Community poll forum: Will you be installing Windows Vista?

I was told NOT to install Windows Vista, as it is not compatible or supported by our software company at work. I manage a medical office and we purchased the Intergy practice management and EHR hardware/software by Sage, and we were told they wouldn't support any computers using Vista.

What does either program bring to the party? We are running Windows 2000 and Office 2003. Everything runs great! I haven't seen one feature in either that is a "must have." All of my hardware is running well even though some are a "little long of tooth."

I don't have to scour the internet for the latest fix to breath life back into another Microsoft effort to push their vision of personal computing down my throat.

If you want to see at what true functionality looks like.. load a WordPerfect suite. Compare the original version of Viso and compare it to the mess that Microsoft has made of the application.

If I wanted to live with bugs, I would start an ant-farm.

"No way! (Why not?)"

My feelings right now are that Vista sounds like Windows ME. An OS that was not ready, should not have been released until it was finished and is a reaction to the pressure to put out a more secure OS. Build a good product Microsoft. If you have to go proprietary on hardware and software like Apple does then do it.

I am a computer consultant for IBM Mainframe Computers and my PC contains a large number of programs provided by IBM and associated software companies which give me on-line access to the IBM operating system, CICS and many main-frame application programs for the purposes of performing Maintenance, Tuning and Customization procedures. Almost all of this software will not run under Vista and most companies supplying the software have no immediate plans to rewrite for Vista.
I am currently running Windows XP Professional and will probably have to continue running XP until all this software can be rewritten.

Ok, I've read all the doom and gloom about Vista and had pretty much fallen in to the mindset of "Yet Another MS Operating System" to worry about. I've used every Microsoft operating system since DOS 3.0 was NEW, with the exception of OS/2. So far, the Vista operating system is the most pleasant experience out of the box of any of them.

Some comment that "Our supplier won't support anything on a Vista machine" and that's a valid concern. One has to wonder though, is it the OS or do they just not have time to train their workers in a new product?

I had considered staying with XP when I bought a new computer a while back, but Dell no longer offered it. Also, I thought since the End of Support is coming for XP, why stay with something that's on its way out? So Vista it was. And I am very glad of it - the integration of all of the various functions is flawless.

Much of Vista would seem to be coupling it with the right hardware, as with any OS. Just as you don't run Windows XP on a 286 machine, you don't run Vista on a machine without the "horsepower" to do it. This machine of mine is an out-of-the-box Dell Inspiron 530, with 2 GB of RAM, dual-core processors at 2 Ghz. Works perfectly.

So my word to you is, despite my general mistrust of anything new from Microsoft, don't condem the OS until you've at least tried it. The only thing I've found that won't work on it so far is my outdated copy of Nero, and for $6 on Ebay, a new version that does is on the way.

Mark Magill
Coos Bay, Oregon USA

You wrote: "While I agree there are some things better with Vista, the amount of memory/juice/power it sucks up is for my money not worth the cost"

Reply : Good points, this machine though seems to have them in abundance and it is not an issue. I probably should have mentioned that this is Vista Home Premium running here, but in 2 GB of RAM and with the dual-core processor it has just all in all been a very pleasant experience. I'm behind a hardware firewall, so no problems there. Running a nice internet security suite from McAfee, so that seems OK there. The monitor that came with the Insiprion 530 is their standard 19" wide-screen digital, and the color and graphics seem amazing to me.

Perhaps you'd take a moment to tell me more about the "memory/juice/power it sucks up" - I've never run out of memory or even come close. About the biggest program I run is Adobe Creative Studio 2 and the MS Office / MS Publisher programs. Were you speaking of electrical power on "juice" - ? I need the heat in this cold room anyway...

I do hope you get back to this thread. Happy Thanksgiving to you and everyone else Out There, and I look forward to your reply.

Mark Magill
Coos Bay, Oregon USA

I recently bought a wonderful HP laptop that I just dearly love. For the money, you can't do better. Of course, for more money you can do better.

But it came loaded with Vista. Oh boy, where do I start?

I had done a lot of reading prior to buying and since. It all seems to be true. First, the operating system seems to be 4 to 5 times the size of XP Pro (which I really liked after it's all updated and tweaked). Talk about bloat! And it's terribly slow. Now this is on a fast Dual processor laptop that should zip. Forget any serious use with Vista. With no programs loaded or running, Vista still uses 60-70% of available memory. Oink! I'll have to go back to a Mac if this is the future of Windoze.

And the new high security system? For those who haven't used it yet, the new security system is merely a series of pop up windows that ask you if you want to do the action you just told the computer to do. THAT'S IT! Click...do you really want to do that...YES, I JUST CLICKED IT, IDIOT SYSTEM!!! Oh, Ok...Click...do you really want to do that....AARRGHHH!

And the new design of the whole system is not intuitive. And hard to figure out. It works against you constantly. In my work I use lot's of media files, graphics, etc. Man this system hates that. So I'm always having to search out getting permission to save, move and change files I'm currently working on. And that's while working in Administrative mode! Now, this can be defeated, but then what is the need for a new system if I'm just going to undo the features of the new system? What a mess.

There's a lot more too but not room here to discuss. The "Mac like" graphics are kind of cool, but certainly not worth using this OS for. So since I don't have much on the computer yet (mostly been using it for three months for email on the road), I'm planning on dumping Vista (MS, can I get a credit for this?) and installing my trusted and stable XP Pro which is fast, stable, easy, much smaller, and secure enough with the patches, my double firewalls, virus software, malware programs.....

