 Vista Better Or Not |
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  Oct 26 2007, 06:53 PM
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#1
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New Member  Group: Members Posts: 4 Joined: 19-October 07 Member No.: 164,059  |
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| uhaligani |
Oct 26 2007, 11:45 PM
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I am a solid Vista user. This question came up on another site I visit, which is deeply in to Vista help. I published these two answers, which I am reproducing, rather than recompose. The second is appliceable to the site mentioned, but can possibly be loosely interpreted to this one.
My preference for Windows is based on real-life experience, not just habit. In way too many cases, people condemn operating systems or applications that they've never even used, or that they've only fooled around with for a few minutes or a few hours on a demo system at the store or a friend's computer. In fact, some of the most adamant criticisms I hear about Vista come from some of my colleagues who have never run the OS. They'll admit that they're basing their opinions on what they've heard from others, but insist that if those others are saying it, it must be true. I hear people proclaim, "I've never used Vista and I never will" - just as proudly as they proclaimed the same thing about XP a few years ago. A popular comment, for example is that the poster, etc., won't use Vista because "the DRM prevents you from playing any of your previously downloaded music." That's 100% untrue - I play previously downloaded music on my Vista machine all the time and so do many other people, and without any prior configuration. But it's something they have read on the web somewhere, and it has been integratedt into what they "know" about Vista. There are some good, legitimate, reasons not to upgrade to Vista. If you have older hardware that's not supported and you don't want to buy new peripherals or a new machine, or if you have applications that won't run on Vista, that's a perfectly good reason to keep XP. But don't blame Vista or Microsoft when peripheral makers fail to provide drivers for their hardware components. Someone commented to me last week that he had bought a new computer and his Epson printer wouldn't work with it because "it's running that stupid Vista." Hey, that's Epson's fault, not Vista's. All my older HP printers work just fine with Vista - because HP has provided Vista drivers for them. He searched the Epson site and couldn't find Vista drivers for his printer; sounds to me as if Epson wants you to buy a new printer instead. I'd recommend that when/if you do so, you make sure it's not an Epson. Another good reason not to upgrade is because you don't need to. If your XP computer works just fine and it's doing everything you want it to do, keep it. Don't feel pressured to go with the newest OS just because it is new. Just don't condemn the newest OS because it's new, either. And remember that XP went through its growing pains, too. Those who point fingers whenever a security flaw is found in Vista apparently have forgotten all those flaws that have been patched in XP. And those who grumble about Vista's new interface don't seem to remember that they were the same ones grumbling about all the changes that came with XP. If you just don't want to pay for a new OS, you'll hear no argument from me. But for some, money has nothing to do with it. Many companies pay for the upgrades, although their employees are confortable with their old, familiar operating system. And that brings us to some of the not-so-good reasons for not upgrading. Some people aren't comfortable with new things, even if those new things are improvements. Likewise, I have colleagues who take one look at Vista's new Explorer or with Office 2007's ribbon interface and immediately "don't like it" without ever giving it a chance. I like learning new things and like to, more closely, examine these changes New features such as the clickable path in Explorer make it easier for me to get around in the file system, and I welcome that. Iit took a little getting used to, like the new Start/menu layout, but now I'd hate to be without it. In many countries, the criminal justice system is built on the principle that a person is to be considered innocent until proven guilty. New products get no such protection. For those who have used Vista for a few months and decided that they like XP better, we just have a difference of opinion. The relative merit of an operating system interface is a subjective matter and some will always hate what others love. There's no problem with that. But for those who have judged Vista guilty - of user unfriendliness, of slowness, of security problems, or whatever - without ever using it or after giving it a spin for only a day or two, I really can't put much stock in their opinions. I'll always support a persons individual right to use whatever software works best for them (including Mac and Linux), but can't they go ahead and use it without calling those of us who happen to like Vista stupid or implying that we're nothing but Microsoft shills? What do you think about the OS wars? Why do people (yes, myself sometimes included) have a tendency to denigrate others' choices? Why do so many folks fear anything that's new? Do you take pride in your refusal to upgrade - or on the other hand, do you take pride in being an early adopter? Have you vowed never to upgrade based on something you've read or heard, without ever actually trying the new software out for yourself? Or are you just sensibly waiting until the first service pack, or for a price drop, or until your current computer dies, or until your mission-critical applications have been upgraded to work with Vista? ____________ _______________________ ____________ "Troubleshooting and general questions about Microsoft's latest version of Windows." The sub-title of this forum. I have been disappointed, of late, to find posters on this forum whose apparent intention is to destroy Vista. Perhaps the facts of, for example, this forum should be examined. When I logged in this morning, I studied the first 25 posts .16 were not related to any Vista fault, but due to failures, (in 7 cases the fault of the operator) in the software being installed. 