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Buzz Out Loud Lounge: Silent Vista-loving majority?
Vista eventually won me over!
by snowcrashuk - 5/8/08 1:36 AM In reply to: Silent Vista-loving majority? by chustarI 1st started using Vista in the beta test stages with many many problems, obviously that's the point of testing a new OS to try to test it in as many different PC configurations. I have to admit to prefering XP until recently. with all the updates and fixes and now SP1 I finally went back to vista when I built a new PC, I wanted to have 8Gb RAM to go with my quad core CPU etc so I bought Vista Ultimate x64 so the system would recognise the full 8Gb, only problems I've had so far is that some software i wanted to use didn't like the 64bit operating system, but nothing major so all is good! I think these days the only reason I'd use XP would be on an older system ( when i repair a friends PC or whatever!) simply because of the different demands that vista puts on system resources.
I used to tell people to avoid Vista until it was sorted out, but now I think it pretty much has been sorted out for most issues and providing the system can handle it I'd recommend it! In my opinion most problems people are encountering is when they try to upgrade an older system that can only just handle vista.
Just my opinion based on my own experiences with the XP/Vista cross over period.
Upgraded two PC's well, but new system better for some...
by rdunn - 5/8/08 1:36 AM In reply to: Silent Vista-loving majority? by chustarI've upgraded both desktop and notebook to Vista (see below), and I usually recommend that non-tech users get Vista with a new machine (a new -good- machine, not 'cheapware').
For my desktop...
I had to wait 5 months for my promised Vista upgrade copy... and even though I'd run the upgrade advisor, I forgot about my incompatible firewall software (still only recently updated for Vista)... so when I went to upgrade my six month old eMachine desktop, it got caught in an endless reboot loop. Took a little effort to rectify that and get the offending application disabled... good thing for my tech experience. Then the over-the-top-of-XP upgrade finished well and I never looked back.
I was so impressed with the level of auto-fixing for driver updating or whatnot... it was just nice to see the OS fix things instead of myself hunting down everything. I'm still not running the new 'compatible' firewall software (I'm on a NAT router and using the Windows firewall and an antivirus and spyware scanners, etc)... 'cause installation of that firewall software isn't as effortless as previous versions... so I'm waiting... I'm protected well enough for the time being... probably time to try again, since I recently saw a website parrot back my OS/IE I.D.'s, etc.
I have, however, disabled the Windows Search service... the damn thing would chronically take over foreground priority and I couldn't use the keyboard/mouse except in extreme molasses mode. There is -nothing- more irritating than some background process usurping control from you. Too, sometimes my hard drive goes nuts and it's a pain to find out what the heck is using the disk so furiously and so long. But, so I don't have 'fast' searches, big deal... search still works and gets me what I need when I need to use it. And... I've had an occasional USB_BUGCODE_Driver error BSOD... but perhaps less so, after SP1.
For my 2? year old eMachine notebook...
I hesitated to upgrade the older notebook, fearing driver incompatibilities or such. Eventually it was time, so I installed Vista OEM as a new installation, keeping my hard drive format and XP files, rather than an over-the-top-of-XP upgrade. It was pretty much flawless, and I was again impressed with Vista... it just ran great and took care of updates, etc.
Also, a friend of mine bought a new super Dell PC and forgot to specify XP... soon after he received it, he was glad he did.
Vista offers a lot, in the so-called 'pretty' user interface. It's not just cosmetic. But... there is a learning curve... they can't help but change how you do things, and where they are accessed. After learning, you appreciate the new OS... there's always some feature done better elsewhere, but Vista has its own strengths... except for rabid ABM'ers (Anyting But Microsoft).
Apple makes good stuff too... but at a premium usually.
apple makes good stuff.... but...
by Sinixstar - 5/8/08 1:45 AM In reply to: Upgraded two PC's well, but new system better for some... by rdunnApple makes some decent stuff as well - but i very distinctly remember the exact same complaints leveled at them when OSX was released.
In fact, OSX was based on the BSD core - and apple in thier infinite superiority - never bothered to go through and apply common security patches to that core before it was shipped out.
OSX hit the shelves with security flaws that had been known and fixed for years, in some cases decades.
Nevermind the fact that many many people had problems with applications not working in OSX, machines not running it properly, etc.
It was virtually the same scenario people are facing with vista today. Yet somehow Apple is the all-knowing savior, and MS is the evil evil empire. please.
Home Premium
by rdunn - 5/8/08 1:52 AM In reply to: Upgraded two PC's well, but new system better for some... by rdunnP.S. I used Vista Home Premium, my friend got Ultimate.
I don't care for crippleware 'Basic' versions.... or PC vendors' bloatware bad software configurations... removing that excess trialware and user b.s. is the first thing I do... didn't have to with my Vista upgrades. Ed Bott has an article on making a bad Toshiba factory release run as it should have, without the packaged b.s. from the vendor.
