Buzz Out Loud Lounge forum: Silent Vista-loving majority?

My issues at this point are,

that many of the work-a-rounds/fixes are only 97% effective,

purchasing new equipment still requires making sure it is vista compatible and backwards compatible with at least XP,

and worrying about service packs making the newly purchased peripherals inoperative.

I installed Vista 64 on a new home built pc over one year ago. I have had NOT ONE, NONE, NADA, significant issue to date. I found drivers for all of my peripherals and everything runs like a champ. Applications that didn't run perfecty, Adobe reader and ITunes (since removed), I found work arounds for. I don't blame MS for the problems with those apps, I blame lazy Apple and Adobe for not getting their products up to speed.

UAC would be fine with a little tuning, allow admins to set exceptions for things that we don't want to be prompted for all the time. Yes I know you can turn it off but that defeats the purpose.

Vista is bloated, I give the MS haters that, but it is the MOST stable MS OS to date. I would like to see MS make a stripped down version of its next OS, similar to what MS is doing with the Server 2008 line of products. Allow the user to add the pieces they want when they want them. MS needs to go all 64Bit and dump the 32Bit versions and push computing forward.

All in all Vista runs just fine for me but you need the proper hardware to run it.

I am definately not one of those who has anything positive to say about Vista. I have experienced just about every one of the problems that the masses have complained about. The other day, I discovered one good thing about Microsoft's latest Beta release we call Vista... free tech support from Microsoft.

Last week I installed SP1 and the boot time extended from a poor three minutes to about 15 minutes. I could not find any information online as to how to fix this problem. Frustrated, I went to the Vista support site and to my great surprise discovered that unlike previous versions of Windows, MS offers free tech support via online chats. My agent, (in India, I think), spent nearly two hours with me and eventually fixed the problem. He even called me after the session ended to make sure I was happy.

This is not the Microsoft that we all know so well. You know, the one that is always trying to pry a few more dollars from its customers by charging for support of defective software. Kudos to you Microsoft. Lets hope that this is a new policy trend.

I'm happy enough with it. I'm getting slightly more stability than XP. I'm not noticing any performance trade off and find graphic image handling a little friendlier.

I purchased a new Toshiba laptop in the Fall of 2007 and it came with Vista. [My other laptop was XP.] I actually did not start using the new PC until Jan 2008 and had quite a few problems at first with peripheral software, etc. However with a little bit of research and installation of driver upgrades, I have been using it for 3 months without any problems at all. I've never been 'in love' with any OS, so I'll stop short of saying I'm a silent Vista-loving user, but I'm very pleased with it.

I've used Vista for over a year. At first it took some getting used to but once learned, it works great. What I like about it is if new drivers and software updates are needed, Vista lists them for you to download, In addition Vista sends Microsft a list of problems encountered and Microsoft then fixes the problem if you have automatic updates.

As far as day to day use- no problems but the anomolies are just wired/ New Sony VAIO laptop top of th eline 4 gig ram even use Express card for Turbo boost of 4 GIG.
1> Wish speed was better- you do get the feel that this is bloatware to a point with a DOS command line underneath all the fun stuff.
2> When I right click on a file I have to wait like 3 seconds for the menu to come up? WTF?
3> When I go to defrag my hard drive the defrag shows its working but can stay on for a couple of days (I did this) and it didnt finish. But my hard drive works perfectly.WTF II
4> After years of getting us to revolve our worlds around "My Documents" of XP why change that in Vista? MS talked us into that now talks us out of it.

Also I think there is a huge lack of forward thinking with aproject so ambitious- after all the big brains at MS and the billions spent and the billion lines of code why cant I pick and choose my right click menus to suit the way I WANT TO WORK? They are fixed and for the life of me I cant figure out why.
5> Also why cant I COLOR FILE NAMES IN EXPLORER? such as hey Jim Im sending you a USB stick ONLY TAKE THE FILES THAT ARE GREEN! Or my recently used files or folders would automagically be in Red or the color of my choosing.

I have lists of other things that an OS should do but the above two should just be standard out of the box stuff after all this time and money. Is Vista better than OS X? Naw OSX just seems so buttoned down- yes they have problems too (I havent though) but its not that far behind either. Ill keep using it and I still like the concept at least of the start button.

Ths is the best operating system Microsoft has produced.

