Windows Vista: Should I wait for Windows 7 or move on to Vista now?
- 1/16/09 4:11 PM
Can you not read?
by clay58 - 1/25/09 7:23 AM In reply to: Why do you need an OS upgrade? by stringboyHe has Windows 2000 not XP.
About Window Vista
by Carl Harland - 1/20/09 6:50 PM In reply to: Should I wait for Windows 7 or move on to Vista now? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I purchased the new Window Vista and installed it in my computer and tryed to figure out the control panel and it wasn't worth the money I spent I had Dell remove it and reinstalled Window XP Home and will wait to see how the new Window 7 will be I hope that the Control Panel will be like Window XP because you can set it up like you want to and know what you are doing
too many opinions
by sdpate - 1/20/09 7:10 PM In reply to: About Window Vista by Carl Harlandthere are too many opinions to make any sense of...just compute and forget it.
7 Control Panel is just like Vista
by stringboy - 1/20/09 9:12 PM In reply to: About Window Vista by Carl HarlandSorry to say, but MS has basically told us to get used to it or find something else.
Vista can be configured for XP menus!
by cytherian - 1/22/09 9:45 PM In reply to: About Window Vista by Carl HarlandSome of you have stated that the Vista interface confused you and so you abandoned it for XP... but apparently you didn't realize that you can select "Classic" views for many of the screens. They take on the same XP pattern. I've done this on my laptop, because I need a more "advanced" view. It works great!
That's right
by RotoRooterGuy - 1/24/09 4:43 PM In reply to: Vista can be configured for XP menus! by cytherianAs I recall, when XP came out it had the new interface, that is, different than what was on Win98. I immediately set my computers to use "classic" because I was used to the Windows interface from back in the 3.1 days.
Sad fact is that many, many users don't know how to set even the most basic of Windows interface features.
That's why I said in my other post that while everyone can talk about RAM, etc., what people need to consider is the total cost in man hours and dollars is when upgrading to Vista.
But none of this will ever matter since most people don't have the time nor inclination to learn about computers and software. Can't blame them since there is a lot we "experts" take for granted as being "basic" stuff, but to 90% of computer users garners comments like "How did you do that, how do you know so much?" when I am simply setting up Windows XP to work in classic mode or changing their wallpaper. LOL.
Some people can't read
by clay58 - 1/21/09 6:32 PM In reply to: Should I wait for Windows 7 or move on to Vista now? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
344 replies and most of them are thoughtful answers. Although there were some people who did not even take the time to read you are running Windows 2000. I would bet you have heard enough opinions on this issue.
Go Ahead And Take The VISTA Plunge!
by Clemmie3 - 1/21/09 7:00 PM In reply to: Should I wait for Windows 7 or move on to Vista now? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I agree with Waytron's assessment that there's ALWAYS something new on the horizon, no matter what you buy or when you buy it. If you're having troubles with your current, and admittedly 'long in the tooth' system, it's time to go ahead and replace it.
A few years back, I faced a similar dilemma with a Windows ME-era laptop - which worked well enough I decided I would just skip the XP generation and move up again with its successor (Vista). As we know, XP wound up getting an extended run (well beyond the usual 3-year cycle) while Microsoft worked on improving security. Vista was thus delayed several times - which could happen with Windows 7 as well. The lesson here: Don't count on when it's coming out, until it actually comes out.
The delays in Vista's introduction dragged on long enough, that the old ME machine finally died, forcing me to abandon my wait for Vista and buy an XP replacement. (Coincidental timing, but just two days later they announced that Vista was finally coming out, a few months later - and to my relief, I learned I had bought the XP laptop on the FIRST day of eligibility for the free upgrade program.)
Within a few days, curiosity about what Vista had to offer over XP just totally overwhelmed me. Having by then established it would be 4-5 months before I got the free upgrade on the then-new laptop, I decided to enroll my 'bootleg' XP home computer as a 'final beta' tester for Vista.
Upon installing the beta, I was immediately impressed by all of the improvements and expanded capabilities. Once the upgrade became available for the laptop, I've been running purely on Vista ever since - with far fewer problems than earlier Windows versions, even as Vista has aged. The automatic updating has kept it current.
So I would recommend going ahead NOW with a well-speced Vista machine, with expandability for later. Vista is very much worth having, especially when coming up from pre-XP generations - and with the market being soft due to the economy, there are many excellent deals to be found now on well-speced Vista equipment. Shop around for the best deal, and buy all the computer you can afford - maximum processor speed, RAM, and hard drive capacity.
My belief is that if Windows 7 rolls out on schedule - about 3 years after Vista came out - it probably will not be the sort of 'quantum leap' from Vista, that Vista is/was from XP and earlier versions. More like the normal evolutions that took place with XP and prior versions.
It will be easier to move to Vista now, with the possibility of some upgrading 'somewhere down the road' - than to keep pushing your current system until it's dead, and have to start over from scratch.
In my case, my normal replacement cycle for the Laptop (which is now my only computer) will have me shopping later this year - about the time Windows 7 is due out - so I might adjust the schedule slightly as the time draws closer, depending on the latest announcements. But if this computer died on me tomorrow, or Windows 7 gets delayed a while, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another well-speced Vista machine.
