Anyone else think vista is OK? as in pretty average?

[Maximilian]

All i ever see are people who hate it, "its like windows ME all over again ahh!! Ugh totally unsusable!" and then theres the other extreme which is just as bad imo, "its so amazing, Its the second coming! Using xp is like being in the stone age!"

I personally dont think its anywhere near windows ME level. Its a very stable OS. But i also think that improvements over XP for the average user are few and far between. I think half of these people that say its the second coming are just saying that as a reaction to the people who hate it.

Anyone else agree and think its OK? Pretty average?

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

It's fine AFAIC. There's a lot of decent improvements like SuperFetch and it's very stable. It's let down by the UI irritations. For example, the "Advanced Search" is seriously weak. I wanted to search by size and found there's no drop-down to specify KB, MB or GB. You can only search by KB 😕 When the search results are returned, you get 1 column for the filename. Where's the path, size, type etc? You can add them manually but these columns are pretty basic fare. You also can't sort the columns while it's searching. You wonder why they're going backwards on stuff like this.

 

[BD2003]

At the end of the day, what most people want more than anything else is a fast, stable and bug-free OS. All of the features in the world won't mean a thing if those three requirements arent met.

Vista can certainly be all three, but at this point, it requires decent hardware (1gb minimum), a bit of troubleshooting ability and a bit of patience if you do run into an insurmountable bug. That was a huge issue a year ago. Not so much anymore, but the stigma is of it being a problem child has stuck with it.

Theres a lot of improvments for the average user that the average user isnt aware of. What they don't know can hurt them, unfortunately.

MS bungled a bit IMO in their implementation of UAC - its far too intrusive, and just trains users to click buttons because theyre prompted so often for menial things such as changing screen resolution. They didnt allow you to make the distinction between security risks via the internet and the things you don't want your kid brother screwing with on your PC. I dont have a kid brother problem, and until I can keep the microsoft nanny from bugging me around every other corner every time I go into the control panel, UAC is staying off.

Theres nothing wrong with XP. I still use it on my server and laptop. If I was average joe with average PC doing average things, theres absolutely *zero* reason to go out and upgrade your current PC. Thats just asking for trouble. They should never, ever have sold it at retail so soon. It should have been OEM for a few months to work out the bugs in a more controlled environment without every soccer mom blaming Vista for their life's probloems. But when average joe goes out and buys a new PC, theres absolutely zero reason at this point not to want Vista.

 

[Modelworks]

Easy way to sum it up "XP is good enough".
Its not that vista is a bad os, its that xp is good enough for what the average pc user does.

Its like new car models each year.
The car maker has to show the consumer something to make the buyer want the new model when their old model can also get them where they are going.

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
Easy way to sum it up "XP is good enough".
Its not that vista is a bad os, its that xp is good enough for what the average pc user does.

Its like new car models each year.
The car maker has to show the consumer something to make the buyer want the new model when their old model can also get them where they are going.

I remember one time when Dos was good enough,I use to love playing with upper and lower memory in Dos to get games to work,then Win95 was a big leap and 98SE was good enough for gamers etc....end of the day XP is getting old and sooner we leave it behind the better.

You can't stay on an old OS forever(it will be phased out eventually),Vienna will be here at some point down the road and old Vista users then will probably say samething.

I think a lot of people don't like change or willing to learn something new again(not like Vista is a hard OS to learn).

Its like new car models each year.
The car maker has to show the consumer something to make the buyer want the new model when their old model can also get them where they are going.

Not exactly look how old XP is?...We needed a new OS(XP has been patched,fixed ,patched etc..you can only do that for so long) so Vista was overdue,even Vista is nearly a year old now.

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: Mem
I remember one time when Dos was good enough,I use to love playing with upper and lower memory in Dos to get games to work,then Win95 was a big leap and 98SE was good enough for gamers etc....end of the day XP is getting old and sooner we leave it behind the better.

Theres tons more difference between dos and win95/98 than there is between vista and xp.
If there were vista only applications that xp couldn't do I could see the reason to upgrade.
Only software currently is that which requires dx10.

Its not that people don't want to learn new things, its that they don't need to.
If what they have already works, they aren't going to be interested in learning new things.
You have to bait them with something thats going to make them want to go through the effort.

You can't stay on an old OS forever(it will be phased out eventually),Vienna will be here at some point down the road and old Vista users then will probably say samething.

You can stay with an OS forever.
As long as it runs the applications that you need there is no reason to change.
To get people interested in vista , microsoft needs to find a better carrot for the horse.