Vista is the Best-est OS developed by Microsoft. Keep it up Microsoft.
Every thing in Vista is so easy to use and full of shortcuts. Windows Fire Wall and Windows Defender are so Powerful. I deliberately tried to infect my PC but Firewall removed it.
HP 6040in
Vista Home Premium
200Gb HDD
1 GB RAM
Core 2 Duo 4300 1.8Ghz

I have been using Vista for a year and at the point of purchase was was extremely close to buying a MAC. I started my own business and most business advisors said that I would be smart to stick with a PC. I did, and it came with Vista. I then went on to get the full MS Office 2007 package, and I then went on to get into MS Office Live. My business is flourishing, my computer is my business and Vista's features in tandem with Microsoft's prudcuts have really been a blessing. My business runs on Vista. www.solidginc.com

I'm a software dev and I like Vista. I liked it from the start because I understand what it does. Why do I like it:

- It forces better application development practices. Want to know why your old apps don't run properly on Vista? They were poorly designed, writing to the Program Files structure or parts of the registry where it was not supposed to. These applications assumed the user had administrative credentials and did what they wanted because the OS allowed it. This make pre-Vista Windows a dream for hackers and virus creators

- Aliasing. This one allows different users to look at the "same" file and see different things. Of course if you don't know how windows does this trick it can drive you nuts, but it allows for a per-user customizable experience even if the application is poorly written and does not account for user specific settings.

- Security. I know Apple made a joke of this, but have you ever used Linux where the the root account has been disabled (recommended security model), its the same thing. People cannot complain that Windows needs to be more Linuz and then complain when they implement a better security model. Try and hack Vista, try and get a virus to spread on vista - its pretty darn hard unless they turn of UAC

The bottom line is that Vista itself is not to blame, but rather years of bad programming that exploited the open model of pre-Vista windows

Vista was on my machine when I bought it and found myself as one of the pioneering users at the time of its release. For me it's as intuitive as XP with just enough additional ease of navigation that makes it unique. It continues to protect my information (I hope... that's right Bill Gates, don't abuse me!) and keep everything organized the way I like it.

So there ya go! My flag is also raised in support of the silent Vista loving community.

I have had Vista Home Premium since it first came out. I have had no problems with it. My only concern is that it takes so long to shut down. Maybe I am doing something wrong, but as far as the OS goes, it has been perfect for me.

I've been using Vista since the day it came out (quite literally), and have had virtually no problems with it whatsoever. Back in the day, when I first bought XP (about a year after it came out), I had far more bugs that had to be worked out with time. With the new security enhancements and debugging features, this IT repairman wishes ALL of his clients were on Vista.
Also, if you are a Tablet-PC guy, Vista is the only logical option.
Go Vista!

As one of New England's top field techs, I get asked this question at least 3 times a week. And it is a valid question. BUT, every time I ask that particular end user what problems 'They have had', they can't list any and just say 'My friend said'. I tell them I have been using Vista since it's release and even earlier with the Beta versions. It is a safe and stable OS. I rarely if ever crash. My main PC is running Vista Ultimate 64 bit with an AMD 4000+, 4 GB RAM, 2-500 GB SATA Drives, and ATI HD2600PRO and about 10 USB type peripherals. Been a workhorse for me. Virus? Spyware? Not a chance with Vista with the User Account Access control active. No executables get to run without my permission. Not a single file, registry entry or dll. Nothing.

Now as for the problems that have been associated with Vista, I can honestly tell you, 98% of the time it's not Vista's fault. If you plug in an HP printer, do you understand that you can not use the XP drivers to make them work? They have to be Vista. How about that awesome video camera you use to chat with your family on the other side of the country, same problem? No Vista drivers? Do you blame Microsoft? No, you don't. Microsoft did not make those peripherals and and the blame falls to each particular manufacturer of the product. The prerelease (Beta) of Vista was available for years prior to the public release and if those respective manufacturers did not take that opportunity to make Vista drivers for you, then they are to blame, not Microsoft.

Now don't get me wrong, I like Apple OS X just as much as I like Microsoft Windows, but the topic at hand is about Vista. I am not getting paid for this and it is only my opinion but definitely a experienced and educated one. Microsoft has a master plan that every eight years, they WILL be releasing a new version of Windows. They are already working on the next version. though still in its infancy. Windows as well as Apple must adapt to the ever changing market and have to create better, stronger and faster OS's. They will continue to make these OS's despite the market's low sales because of that master plan. XP will not be supported forever by Microsoft so if you do decide to continue to use XP which you can, you only need to find a local 'geek' to come and assist you with it. I am not telling you to go out right now and buy Vista, on the contrary, you can run XP forever. I still have a few customers that are still running Windows 98. It it works for you, great!! Who am I to judge. As long as each of those people understand the risks, it is ultimately their decision.

In summary, Vista has been a great addition to the Windows family. Though it looks, feels and acts differently under your mouse, the change is really mostly visual. The same components are there just changed to either make them easier to use or troubleshoot. If you are thinking of upgrading to Vista, the most important thing to remember is driver compatibility. From the chipset on your motherboard to the USB printer, run the Vista Upgrade Advisor to make sure your system is capable of supporting Vista. Still not sure, go to your friends house who has Vista and check it out. Yes, the one who initially said it 'sucked', LOL.