I run my Vista systems with little frustration so I can't agree with MS bashers, Apple and Linux devotees who denigrate MS. To each your own, there's always something to frustrate, dislike, point out. Sometimes it's sofware, sometimes drivers, sometimes hardware... and sometimes... people don't try, or have a tech to do so. MS supports a lotta legacy and that can be a fault. PC Vendors fill their systems with 'extras' that just don't help oftentimes. Some things get needlessly more complex when OS/software/hardware vendors try to 'dumb down' the user experience. Live and learn.
Vista and Server 2008 have excellent Kernels
by heirdrier - 5/8/08 1:56 AM In reply to: Upgraded two PC's well, but new system better for some... by rdunnI have no issues with most of Windows 6.x.
Enterprise servers will be using the 'Vista' core (ntos6) kernel for some years to come. E.g. Small Business Server 2008 and the zillions of other MS 'server' products. Under the hood its the same engine.
What happens though, in the retail market for families and home users, is those add-ons/toolbars & drivers can be poorly written code - this takes the shine off the OS for mom, dad & the kids.
The only crazy component that MS forced into this version (and IMHO should *not* have) is registry and file virtualization 'feature' of UAC!
If you own Vista and have problems then this MS KB article is a MUST read.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/927387
New programs should not have these issues. However thousands of "latest versions" of this and that sortware/shareware out there today, *DO* have the very issues discussed in that article. I could name 5 instantly and some are big name products - but that wouldn't be nice.
Have a read of the artice - if you don't burst out laughing at Scenario 2 then you have a problem with you sense of humor. 
Cheers!
Build your own
by brandy09 - 5/8/08 2:26 AM In reply to: Upgraded two PC's well, but new system better for some... by rdunnWell I built my own PC and have put into it what hardware I wanted to run Vista Premium. I love Vista and remembering what a problem XP was when it first came out (so long ago people have forgotten the problems )and are now complaining about Vista. I bought Vista when it first came out and have not had a single problem, it is a good stable fresh looking platform far more secure than when XP came out, remember the security problems and updates for the first year of XP. Yes it does need more resources than XP but so did every other OS before Vista otherwise we would still running Pic's with 16k Ram and 10 mb hard disc.
My only disappointment with Vista is that I would really like to run 64bit which I did originally but reverted to 32bit as the software and drivers are not out there and that is not Microsoft's fault, it is the software publishers and the hardware manufactures responsibility.
Most of the problems are caused by people trying to run Vista on inadequate hardware for the platform and expecting it to perform well. Much of the blame also should be aimed towards the PC and laptop manufacturers who put it onto machines that would only cope well with XP and then customers had to re-download XP as the machine was not to Vista spec.
We all want the the newest OS but to have that we must ensure that the hardware is not only up to running it but has spare capacity so that it will run well.
Thanks Microsoft for a great Operating System
I like Vista x64
by baeyg - 5/8/08 1:44 AM In reply to: Silent Vista-loving majority? by chustarI've been using Vista since its beta release. Since hardware vendors have been unusually slow to supply Vista drivers, Vista had a tough time at the beginning, but with long-waited SP1 installed, I think things will be smoother for Vista. I understand people had really high hopes for Vista when it came out, but we shouldn't forget that even XP became truly secure and stable when SP2 came out. However, I wonder how Microsoft will treat the users of Vista when Windows 7 arrives.
Since I would like to fully utilize the hardware that I have, I am running Vista x64 in my desktop and laptop. These days every new hardware offers 64bit technology, and memory became really cheap. Because of Microsoft policy regarding Vista 64bit kernel, I feel more secure using Vista x64. Since I like to use virtual machines to be more secure in using internet, Vista x64 has been the best choice I've made although I cannot run Parallels with Vista x64. I am glad that I can take full advantage of hardware DEP with Vista, and I feel that BitLocker is going to be a wonderful technology for laptop users. I've never faced BOD with using Vista x64 that wasn't caused by faulty drivers or hardware, so I feel that Vista x64 is really stable. Hence, I really enjoy the experience with Vista x64.
Having said that, I hope that Creative Labs and Sony could be more active on assisting 64bit users. Using X-Fi with Vista x64 has been pain in the butt because of the below-average quality drivers. Also, because Sony doesn't officially support 64bit drivers and disabled VT & AHCI for its laptops, I had to google a lot to get Sony 64bit drivers and VT enabled. I don't understand why Sony doesn't let users to take the advantage of good technology. If Sony wants to make laptops to act as appliances, they should let users to make choices more easily and shouldn't make users to become rocket scientists.
I wonder how the DRM in Vista will play a role in the future since it's a double-edge sword. For the users of Vista, I hope that Vista doesn't become a transition OS to Windows 7. Finally, I hope people don't blindly bash Vista and healthily discuss about strengths and weaknesses of Vista.