Great post.
by RotoRooterGuy - 2/22/09 2:24 PM In reply to: Go Ahead And Take The VISTA Plunge! by Clemmie3Your's is spot on in what I think is the main issue for anyone upgrading, OLD MACHINES.
IMHO 90% of Americans use old machines until they die out or they are are forced to get a new computer (failure, machine is clogged with viruses, adware, hard disk full or corrupted).
With the recession (and upcoming depression?) people will be holding on to their computers even longer than the four year average, maybe six to seven years. People will be making do with desktops and notebooks running XP.
The downturn also caused Vista to suffer.
Anyway, all of Vista's criticisms can be pointed to one thing, people trying to use Vista on an old PC, or a new PC user trying to get a new PC to work with old software and peripherals (a drivers issue).
90% of computer users don't understand the concept of "drivers" or software updates, much less minimum system requirements to make the computer, as they would say, "go fast."
End result: Vista flops.
I wrote a magazine article answering the question "Should Your Office Upgrade To Vista?" I said "hell no."
The main reasons were that those 90% of users can't spend the 100 or so hours required to update an old machine, peripherals and software to work with Vista, the cost would far exceed the cost of the Vista OS and that they better be prepared to lose the use of older equipment and software for which there are no Vista updates (the developer or manufacturers not providing any).
I say all this based on the 50 or so friends, colleagues, and relatives who have enlisted (and begged) for help on fixing their old computers.
How basic are these people? One was an engineer on the job for 35 years. He called in a state of panic because his computer would not boot and he had been trying to fix the problem for three hours. Actually, his wife called because he was too proud to call me. Problem fix: The message on his screen indicated he had a 3.5" floppy in the drive. LOL. Floppy ejected, PC reboots. Time he spent on phone with me before fix, two minutes. Time lecturing him on what happened, 30 minutes.
Check the OS specs thoroughly
by angbob43 - 1/23/09 4:13 PM In reply to: Should I wait for Windows 7 or move on to Vista now? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Check the OS specs carefully to be sure it can do everything you expect. Be sure MS hasn't removed some function you rely on. You might have to compare specs like a lawyer, looking for omitted features. For example, XP Home has FAX; Vista Home Premium does not. If you have better ways of spending your time than studying OS specs, you take your chances.
Advising my readers to continue w/ XP & wait for W7
by RotoRooterGuy - 1/24/09 4:34 PM In reply to: Should I wait for Windows 7 or move on to Vista now? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I write tech articles for a lawyers' magazine. Next month's article is tentatively titled "Should I Upgrade To Vista?" I suspect most office and home users are the same as lawyers, so I will post my “outline” for the article in here.
My bottom line will be "absolutely not." I will be advising readers to continue using XP and wait for about a year AFTER Win 7 is released to consider upgrading to it.
My main bone to pick with Vista is the time it takes to hunt down driver and program updates, to install all the necessary ones, having to buy updates, and losing use of some favorite programs for which there were no updates. From my experience, Vista requires too much time to upgrade, even if things go smoothly. Of course, it can get very expensive too if software vendors charge for the Vista version of a program.
Moreover, lawyers don't have a lot of it to devote to computer stuff [most California lawyers are in small offices, not the large firms where there is an IT dept.] Attorneys are notorious for not being up-to-date on computers and peripherals. They use printers that are 7 years old, old network cards, and programs like Office 97.
Heck, last year I saw a ten-lawyer firm still using Windows ME!! They did NOT even have DVD drives so they could access a DVD with data that I had sent to their office. And these guys made about $4 million on one case that settled last year. But they, like most lawyers, don't use that money to upgrade computers.
Despite all this, there are a lot of lawyers wondering if they should run out to the store and buy Vista. As the saying goes, it would be the most expensive $100++ they ever spent.
And from what I have read, few people have talked much about the total hours it takes to update programs and drivers. Nor have I seen much talk about the bottom line cost to someone who has had to pay for a Vista versions of all programs that require such or the cost of a new peripheral because the old printer, for example, does not work with Vista. And God help someone who tries to install Vista on an older PC. And no, the solution is not to tell these people to get a new computer, programs and peripherals.
There are other factors, IMHO, that causes Vista to not pass my smell test:
The bulk of publicity on Vista has been negative.
MS is now publicizing they are coming out with Win 7.
There's 4 million ++ beta users, so far. That's so many it's almost a launch.
The deadline for MS support of XP has been extended.
Independent off-the-shelf sales of Vista OS have probably tanked.
Buyers are asking for XP on their new systems instead of Vista.
Computer sellers have XP driver versions available to consumers who want reformat their drives to get rid of Vista and install XP. [e.g., Lenovo series of notebooks. Demand had to be high to go through that expense.]
Most "sales" of Vista have probably been on new computer purchases.
MS income is down.
MS is laying off employees.
With the economy tanking I suspect computer sales have really hurt MS sales of Vista to computer manufacturers.