I don't think old vista users will be a problem when the next os ships.
Many aren't planning to change os until then.

Not exactly look how old XP is?...We needed a new OS(XP has been patched,fixed ,patched etc..you can only do that for so long) so Vista was overdue,even Vista is nearly a year old now.

And that patching and time testing has made XP very stable.
You don't replace something just because its old, you replace it because it can no longer serve its purpose.

 

[Mem]

And that patching and time testing has made XP very stable.
You don't replace something just because its old, you replace it because it can no longer serve its purpose.

That scares me ,we need change /progress,personally Vista does offer a lot(just most XP users don't see it).I know some people that would argue with you that Win98/Dos still offers a purpose,that's just personal opinion so end of the day I leave it up to Microsoft,since they decide when we can move over to something new and also when an old OS is no longer supported.



I also hope we move over to 64 bit soon as well,I guess I like progress more then average Joe.

Theres tons more difference between dos and win95/98 than there is between vista and xp.
If there were vista only applications that xp couldn't do I could see the reason to upgrade.
Only software currently is that which requires dx10.

That's my point I was willing to learn a new OS that was completely different ,if anything Vista is very easy to learn especially going from XP.Vista is not just about applications,I don't need to go into the improvements that it offers over XP(unfortunately most XP users don't see them).

I like progress regardless of how big or small.

 

[Nothinman]

I think a lot of people don't like change or willing to learn something new again(not like Vista is a hard OS to learn).

MS didn't need to force everyone to relearn anything, look at OS X and Gnome. Both progress very quickly, faster than Windows since they release more often, and yet they retain the same basic usability so the learning curve for a new release generally only covers new features.

Not exactly look how old XP is?...We needed a new OS(XP has been patched,fixed ,patched etc..you can only do that for so long) so Vista was overdue,even Vista is nearly a year old now.

And? Vista is still just the next iteration of NT, most of the components in Vista are the XP code patched, fixed, patched, etc to bring it up to whatever version MS decided to release in Vista and some are even untouched and shipped exactly the same as they were in XP. Sure some things are brand new but most are just newer versions of older software. Vista isn't a new OS, it's a semi-major update to the last release.

so end of the day I leave it up to Microsoft,since they decide when we can move over to something new and also when an old OS is no longer supported.

That scares me a lot more than anything else in this thread.

I also hope we move over to 64 bit soon as well,I guess I like progress more then average Joe.

Moving to 64-bit systems doesn't require a whole new OS, most of the changes in Vista are completely irrelevant to the host's hardware.

 

[SandEagle]

i'm running vista and i absolutely love it. sure, there are minor annoyances like UAC but most of these can be disabled. i agree that you need the proper hardware in order for this OS to perform optimally. also, those that are complaining.. i wonder if they have a clean install on their machine or the one that comes bloated when you buy a PC...........it's best to wipe it clean and do it yourself IMO

 

[Mem]

That scares me a lot more than anything else in this thread.

Why?...it's Microsoft's software so they have the final outcome/decision on when a new or old OS is phased in or out...all we can do is decide when to change.

 

[wiin]

Vista is fine by me. I have Vista Business.

These complainers are like parents of high school students. they don't bother to check what is required of their children and then they make the loudest noise when they realize that their kids are failing. And who do they blame for this? Not thier children. Not themselves. Some even want teachers to change their grading scale. the story i could tell you about this...

If people would just take the time to learn something, like everything else, life would be easier.

Originally posted by: Soviet
All i ever see are people who hate it, "its like windows ME all over again ahh!! Ugh totally unsusable!" and then theres the other extreme which is just as bad imo, "its so amazing, Its the second coming! Using xp is like being in the stone age!"

I personally dont think its anywhere near windows ME level. Its a very stable OS. But i also think that improvements over XP for the average user are few and far between. I think half of these people that say its the second coming are just saying that as a reaction to the people who hate it.

Anyone else agree and think its OK? Pretty average?

 

[Marty502]

I'd stood with Vista if it hadn't gone bonkers on my onboard sound card (Realtek AC97). Cracks, pops, you name it. It was really fast and good looking, but the sound issues were too much for me.

 

[Nothinman]

Why?...it's Microsoft's software so they have the final outcome/decision on when a new or old OS is phased in or out...all we can do is decide when to change.