Vista Ultimate
by Kiwichar - 5/8/08 2:15 AM In reply to: Silent Vista-loving majority? by chustarI bit the bullet, and purchased a new computer from Dell, and went for Vista Premium. Absolutely no problems at all. My husband just bought a laptop, went for Vista business, extremely happy with it..one regret? he is sorry he did not get ultimate. I have always found upgrades for all my programmes etc, But there again, I dont use my computer for any business activities. graphics etc are super with vista.
Charmain
Vista Is Great....One Thing Tho'
by woids - 5/8/08 2:15 AM In reply to: Silent Vista-loving majority? by chustarI can't complain about Vista truth be known. I have had no problems with it since I switched from XP in December 2007.
There is one issue tho on my Vista Ultimate desktop.....my screensaver sometimes freezes on my desktop which first prompted me to have to restart my computer. After it happened again earlier this month I just turned off the screensaver option.
Other than that I think Vista is great
I'm loving it
by thaimichael - 5/8/08 2:25 AM In reply to: Silent Vista-loving majority? by chustarI have had Vista Ultimate 32 installed on my main machine for about 1 year now. It saved me from a nasty spyware infection with the system rollback feature. Had it been XP would have been reformatting. Same infection killed 25 other machines where I was working at the time all had to be reformated. Also been very stable and very little crashes or lockups. Overall my uptime has increased.
Loving Vista?
by Trueash - 5/8/08 2:25 AM In reply to: Silent Vista-loving majority? by chustarTo make a long story short, I do not use Vista, and do not even intend to use it. I understand, it would be too painful to hate something that you shelled out over 300 dead presidents for, so you HAVE TO make up reasons to justify the waste to yourself. But I don't care, really.
I'm not like most of you folks . . .
by jpoklar - 5/8/08 3:25 AM In reply to: Loving Vista? by TrueashI like using Vista because it doesn't give me wrist pain from too much ctrl-alt-delete.
I like Vista because it looks pretty.
I like Vista because what I want to do works more quickly than before.
I like Vista because when I make a mistake, I can "go back in time" with the restore function.
And that's all I have to say about that. The thing is: that's all most of us non-techies would have to say. If that much!
That said, all you tech folks need to open up your range of perceptions a little bit: most of the people in this world who use a computer just want it to do the very basic things they need it to do. Send email. Look at web sites. Write documents. If you don't believe this is true, my guess is that most of the people with whom you interact are just like you: folks with lots of technical knowledge. Please consider that most people in the world just aren't.
Lastly, I was intrigued by the title of this post when I read it in Lee's email. The use of the word "majority" . . . well, most computer users are probably not using Vista. But they will. Most of us just take whatever OS comes on the machine we can afford to buy. It's easy in an environment like cnet to forget that perhaps the real minority is folks who understand every nuance of new computer technology. But minority they are. So are Vista-lovers a silent majority? Not really silent; we just mostly don't read blogs at sites like CNET, so we'll never know you asked what we think.
Vista's okay with me...
by budapfel - 5/8/08 2:28 AM In reply to: Silent Vista-loving majority? by chustarI've been using Vista since it was in its beta versions. I've been using Vista Home Premium since it was released to the public. I've had a few minor issues here and there, but nothing serious. I like Vista's flashy little extras, and from what I've seen, it's no more buggy than XP was when it first came out. The kinks work themselves out over time.
Vista is schooling XP!!!
by MikeHolli - 5/8/08 2:59 AM In reply to: Vista's okay with me... by budapfelThat's RIGHT, I did say that to all you happy XP Yahoos!! Let me take you back to pre service pack 1 for XP. IF, and this was even iffy to those who, like myself had gotten it on new hardware. You wouldn't crashed and had to completely re-build your WinXP, applications, drivers, what pre service pack 1 updates, etc. But reading back to those old post we were crashing and burning, I even have transcripts from my OEM, and they getting frustrated with all the calls they were getting, and trouble shooting only to have to resign and tell their customer (myself at that time.) to contact Microsoft. Who didn't actually lie said "Sir, we're aware of the problem your having. Please bear with us as we ready to release Service Pack 1 to resolve all your issues." And as he said, they did resolve them. THERE SHOULDN'T OF BEEN ANY ISSUES ON BRAND NEW HARDWARE TO BEGIN WITH!!!!
Vista perfectly running, no crashes, smooth running Uptime 5 months 16 days, and still going.
vista loving majority
by cyronot - 5/8/08 2:37 AM In reply to: Silent Vista-loving majority? by chustarHi i have been using vista scince the 2nd beta release as i agree there has been some minor bugs but nothing that overly would make me stop using it . I have for the most part enjoyed the new os and will continue too use it on my new system that im building
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