Speaking of Vista

[Hoopy Frood]

Through my school I can get Vista for free. I am currently running XP Professional (also acquired through my school). Do those of you who have Vista recommend I change to it? Is it better than XP. Worse? Better in some ways, worse in others?

And is the fact that XP is an older OS mean that it may be worth a change just to avoid having my OS become abandonware sooner?

[The Outrider]

Hmmm, actually there is no compelling reason to change to Vista given the laundry list of bugs, issues and problems with the idiotic thing. If there was a DirectX 10 game that you had to play or the thing did what it is supposed to, then that might change. Vista is the Windows 98 to XP's Windows 95.  I never bothered with 98 because it was a waste of time.  Get this sucker free once Service Pack 1 for Vista comes out. 

[TK]

I've not seen any compelling reason to upgrade to vista yet either.

I would say  that 98SE was an essential upgrade though, the support for USB was worth the upgrade alone.  ME on the otherhand...

[Doombot]

I've not seen any compelling reason to upgrade to vista yet either.

I would say  that 98SE was an essential upgrade though, the support for USB was worth the upgrade alone.  ME on the otherhand...

ME was worse than Hitler. I think I had to do a complete format because of ME.

[The SysMan]

Vista is AWFUL for trying to make networks.
It ignores any computer that doesnt run Vista, and even the ones that do it has trouble connecting with.
Its stupid >.<

Vista is great if you like pointless doohickeys, typing, and playing solitaire.
Oh, and the internet.
Thats it. Anything else you can think of is wasted on it. And denied by it.
All I want is a freakin network to share files with. Stupid thing.

[AcdQueen89]

i dont recomend vista unless you ahve alot of time and tallent to make it work right. i go to print something from the internets, like something my prof wants me to have for homework and i get a prompt asking me if i want to print on top of going to file print, if there was a simple button that said file and one that says print. ms word..... 2007 sucks. i miss my what ever one i have at home.

google is everywhere on this system. i use yahoo for my searches, not google. so i dont need google pop up blocker telling me me that i have 124 blocked pop ups. i also dont need mcafee crapping out on me every five seconds and dling something new each time i turn on my goddamn computer.

try back in ten years, it'll be all the rage....

[Chucara]

I'm kinda puzzled why everyone is having problems with Vista. I know I'm not exactly a newbie when it comes to computers, but I've never had any problems with Vista. I could imagine it would be worse if you're running on hardware with drivers not designed for Vista.

I like Vista. It's not vastly better than XP, but it is a step up. The Aero interface is pretty much useless, but purdy. Security is improved, not only the functional aspect, but I find it a lot easier to setup permissions.

Network functionality? I don't know what problems SysMan has had, but I have a Linux PC, an XP PC and my Vista laptop - all on the same network, and all without problems.

What most people seem to dislike is the security dialogs (allow etc), but that doesn't bother me, as it is just a simple click, and second of all, you only need it when a program needs permission to write to a restricted folder (i.e. when you install a program, change the registry etc.) It's like switching to the superuser on linux. Perhaps you could even log on as administrator like you do on XP, but then the security goes down the drain.

I have yet to experience any viruses or spyware on Vista (but I didn't have many problems with them on XP either).


I'd say give it a try with a neutral mindset - especially if it's free.

[BlueCross]

From a software development standpoint, it's not so great.

The Aero interface has to be disabled or our software won't run.
The registry read/write interface is handled differently (probably permissions) and gives nuisance errors when we run our software.

Nothing seriously wrong but irritating nonetheless.

[The SysMan]

Network functionality? I don't know what problems SysMan has had, but I have a Linux PC, an XP PC and my Vista laptop - all on the same network, and all without problems.

Well, I did get it to work with forced IP addresses, so I can at least access my Desktop from my laptop, which is okay.
The only thing that really gets my goat is trying to allow others to slip seamlessly into the network for a brief file swap. Vista doesn't like me for it, what with all the hidden commands that could be really useful to have available like XP gives. Eh.
I'll fix it eventually, but I hate having to take extra time out to rummage around and find things.

I should be able to point at my computer and say "Work! Work, I say!" and it gets it done. Stupid manual button clicking.

[Bubonic]

I should be able to point at my computer and say "Work! Work, I say!" and it gets it done. Stupid manual button clicking.

See link.  That's how interfaces should be.

In my experience, Vista isn't so bad, but it's not great either...

For:

• Decent backwards compatibility - I'm now running some older games (Win 98 games) that I could never get to work on XP.
• Searching for files is easier - no more messing around with options, just type in your criteria and results appear!

Against:

• The removal of the "up" button from windows explorer.  It may still be there somewhere, but I can't find the blasted thing. Its absence makes moving to the parent directory much more cumbersome than it needs to be.
• Having to change software. When I moved to Vista (about 4 or 5 months ago now) things like zone alarm (free) firewall and Norton Ghost didn't support Vista. So there was a learning curve in having to adjust to unfamiliar software as well (Acronis True Image isn't too bad, actually).

Note:  The above is an indication of the types of pros/cons that I have experienced, NOT an exhaustive list.

In short, I'd probably agree with Sarge.  Unless you have a compelling reason to change, stick with XP until Vista matures a bit.  Having said that, I have recently started dabbling with Fiesty Fawn (Ubuntu) on my old PC and I am amazed at how easy it is to use.  If you want to do something, the ability to download and install appropriate software is built right in to the OS.  Magic!

[BlueCross]

Decent backwards compatibility - I'm now running some older games (Win 98 games) that I could never get to work on XP.in to the OS.  Magic!

Master of Magic!

Railroad Tycoon!

Panzer General! (the 1st one)

OK, so I got some of them to limp in Win2k and WinXP but if they would run 'good' in Vista...

*nods*

[Chucara]

The removal of the "up" button from windows explorer.  It may still be there somewhere, but I can't find the blasted thing. Its absence makes moving to the parent directory much more cumbersome than it needs to be.

Stop using explorer, it's godawful

I don't believe I've actually mentioned it on this board, but Total Commander is the single greatest piece of software in recorded history. There's a free trial (only limit is that you have to click a button when you start it).

It speeds up file management by a factor of 10, and it has a plethora of other great features as well (FTP, SCP, ext2 mounting etc.)

It takes a while to get used to, but I have yet met a person who has actually gotten used to it, who has gone back to explorer.

[Doombot]

Stop using explorer, it's godawful

I use Powerdesk Pro

[The SysMan]

Eh, I find using machine code works too.
But I keep getting the error: "Too many 1's" >.<

[Killmod]

i dont recomend vista unless you ahve alot of time and tallent to make it work right. i go to print something from the internets, like something my prof wants me to have for homework and i get a prompt asking me if i want to print on top of going to file print, if there was a simple button that said file and one that says print. ms word..... 2007 sucks. i miss my what ever one i have at home.

google is everywhere on this system. i use yahoo for my searches, not google. so i dont need google pop up blocker telling me me that i have 124 blocked pop ups. i also dont need mcafee crapping out on me every five seconds and dling something new each time i turn on my goddamn computer.

try back in ten years, it'll be all the rage....

There is a term for what you're describing; Bloatware 


In terms of Vista, I haven't yet had a chance to use it yet unfortunately. But the overall response from word=of=mouth sounds pretty negative so far. Considering all of the problems I've heard of so far (Rhetorical Questions,  Security problems etc) I would rather opt for Linux instead of Vista unless I could be convinced otherwise. 

I'll sure miss DX10 though...