Reports From Inside: Windows Vista
February 16th, 2007
You heard of Windows Vista? The new version of Windows? I would guess you probably have, seeing as how it’s been widely touted, evangelized, criticized, bastardized, belated, delayed, loved, hated, etc.
I was all set to give you a detailed account of everything I liked about the new OS and everything I didn’t. I was gonna break it down feature-by-feature and really get into it. However, that seems a little redundant at this point. There are a lot of reviews and walk-through’s you can check out. Here is one of my favorites.
So, I’ve distilled all my Vista recommendations and opinions into three bullet points (I know, how very business-minded of me!):
- Windows Vista is an evolution of XP, not a revolution from XP.
- Windows Vista has compatibility issues with current programs and hardware that will frustrate everyone, especially ”non-power users”.
- I like Windows Vista, but am not in a rush to upgrade.
Bottom line, it’s going to get better and better as hardware and software are adapted to the new OS. By the time you outgrow your current XP machine, Vista will be a pleasant surprise.
Vista Homepage: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/default.mspx
February 16th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
Sweet yo, waiting to see how it looks and works on my VAIO after all the hardware upgrades. Definitely not expecting to install VISTA and somehow end up with a MAC OS 10 as some people think. I will disable the security center though as I don’t even use the current XP version or XP firewall and know that it will drive me nuts. “non-power users” is that the MS term for dumb asses?
February 16th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
I got to say that I tried an upgrade on my current laptop. It’s Vista compatible after all. After a few hours of processing I was welcomed by my old friend BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death). Alas Microsoft did help me in this journey by letting me rollback and get back to XP in a matter of minutes. Next time I try it’s going to be a reinstall and not an upgrade.
One dumb asses experience,
Paul
February 17th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
You have sufficiently scared me away from attempting to VISTAize my notebook.
February 19th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Believe me, I have had my share of struggles with Vista, but on newer-ish notebooks (got mine Aug ‘06) it is a godsend. Can you say “sleep mode”. Finally!
February 23rd, 2007 at 5:11 pm
My notebook is 3 years old, running Pentium4 2.1ghz, has an ATI graphics card with 512RAM. VISTA loveable? Possibly more RAM first?
February 25th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Yeah, hook up another 1GB of RAM and you should be for it.
Peep the upgrade advisor too to make sure that you can get drivers for everything during the install process.
I ran it on Scotty’s laptop and it told me I needed to download the driver for his wireless card before doing the install. Sure enough, after installing Vista I was still missing the wireless driver. Installed it and everything was good!
February 25th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Link to upgrade advisor: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradeadvisor.mspx
February 27th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
Thanks for the info, will need to hook up some more RAM and give it a one-two.
March 6th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
I am requesting a “report from the inside: The wheel and PGR3″