This all tells me that MS is sending out a message, "Vista sucks, we know it, but we are coming out with Win 7, so hang in there folks." Why else would MS take action that kills sales of Vista?
This all seems a perfect storm for reasons why Win 7 is being publicized, “launched,” and talked about.
Also seems the perfect storm on why users should stick with XP.
lawyers
by Brons2 - 1/25/09 9:33 PM In reply to: Advising my readers to continue w/ XP & wait for W7 by RotoRooterGuyYou mean they should stick to XP even if they are that far along?
I've supported some legal staff over the years that were attached to the hip with their old WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS, the old dark blue screen Word Perfect. They just didn't want to give it up. And they have an attitude about it since they're lawyers, they don't want to conform to what the rest of the company is doing.
Why not try XP?
by frustrated bigtime - 1/25/09 7:04 AM In reply to: Should I wait for Windows 7 or move on to Vista now? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Walmart is offering computers with XP again because of so many complaints with Vista. I have XP and love it after moving up from Windows ME. Not one single problem with it in a year and a half, knock on wood. My brother purchased a package with XP only a few weeks ago at a great price at Walmart. Other stores may also be offering XP? Good luck, I know how painful it is to turn loose of a system you are used to :o)
Who or What is Really to Blame?
by waytron - 1/25/09 8:34 AM In reply to: Should I wait for Windows 7 or move on to Vista now? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
There has been so much Vista bashing that it is hard to sort out the difference between fact and fiction as well as what or who or is really responsible for all the problems. Since Vista Service Pack 1, I personally have no real problem with Windows Vista in general, however it does require a fairly decent computer with plenty of memory and don’t expect to use it with a lot of older peripherals and software without problems. This is not to say that I don’t have any beefs with Microsoft. Why in the world would anyone introduce both a new operating system and a new Office Suite at roughly the same time where both are visually so completely different from past versions and not offer an option to switch to an original classic view? And why would you not focus your technical resources on the 2 things that most everyone really wants? A Fast Boot Time and Quick Internet Access. As long as the system doesn’t ask a bunch of questions that no one understands, Shuts down Quickly and does not crash, most everyone will be happy.
WHERE IS THE REAL PROBLEM? - I receive my fair share of complains every day from clients that say they absolutely hate their new Vista computer and upon questioning as to what they don’t like about it, it often turns out that it is the new office 2007 that they don’t like and not Vista at all. Many less sophisticated users don’t totally understand the difference between the Operating System and the applications (and why should they). All they know is that the thing is completely different from what they are accustomed to and they can even find the print menu.
MICROSOFT IS NOT THE ONLY ONE AT FAULT - Yes, Vista had many early problems, many of which were due to the lack of drivers for old hardware and as well as software updates compatible with Vista. I place a large portion of the blame on the Software and Hardware manufacturers and their reluctance to provide upgraded drivers and patches. Instead, many of them decided to simple insist that users purchase all new hardware and software. To add insult to injury, computer manufacturers suddenly decided that we did not need a parallel port or Mouse and keyboard ports which was a surprise to many computer users when they tried to connect up there old printer. Besides, I think they knew that we would all just blame Microsoft. Which we did… Everyone was greedy.
WHAT IS WINDOWS 7 ANYWAY - I have been using Windows 7 Beta for a little while now and from everything I can see SO FAR, this is really more like Windows Vista Service Pack 2 or maybe SP3. It looks, feels and tastes just like Vista. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck… It is still early, but it does seem a little faster and more responsive. I see no real reason to hold out for Windows 7 although I would probably recommend waiting until an upgrade to 7 is offered for free (maybe July 2009). Having said that, if you have a lot of old hardware and software that you want to continue using, then your best bet is to order a computer with Windows XP on it.
Dana
Wayland Computer
Just got a call.
by RotoRooterGuy - 2/22/09 6:15 PM In reply to: Who or What is Really to Blame? by waytronFrom someone who read my article on getting XP on her notebook that came with Vista. She says over the past year she has had problems with it.
This brings to mind the "holier than thou" crowd on here who choose to deride those for not understanding operating systems and want their computers to, well... simply WORK.
The way I see it, tech type people or those who are computer literate are way in the minority, on the planet and even in these forums.
You can insult people on here who in your opinion have strayed off topic or who knock Vista (and look with skepticism the upcoming Windows 7, at least for the year after its introduction).
Seems to me that insulting 90% of the people out there for not being computer literate or not willing to work hours on end to fix computer problems misses the point, 90% of the people on earth (aka consumers) don't know about computers and will not, despite insults and condescension, ever take the time to learn tech and how to proficiently operate their PCs, including chasing down problems and fixing issues.
In fact, as an example, everyone who calls me for tech help don't care to understand why they are having a problem, a lecture on good computer habits, nor even the details on how I am going about fixing their problems. All they want me to do is get their friggin computers working.
They especially don't want a lecture on computer history nor for me to tell them that the fix is to get a better computer (most people in this throwaway society know that you can buy anything to replace something that is on the fritz).
So to those of you (not this poster) with your nose up in the air and a "let them eat cake" attitude, stop it. 90% of America does not care to hear it. 
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