3 were requests for help and 2 were similar, but malfunctioning due to the users being unable to navigate the new Vista structure. The latter was a big mistake by Microsoft and has led to a lot of the so-called "problems" users are having. The remaining 4 were definitely Vista related, but were all solved by following help posters. In one or two instances, the complaints were very obviously as a result of using pirated software - on that I cannot comment. This was in several cases, Windows update related. I surf the Vista forums, helping where I am able. I have found this to be the trend, on all. Since the release of the retail versions, The requests for help have dropped remarkably, as users get used to the new navigation structure. I have even given up visiting three such sites, as there is no longer much to interest me! Surely this says something for Vista? If you doubt the above, I would invite you to look at the XP forum. XP is a really good OS, yet after many years of maturity, requests for help, fault related, are still pouring in. Perhaps the Administrator could start a sub-forum where posters could air their grievances, and we "loyalists" (I believe we are called "fanboys" now) could get on with trying to help newbies and persons in trouble, without those good people being dismayed by unwarranted criticism. |
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Oct 27 2007, 03:11 PM
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 Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 419 Joined: 7-May 07 From: Hull England Member No.: 129,329 |
Hi, i read the post by uhaligani which makes a hell of a lot of sense, im a late comer to the world of computers & also now use them at work, i got my first one 4 years ago and decided to learn as much as i can about them,,, i have enjoyed it and purchased 2 more. One was about 3 years ago a pentium4 HT 3.4 ghz running xp service pack2, i read all i could about the os and learned a bit about it, i've had 3 years off good computing & decided to pass it on to my kids as a shared pc & get a new one for my wife & me. I go on a few forum sites and read all about the dreaded vista, but decided to get one,, i got a good pc with vista home prem on & started playing whith my new toy, after the usual trimming off the fat,, in start up and services & a couple of weeks getting use to it i know find it easy to use, a lot faster & more stable than xp,,, not to say xp is no good because its excelant,,, but i think vista is a very large step forward. A bigger step than xp was from the previous os & the ones befor them maybe,,, prahaps this is why there's a lot of miss trust in the new os & what we dont know we condem..... The more i use it the more new things i find,,,,, if you have a friend who has vista ask them for a few go's on it, a few hours maybe,,, then decide for your self. Good luck & happy computing all..... Figgis
-------------------- Figgis,,,, LUFC
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Oct 27 2007, 05:35 PM
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New Member Group: Members Posts: 9 Joined: 14-October 07 Member No.: 163,002 |
I'd rather have Windows XP. Vista is getting to wrapped around GUIs, and I wish windows would focus more on functionality now.
This post has been edited by sync0s: Oct 27 2007, 05:36 PM |
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 Nov 3 2007, 02:53 AM
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 Member Group: Members Posts: 81 Joined: 26-October 07 Member No.: 165,605 |
I was very excited of vista when i got it because with all those things to make you safe unlike XP SP2 with most viruses attacking it but as soon as i got it a few weeks later i decided to install some old programs that i used on my XP but just about 90% of things i installed would not work
 and still today vista has many problems so the next computer/laptop i ever get will be a Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard  because its safer than windows (because nobody make viruses for Mac) and more reliable and best of all it actually works i've seen very little compatibility problems with Leopard  but vista just went over the top with it but the next desktop i get im gonna have Leopard and Vista  just in case some programs and for gaming are for windows only
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Nov 3 2007, 06:45 AM
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 Still visually handicapped, new avatar :0) Group: Global Moderator Posts: 15,531 Joined: 2-October 05 From: Southeastern CT, USA Member No.: 35,824 |
Getting a PC with Vista is like getting a new car. Not all of your old stuff is gonna work on it - so you've gotta be prepared to upgrade/adjust.