Would you let any other corporation decide when it's time for you to move on to something else? If Ford called you up and said "Hey, that car of yours isn't supported any more it's time to come in and buy a new one." would you really just say "Alright, see you tomorrow."?

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

Why?...it's Microsoft's software so they have the final outcome/decision on when a new or old OS is phased in or out...all we can do is decide when to change.

Would you let any other corporation decide when it's time for you to move on to something else? If Ford called you up and said "Hey, that car of yours isn't supported any more it's time to come in and buy a new one." would you really just say "Alright, see you tomorrow."?

As I've already stated YOU decide when to change or when to move over to the competition,however its their OS so they call the shots on support etc...

 

[mechBgon]

But i also think that improvements over XP for the average user are few and far between.

What about security? The average XP user could use some help there. I noticed F-Secure's report that they've seen as much malware released in the last year, as they did in the previous 20 years combined. The RBN is happily planting malicious Flash advertisements via advertising networks, hacking and compromising normally-safe sites, and wheeee, the world's XP users are still running their browsers, IM and email clients, and everything else with full-on Admin powers, just because That's The Way Things Have Always Been Done? in the Windows world. Until Vista, that is.

Granted, this is not as tangible and obvious as see-through 3D-accelerated GUIs. But more important, IMHO.

As I've already stated YOU decide when to change or when to move over to the competition,however its their OS so they call the shots on support etc...

Well, it's not as if they are going to suddenly surprise you with "LOL we stopped supporting WinXP, sorry!" Their support lifecycle is available for anyone to look at, and seems pretty reasonable. What, 12+ years for WinXP?

 

[Maximilian]

Originally posted by: mechBgon

But i also think that improvements over XP for the average user are few and far between.

What about security? The average XP user could use some help there. I noticed F-Secure's report that they've seen as much malware released in the last year, as they did in the previous 20 years combined. The RBN is happily planting malicious Flash advertisements via advertising networks, hacking and compromising normally-safe sites, and wheeee, the world's XP users are still running their browsers, IM and email clients, and everything else with full-on Admin powers, just because That's The Way Things Have Always Been Done? in the Windows world. Until Vista, that is.

Granted, this is not as tangible and obvious as see-through 3D-accelerated GUIs. But more important, IMHO.

As I've already stated YOU decide when to change or when to move over to the competition,however its their OS so they call the shots on support etc...

Well, it's not as if they are going to suddenly surprise you with "LOL we stopped supporting WinXP, sorry!" Their support lifecycle is available for anyone to look at, and seems pretty reasonable. What, 12+ years for WinXP?

I mightve known you would come and bring up security 😛

Well, i dunno but me persoannly i would take functionality over security, ive never had any security problems (yeah yeah ones that i know of) so XP is fine for me. Supreme commander works, all my games run faster, for this laptop specifically having vista wasent a good idea. Ill probably keep x64 ultimate on my desktop though, it has 4GB of ram and everything in it is supported well by vista.

 

[Maximilian]

Originally posted by: rrahman1
i'm running vista and i absolutely love it. sure, there are minor annoyances like UAC but most of these can be disabled. i agree that you need the proper hardware in order for this OS to perform optimally. also, those that are complaining.. i wonder if they have a clean install on their machine or the one that comes bloated when you buy a PC...........it's best to wipe it clean and do it yourself IMO

Why do you "absolutely love it"? I dont get it, i barely like vista, its well as i said before its average, ok, mediocre, nothing special.

There just isnt anything in it that made it a better thing to have than xp. Heres all i can think of really as to why i persoanlly liked vista over xp and this list was tough to think up lol:

It can play chess with me, nice, beats minesweeper for sure.

Theres this button that takes you instantly to the desktop, and its on this thing called the quicklaunch bar, but XP had these as well, i just never knew about it until recently.

Ctrl+alt+del never fails, i will miss this in XP, havent had to use ctrl alt del yet but when it comes and the screen stays blank or whatever ill remember how vista wouldnt do this to me.

My games was a nice... um... feature? Seemed like a glorified folder rather than a feature, but it was good to have, my XP folder called "my games" just dosent compare.

The UI actually was a bit faster. Not sharper or faster at most things, but when i opened an mp3 or a movie it did this faster, XP always pauses for a bit.

 

[Mem]

Why do you "absolutely love it"? I dont get it, i barely like vista, its well as i said before its average, ok, mediocre, nothing special.

I know you don't really like it,that's why we keep getting these Vista threads, some XP users have nothing special to do apart from bitch and moan 😉 ,that leaves the other half that actually like Vista (like me).

