on your computer. Currently, I have no real desire to install it, but will likely resort to it due to site responsibilities.

But, here are a few reasons I am -not- looking forward to a release, even if I don't plan on installing it right away.
  1. Buggy. Yes, Windows XP was buggy on release, but Vista has a LOT more responsibility... it's just insane to think that it will be an ultimately smooth operating system once it's released.
  2. As a result to #1, we will be seeing countless Vista gripe stories for the first few months of release. I mean, every website will be posting news related to it's issues, but I could be wrong. Just don't expect to ignore Vista even if you don't plan on picking it up.
  3. Useless for benchmarking? I am wondernig how long it will take before Vista will be used as the "base" benchmarking OS. Currently, all of the world records and reviews are taken place on XP. However, Vista is much more power hungry, so those world records would not be possible, even with a scaled down version.
  4. Bulky OS. Seriously... Vista is bulky but it's meant to be. It should come with everything you should ever need for basic OS use. This is one reason I use a scaled down version of Linux and work my way up. I hate having SO much stuff installed that I will never use.
  5. Makes things harder on people for no reason. I haven't touched Vista since Beta 2, I admit it. But at that time, doing simple, mundane tasks were a huge pain in the rear... needlessly.
  6. Server edition? Who is really going to trust a new piece of software like this to run on their server? I'd expect a year wait before anyone actually considers it, simply because of it's bulkiness and fresh smell.
Not to stick to just the bad.. here is why I think Vista will be cool.
  1. Though the interface doesn't compare (in my opinion) to what XGL or Mac OS X offers, it's still mounds above the ugly blue default theme that comes with XP. As a whole, the OS is prettier.
  2. Better hardware detecting. When installing XP, you have to install numerous drivers to get anything working... internet, sound.. whatever. I had a lot of this taken care of for me with the earlier beta.
Well that's all I can think of currently. The overall bugs will be what keeps my system as a dual boot, especially for the sake of gaming. Vista will prove a true winner for anyone who has a speedy machine, but doesn't do intense gaming. So.. it would not be a surprise to see many using a dual boot for these same reasons.

What's your opinions?
 
E

Enigmachine

Obliviot
I really don't care for Vista. XP is fairly stable, and I don't see what Vista has that I need that absolutely has to be part of a new OS.

To me an OS is something small and efficient that manages the machine for you. It should be shipped on a small USB thumb drive (64-128 megs?) and provide all the core services that all software needs. What was the evolution/new design principle that made its way into Vista that requires it to be shipped on a DVD?? There's been no real evolution in OS design in decades!

Anyways... The only reason why I will enventually end up using Vista is that it's probable the corporations I write software for will start using it once it's stable; therefore I will need to port my software to it.

In the meantime unless someone buys me a copy I am using better alternatives, like Ubuntu. I honestly don't care that Windows has an aero skin... If I wanted to spend money on looks I'd get a mac. In 1985 I was using AmigaDOS 1.0, it had a 4 color UI (black, blue, white, orange) and was ugly as sin, but still way more fun and usable than Windows today...
 
werty316

werty316

Partition Master
No from me also due to the fact that so far Vista is just too much of a resource hog and the performance of XP is better for games and if the retail version of Vista doesn't show improvement then blah on Vista I say.

XP just works fine and if DX10 isn't all its suppose to be then Vista will RIP.
 
amatuerfisher

amatuerfisher

Obliviot
I am running off of vista RC1 as I type, and I like it. It is a lot prettier than XP. I never had XP installed on any of my machines(yes i know, pathetic that I am still using win2k, but hey I like it). I might just skip XP and go to vista once I get a new machine. The lappy that I am running RC1 on is a 1.8GHz Pentium M with 512MB ram and it runs just fine. I tried running WoW on it though and it didn't cut it. It does only have a fireGL graphics card in it though:(
 
werty316

werty316

Partition Master
amatuerfisher said:
I am running off of vista RC1 as I type, and I like it. It is a lot prettier than XP. I never had XP installed on any of my machines(yes i know, pathetic that I am still using win2k, but hey I like it). I might just skip XP and go to vista once I get a new machine. The lappy that I am running RC1 on is a 1.8GHz Pentium M with 512MB ram and it runs just fine. I tried running WoW on it though and it didn't cut it. It does only have a fireGL graphics card in it though:(
Click to expand...
Acutally you can make XP look quite slick with either StyleXP or WindowsBlinds like this visual style from deviantART:



One of my themes:
 
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amatuerfisher

amatuerfisher

Obliviot
well like I said, I went from using 2k to vista so i didn't mess around with xp that much. I guess I should say, I like the vista default theme better than the disgusting blue of XP
 
madstork91

madstork91

The One, The Only...
I currently have it set to silver. 0.o

Oh and a mod for windows makes a world of differance in interface. I love my current theme

 
BloodSugarWilksM

BloodSugarWilksM

E.M.I.
I think Vista is the next generation of operating systems. I love linux and macs as well, but due to XP having so many security issues, I couldn't wait for the next step.

I've read a lot of reviews from Paul Thurrott, PC World, and other sites that have tested Vista and even though it takes a little more to run the OS, performance on Vista is better than XP from my experiences. I have been running RC1 on my Dell from 2003 and while I cannot run Aero, Vista runs a lot faster than XP ever did on this machine.

I just built a new computer and put Vista RC1 on it, Aero works now and the performance is amazing. There also is no performance difference with Aero on or off.

With Vista being built on Windows Server 2003 the code base is more stable, they focused on nothing but security and therefore I believe that Vista will be inherently more secure than XP and will be easier for me to use and be happy with. I fully realize that running Microsoft is like asking to be attacked, but with Vista I'll have less to worry about than XP.

I also enjoy the new security center, windows vista firewall, windows defender, IE 7 protected mode, and the 64 bit support that will further secure the OS when hardware and software moves fully to 64 bit computing.

- The installer is faster and more intuitive
- The OS is beautiful, fast, and expansive
- Security is better than XP
- Performance is better than XP
- Stability is better than XP

The only problem we're going to see right off the bat is compatibility issues, driver issues, and eventually 64 bit compatibility issues. Other than that, aside from some weird inconsistent shell interfaces - I think Vista is going to rock and blow XP out of the water. Especially once Vista SP1 is out, Vista will really become a better OS and show it's stuff with the upgraded kernel etc, bug fixes, security updates etc.

That's my opinion anyway :)
 
Rory Buszka

Rory Buszka

Partition Master
Does anyone remember Windows Me? I think that Windows Vista isn't "the future of operating systems" in quite the way that Windows XP was when compared to Windows 98. I think that if I could skip a generation of the Windows OS like the world wanted to do with Windows Me, I think the upgrade from Windows XP to that new operating system would be much more worthwhile. However, despite the fact that Vista is just XP Media Center, made up to look like Mac OS X, it is probably going to be the reality of the computer industry for at least a few more years, until Microsoft finally decides to give us an OS with all the features they cut out of Vista.

Am I looking forward to Vista? I'm definitely intrigued, but not $599 intrigued (or whatever insane amount they're charging for Windows Vista Penultimate or whatnot). The fact that I can probably purchase one copy for $20 from my university's copy shop will make sure that my main machine runs Vista, but my laptop and planned test rig will stay XP as long as they possibly can, or at least until SP1.
 
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Rob Williams

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
Ultimate is $399, while Home Premium is $239. I am in the middle of an article called, "Should you buy Vista Ultimate?", which I should have up later this week. As it stands, Home Premium will be -the- version to buy as far as I am concerned. They pack a lot into the OS at that price point, and I bet 50% of people who buy Ultimate will not even use it's specific extras.
 
moon111

moon111

Coastermaker
I had to be right there for the start of XP because I was doing tech support at the time. If there's one big problem I've had with XP is it hasn't failed, and now there's just a build up of junk on my harddrive. I hate having just enough resources to run something. I'm not excited about upgrading my hardware even if I were to pirate the software. This time around the newest OS can wait. Heck I know lots of people still using 98.
 
Merlin

Merlin

The Tech Wizard
I got the Vista Ultimate version ( OEM ) for 199.00
I see it higher now.
I deal with cutomers also and I have to know the system to do my work.
I agree, Windows ME suks as far as getting drivers to load, I hate to see a customer with that OS. Makes my job harder. I can't tell them the OS suks or there little computer that has tons of icon on the desktop, and takes 15 minutes to reboot. EERRGG
But I'll explore the reals of Vista on my other machine while keeping this one with XP Home.

Deckard
 
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