To Vista, or Not to Vista, that is (still) the question!

[TonyK]

My wife offered to buy me a new PC and I declined. All my system needs is additional gig of ram and to replace two 200GB drives for two 500GB drives.

[Goofup]

I've been around "a while" and I always get a kick out of threads like this. I have Vista on a new dual-core, 2 gig machine and the only problem I had was when I tried to run an old, non-vista compatible program. Vista is fine. Trying to run it on an old machine with non-standard perennials or components is where you'll have problems.

The same threads saying the same "Stay with the old, the new one is crap!" has come up every time any new OP is introduced (PC or Mac) over the years. 3-4 years from now they'll be threads saying "Stick with Vista, the new one is crap!".

Vista or not? Doesn't matter. Eventually, for one reason or another, you'll be forced, kicking and screaming, to upgrade from your beloved XP, just as you were from DOS, Win 3.1, etc.

Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.

[Ken-L]

I skipped Windows ME and I'll skip Windows Vista. but if I had to use either I'd get by!

There are lots of people who used ME, and there will be lots of people that will use Vista.

.......I'll have to learn a new OS eventually anyway. For now with three home systems, 2 desktops and a laptop it's nice to have the same OS on all three, the old desktop is not "Vista ready" and the laptop I wouldn't change for similar concerns. My challenge will be keeping the two old machines long enough.

[jfrancho]

The same threads saying the same "Stay with the old, the new one is crap!" has come up every time any new OP is introduced (PC or Mac) over the years. 3-4 years from now they'll be threads saying "Stick with Vista, the new one is crap!".

That's true, many said the same about XP, until SP1. Me really did suck, though. It never worked right on anyone's machine. Most home users did switch back to 98SE and had much better success.

[Ken-L]

Here's the latest news related to XP vs Vista "hot off the press"

Testers see Windows XP passing Vista
By JESSICA MINTZ, AP Technology Writer1 hour, 1 minute ago

Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP operating system is about to get faster and Windows Vista isn't, according to a report that caused a stir online this week as industry watchers speculated that a zippier XP could keep customers from upgrading to Vista.

Microsoft, however, said it's too early to evaluate the two service packs it plans to release next year.

Early versions are already in the hands of testers like Devil Mountain Software Inc., which helps big financial services companies track trading-floor computer performance.

Wellington, Fla.-based Devil Mountain Software ran several versions of XP and Vista through a test simulating common desktop computing tasks. It found the original Vista performed 50 percent to 100 percent slower than the prevalent XP Service Pack 2, or SP2.

Vista SP1, due out in the first quarter of 2008, barely improved the operating system's performance.
But XP SP3, scheduled for the first half of 2008, did improve on XP's earlier performance, running 10 percent faster than SP2.
That's a strike against Vista for IT professionals on the fence about switching, according to Craig Barth, the company's chief technology officer.

Kevin Kutz, director of Microsoft's Windows Client group, said the company is working on speeding up tasks like moving files between PCs, but it's a work in progress.

Michael Cherry, an analyst for research group Directions on Microsoft, said it's impossible to say if Microsoft has started tuning Vista SP1 for speed. Even if XP gets faster, consumers and businesses may still switch to Vista.
"It might be an acceptable thing to me if it were slightly slower but more stable," Cherry said.

Benjamin Gray, an analyst for Forrester Research, said businesses will upgrade to Vista regardless, to "stay current with Microsoft's support life cycle."

[Goofup]

Well, this is fun, but it's that last line that really matters, doesn't it?

[jfrancho]

Benjamin Gray, an analyst for Forrester Research, said businesses will upgrade to Vista regardless, to "stay current with Microsoft's support life cycle."

I don't know. Where I work, they help on to NT, and skipped right by 2000, until XP SP1 was out before upgrading. And we're talking about a very large enterprise. We've done some minor interoperability testing of Vista, but I haven't seen any official time line detailing an upgrade path.

[brian.austin]

Originally Posted by jfrancho

I don't know. Where I work, they help on to NT, and skipped right by 2000, until XP SP1 was out before upgrading. And we're talking about a very large enterprise. We've done some minor interoperability testing of Vista, but I haven't seen any official time line detailing an upgrade path.

Most very large enterprises tend to skip OS versions, hitting every other one. This isn't a hard/fast rule but tends to fit what I've seen, both as management and as a consultant for some of them.

Vista's first service pack will be the true indicator of where enterprises are going to take this. We'll probably see an increase in upgrades within six months following that release. Many organizations, though, will continue with XP SP2 and add SP3 when it's available.

From an IT perspective for enterprise systems, Vista doesn't give anything that XP SP2 with a few extras doesn't already have. The ROI on it simply isn't there. It's a lot of effort for no increase in functionality in a corporate production environment.