If you've got real nice, brand new, expensive wheels on your current car - you might look for new cars with similar wheel patterns. The same goes for Vista - if you've got stuff that you can't live without you'll have to do your shopping with that in mind. FWIW - there are several ways to "force" things to work on Vista (it's what the beta testers had to figure out before there were "Vista compatible" applications) - but that's a whole 'nother subject. -------------------- - John
**If you need a more detailed explanation, please ask for it. I have the Knack. ** BTW - the avatar pic is a camel as it looks back at me while I'm in the saddle (and he wasn't happy!) |
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Nov 3 2007, 09:06 AM
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#7
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 Who is running the store? Group: Members Posts: 1,944 Joined: 26-November 05 From: Tampa Bay Area, Florida, USA Member No.: 42,052 |
I've been using the final release of Vista since it was, uh, finally released. (I used some of the Beta stuff, too, but it's only the final version that should be compared to other final OS's, in my opinion.)
In general, the "I hate it", "I won't use it", "it's worse than XP" comments are pretty much on a par with the same type comments when XP came out, and when WinMe came out and when W98 came out, and when W95 came out, and when Windows itself was first introduced "over DOS" and that's not counting the various other minor version of those major versions when comparing them to the previous MS OS. Bottom line is for most folks (with exceptions as noted in previous posts), Vista is better and since it is the current MS OS, it will continue to improve, just like the other's did. From a hardware perspective, it sure looks like both Intel and AMD are going to focus on multi-core CPUs - dual and quad core today - and Vista uses these multi-core chips more efficiently than XP, and further improvements to Vista will most likely improve on this capability. --------------------  I know you think you understand what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant! |
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Nov 5 2007, 12:03 PM
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 New Member Group: Members Posts: 13 Joined: 5-November 07 From: Michigan Member No.: 167,681 |
You won't believe all the falsehoods I read about Vista, such as it wouldn't play my downloaded MP3s and videos and would call the MPAA and RIAA on me if I tried. Well, it plays them. What I did run into though, was major problems with WAV files. I found out later it's because Vista doesn't come with all the codecs for WAVs that all the previous versions of Windows did. I downloaded a codec pack as well as WavePad to resave older WAV files into the newer Vista-friendly format.
The one thing I really hate is this file permissions crap. I tried to get Vista to stop indexing my HDD, only to be told I had to have "permission" to do this. Now, that means I'll have to wrestle with that UAC crap (which I disabled) just to get my HDD to stop indexing. How annoying! Other than that, Vista seems no better or worse than XP. -------------------- Toshiba Satellite X205-S7483, Intel Centrino Core2 Duo 1.7 GHz, 2 GB SDRAM, nVidia GeForce 8700M GT 256 MB VRAM, RealTek HD Audio, x2 120 GB HDD, Windows Vista Home Premium x86 SP 1, Avast Antivirus 4.8 Home Edition, Firefox 3.0.1, Thunderbird 2.0.0.16, Pidgin 2.4.3, Winamp 5.541, 56 k dialup (burn, baby, burn)
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Nov 6 2007, 06:21 AM
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#9
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Still visually handicapped, new avatar :0) Group: Global Moderator Posts: 15,531 Joined: 2-October 05 From: Southeastern CT, USA Member No.: 35,824 |
For indexing issues I've found several solutions:
1) Start...Control Panel (Classic View)...Indexing Options...use the Modify and Advanced buttons to turn things off 2) Start...type in "services.msc" (without the quotes)...scroll down to the Indexing Service (if it's there) and set it to "Disabled", then scroll down to the Windows Search Service and set it to disabled. 3) Start...Control Panel (Classic View)...Programs and Features...Turn Windows Features On or Off (in the left hand sidebar)...uncheck the Indexing Service -------------------- - John
**If you need a more detailed explanation, please ask for it. I have the Knack. ** BTW - the avatar pic is a camel as it looks back at me while I'm in the saddle (and he wasn't happy!) |
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