My recommendation: DON'T DO IT !!! If you like XP Pro, buy you a new box, format the hard drive and do an install of XP. You'll be a lot happier!

Well, I have been using it. I am back to XP again. So, did I like it? NO. It looks nice, but too many problems with older applications and I think power consumption is far too high!

Yes, it will be replaced by the next major release of Windows just like XP has been replaced, and WIN 2000 behind that, etc.

When Vista is replaced we will hear how wonderful Vista is and how Microsoft messed up the new Windows 7 and how "I will never give up my Vista" for the new O/S.....and everyone screaming about downgrading back to Vista, etc. etc. etc. It happens every time a new O/S is rolled out.

I bought a Dell and since I did not have the extra $100 for WinXP I had to get Vista instead. When I did get the money for it, I got my own legal copy of WinXP. When I tried to install it I was pre-eptorally refused this option.

I do NOT like Vista. It is a resource hog, and I am still (after 7 or 8 months) trying to figure out WHO in their right minds thought it was more 'intuitive'. Button placement is screwy and many times frustrating as to where the dratted thing is. If I hit the mouse button too hard it does this stupid semi-minimizing thing that is more than irksome, tiresome and frustrating and stupid also. (I don't even know how to turn that off.)

Granted, it is PRETTIER, but in my opinion that isn't worth the hassles and frustrations of an entirely new OS.

I therefore am (eagerly) awaiting a BSOD so I can install WinXP.

DonP.

It is the worst thing that Microsoft has ever put on the market.

I must admit,I was quite disappointed with how little progress has been made in Windows vista, considering that it has been MS's only new OS release for the past 4 years or so. Among the disappointments:

1. The installer STILL doesn't support S-ATA right out of the box - you have to supply your own driver during installation (I would've guessed that they'd finally fix this one - linux doesn't have this problem)
2. The installer doesn't allow you to resize partitions, and does not clearly display options asking you for which filesystem you want to use (it just uses NTFS by deafult), nor does it ask you whether you want to make a primary, logical or extended partition
3. Windows XP drivers don't work in Vista. (Note: Most of the drivers have kindly been put up on the Windows Update website, so this isn't really that important unless you're missing a network card driver!!)
4. Even with Windows Aero disabled, it consumes more system resources, and my laptop (designed for XP) gets 2hrs battery life in Vista, compared to 2:30 hrs in XP.
5. There's such a thing as TOO MUCH security - user account control asks for a second confirmation every time you want to do something that can harm your computer (like setting the time, or modifying internet connection settings...)
6. Defragmenter does not show a visual diagram of your hard disk (you know, the display showing fragmented files, contiguous files etc.)
7. Sound recorder can now record directly into the .wma format (instead of .wav), but all the editing features present in the old sound recorder (and most of the functionality) have disappeared. The ONLY things the "new" sound recorder can do is RECORD, PLAY and SAVE (that's right, no rewind button).
8. You can change the appearance to look like Win98 but not like WinXP (what were they thinking?!)

It's not all doom and gloom however. There are a few good things:
1. You CAN resize partitions from within the operating system itself - XP didn't have that functionality
2. The "Gadgets" things are nice (sure, you can install Google desktop for free in WinXP and get the same functionality)
3. You can search for programs in the start menu by typing in the name of the program
4. You can set power options in greater detail, e.g. CPU throttle setting range (although it's not much use, see point 4 in the previous list)

All in all, I find it hard to believe that the above took MS four years (more or less, I don't have the exact dates) to come up with that stuff. What's so special about it? How can they justify the fact that in order to run Aero you need hardware that up till a while ago was only found in high-end gaming computers (1GB of RAM?! This is an OPERATING SYSTEM, not Quake III!!!) I tried getting used to it, but eventually the sluggishness (and lack of fully supported programs) got to me and I went back to XP.

I'm a Mac and Windows user with a preference for the Mac. I've installed Windows XP on a Mac at home for those times when I need it to run a couple of programs. I don't foresee a need for what Vista brings to Windows (the graphics improvements mainly), as I've already got it on the Mac. Also, the most expensive software I have already has been bought for the Mac.

Not a Windows hater, just comfortable with what I have.

I really had heard some bad things about Vista but thought that by this time (Nov 2007) they already had fixed up things a little and never, never thought how horrific an experience Vista can be. How naive and wrong was I. After three weeks trying to use my laptop regularly and loading it up with my files I had to stop using it. Vista updates are a disgrace. They bring havoc to your pc. Ex:among a few of the beauties endured, IE7 stopped working completely, camera was disabled, crashes followed permanently, "blue death screen" ocurred even when starting boot up process or just unexpectedly and repeatedly, followed by the "black death screen", system restores had to be done either manually or automatically after "black death screen" sometimes as many as three or four times. Since I am just a practicing attorney with normal skills (above average) regarding computing and I am not an engineer with a PhD in computing science, I just had to abandon Windows Vista, because I have to work and I can not spend hours and hours everyday trying to make the software run my machine, calling microsoft for advice etc. etc. etc.. just a nightmare. I do not have anything against Microsoft, but this is giving me a reason for that. For the moment I "upgraded" to Windows XP and sincerely recommend to folks like me, who need something reliable and are not experts in science computing to stick with Xp, something I will do for at least a couple of years. I am really dissapointed because I think the User Interface is really nice, being the only notorious aspect to highlight about Vista. It is a pitty the software does not work. Hope they can fix things.

I have been using it for about six months. The first couple of months were frustrating but after a few down loaded "fixes" I am more than satisfied with it.

Jim Malcolm.