[DeadSmiley]

Originally Posted by jfrancho

I don't know. Where I work, they help on to NT, and skipped right by 2000, until XP SP1 was out before upgrading. And we're talking about a very large enterprise. We've done some minor interoperability testing of Vista, but I haven't seen any official time line detailing an upgrade path.

2nd and 3rd qtr 2008 for "everyone"...be ready...mwahahaha

I've already got the images...and it's going to be a certifiable NIGHTMARE!!!



I used Vista Ultimate at home for just about 2 months before switching back to XP SP2. For the most part it worked really well. I have to admit that it was much better than I expected. However...I am running a pretty beefy machine...2GB RAM, 3Ghz P4 HT with a 256MB ATI Radeon X1650 and just under 1/2TB of storage. Not super high end but strong enough to handle all of Vista bells and whistles without flinching.

So why did I switch back? Two reasons...DRM and completely unresolvable networking issues on my home network (XP machines and Vista machines do NOT share well with each other).

That fact of the matter is that Microsoft has always released "unfinished" operating systems...they get it workable and then shove it out the door so they can start making money on it while they "finish" it.

XP was awful until SP1 and wasn't "finished" until SP2...now it's stellar. 98 was the same way...not finished until SE...

I think with ME it was such a spectacular turd that they just buried it in the hope that we would all forget.

All this and I will still NEVER touch MAC.

[brian.austin]

Originally Posted by DeadSmiley

So why did I switch back? Two reasons...DRM and completely unresolvable networking issues on my home network (XP machines and Vista machines do NOT share well with each other).

At work (the only place I have Vista), I don't use anything with DRM that much so I haven't noticed any issues.

The way Vista handles networking, though, is enough to make me go back to NT3.51. Changing networks manually (I constantly have to jump IP networks in my work for some stuff) is such a pain in the butt. And the "public" vs "home" vs "work" network thing, on top of poorly written network apps using NETBIOS name resolution (still) just drives me nuts.

Vista doesn't bother me in a lot of ways but the networking really, really sucks on it, even with the better IP stack security.

[DeadSmiley]

Originally Posted by brian.austin

At work (the only place I have Vista), I don't use anything with DRM that much so I haven't noticed any issues.

An absolute f'ing nightmare. I am a netflix subscriber and I couldn't view any of their "Watch It Now" movies after switching to Vista...and to make it worse...I couldn't play any of my DVDs on my computer. I spent hours searching for a resolution...and the answer turned out to be that I needed to purchase a new monitor...well I already have a 20" wide screen LCD that I bought back in May of this year... NFW! The switch back to XP was much easier on my wallet.

Originally Posted by brian.austin

The way Vista handles networking, though, is enough to make me go back to NT3.51. Changing networks manually (I constantly have to jump IP networks in my work for some stuff) is such a pain in the butt. And the "public" vs "home" vs "work" network thing, on top of poorly written network apps using NETBIOS name resolution (still) just drives me nuts.

Vista doesn't bother me in a lot of ways but the networking really, really sucks on it, even with the better IP stack security.

I couldn't so much as share a printer attached to my Vista machine with my wife's XP laptop or my XP laptop from the office. Again, I spent HOURS searching for a resolution and found that this MAYBE will get fixed in SP1... and again, I said NFW!

[MrB]

I waited for about 6 months after the intro of Vista. Then I upgraded my hardware and installed Vista. I went into it with my eyes wide open, having listened to all the naysayers. I made sure my hardware was compatible and software as well before installing Vista which has performed flawlessly. I saved my old XP Pro installation and I dual boot, but I rarely boot into XP any more. Vista is not a major change from XP. I like the way it deals with pictures better, but most of it is eye candy, which I like. I have owned every Windows OS since 3.1 and definitely like Vista best. I am in the IT business.

I too have Netflix and "watch it now" frequently without a hitch. Playing DVD's works well also.

[TonyK]

I played occasionally on Win v2.x and owned Win 3.0. Have owned Win 3.0, 3.1, WFW 3.11, Win95, Win98, Win98SE, W2K, Win XP Pro and now have Vista Home Premium. Not too bad once you get rid of the junk.

[ee50ok]

Originally Posted by Ken-L

I will never own Vista. My three home systems are XP and they are very happy together!

Its not that I will never own it, but I can't see the point currently. As a friend of mine put it "Vista is an Operating System too Far".

Currently my main photo editing PC is running ME, and all my other PCs, all three of them, (don't ask) are XP. I intend to buy a replacement for the ME machine post Christmas but it will be XP.

[ee50ok]

Duplicate Post (deleted). My system XP seems to do this...... Automatcically.....

[rodeo_photographer]

HA!!! My work still runs on Windows 2000 proffesional... we're really behind... I have heard rumors that we may be going to vista, but it still hasnt happened yet. I have vista on my computer at home. I've had no problems with it.