All i ever see are people who hate it, "its like windows ME all over again ahh!! Ugh totally unsusable!" and then theres the other extreme which is just as bad imo, "its so amazing, Its the second coming! Using xp is like being in the stone age!"

Some people talk about XP like its the 2nd coming and will last forever,to me it just another OS like Vista,as long as its stable and gets the job done I'm happy(regardless of OS I'm using),you will always get people unhappy with brand Y and prefer brand X etc....
Side note: The only OS I never really liked at all was Win 3.11 ,I even preferred Dos 6.2 back then.
End of the day we are going over old ground.

 

[SandEagle]

well maybe i don't LOVE it, love it.... but some reasons why I like it so far:

-clean and easy install
-quicker than XP (at least to me)..but then again i have decent hardware imo
-recognizes all 8GB of my memory
-aero and dreamscene
-enhanced security
-running multiple virtual machines (vmware) on vista host..no issues
-not one single problem to complain about (yet)
-superfetch, readyboost, gadgets, resource monitor

 

[Rockhound1]

I have had some time to play with Vista and it does have some nice features; however, there is nothing about Vista that would cause me to want to actively dump XP.

One thing about Vista is that you definately have to have a more robust system to run it comfortably. In my opinion, to get the best experience from Vista (Home Premium and above), you will need a multi-core processor and at least 1 GB of RAM (preferably 2 GB or more). Vista seems to do more things in the background than XP (like automatically creating save points when loading software, defragmenting the hard drive, cleaning/tweeking the registry, as well as a few other things). If you like to run Gadgets, then more resources will be used. For me, Vista uses between 400 and 500 MB of RAM alone (that is without actively running any other programs besides an anti-virus program and Defender in the background).

If you want to run Aero-glass, then I would recommend you have a discreet graphics card not more than three generations old. Frankly, I do not see the big deal with Aero-glass. It was interesting for the first 10 minutes and then became "so what."

In summary, Vista is a good, stable operating system (if you have the hardware for it). But, it lacks the WOW features that would make me want to actively migrate my system from Windows XP. This is my 2 cents.

 

[jonmcc33]

I have been unimpressed with it. Just today I booted up a brand new Dell Optiplex 755 with Vista Business on it and the damn thing locked up on me with nothing open. Yeah, explorer just froze up. I mean it's right out of the box from Dell and it's crapping out on me with nothing even loaded on it? I hope that SP1 does something for Vista otherwise I could care less and will stick with Windows XP Pro.

 

[Maximilian]

Originally posted by: jonmcc33
I have been unimpressed with it. Just today I booted up a brand new Dell Optiplex 755 with Vista Business on it and the damn thing locked up on me with nothing open. Yeah, explorer just froze up. I mean it's right out of the box from Dell and it's crapping out on me with nothing even loaded on it? I hope that SP1 does something for Vista otherwise I could care less and will stick with Windows XP Pro.

I would run some memtest86 or something, i found vista every bit as stable as XP was. Not saying that it couldnt possibly be vista it could be, but i would check the hardware anyways.

 

[mechBgon]

There just isnt anything in [Vista] that made it a better thing to have than XP.

Uhhh... improved security? 😉 People don't want:

• their log-in credentials to PayPal, EBay, their bank or CC, WoW or other online stuff stolen by the bad guys
  
• their pics, movies, music and documents deleted, or encrypted and held for ransom, or sent off to Russia
  
• their Internet connection and computer used to send covert Spam, or commit click-fraud
  
• their game CD keys stolen and sold on the black market

I suppose people scoffed when cars first started coming with seatbelts, too. 😉

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

Why?...it's Microsoft's software so they have the final outcome/decision on when a new or old OS is phased in or out...all we can do is decide when to change.

Would you let any other corporation decide when it's time for you to move on to something else? If Ford called you up and said "Hey, that car of yours isn't supported any more it's time to come in and buy a new one." would you really just say "Alright, see you tomorrow."?

Cars and OS's = apples and oranges. Besides. by the time MS stop supporting an OS for the average user, it's ancient. The end user has the choice of whether they continue to use an unsupported OS or move onto the latest version which will offer them benefits beyond that.

If there's one thing holding MS back, it's having to deal with old hardware and software, some of it from a decade ago. It's time for a cut-off in the next version.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
I suppose people scoffed when cars first started coming with seatbelts, too. 😉

Some people still scoff at seat-belts. They're the people that end up with Darwin awards 😛