Windows Vista Now that SP1 has been available 6 months, what are your Vista plans?

Would resist dark side as long as possible.

May the force be with me.

 

I'm still using XP home and pro on 2 pc's and vista 64-bir on 3rd. Won't use vista full time 'till MS fixes buggy explorer.exe.

 

Been using Vista for 3 weeks now and I am still undecided. I'll keep applying some tweaks as I run across them. There's still a few small things that bug me such as Vistas search and, as a Luna lover, I'm finding the Aero black revolting. All minor and no deal breaker thus far. There's always a favorite 3rd party application that can do the job as I wish. As my needs are small, I have yet to put Vista through the paces. Just trying to keep it plain, simple and as close to default as I can until I become familiar with the way it runs "out of the box" as the saying goes.

 

Took me a couple of years to get around to upgrading to ME, I think Xp was a couple of years old when I did, now I'm on Xp I'll stay here till all the bugs in vista are sorted, but will probably wait till 7 is released, and just bypass Vista

 

Hi , I been using Vista sp1 now for a few months and I haven't been using my XP much . My XP pc is running very nice . Vista seem to have a few problems still but I am using it more now than XP . I hope with the next SP it will be smoother

 

I don't like Vista. Everything just seems so much hard work. I think in trying to make it user friendly they've actually over complicated it. It's just wizard leading to wizard, leading to wizard. It's like going to a Magi convention trying to get anything done.

I've always been slow to move to new OSes. It took me a while to move from 2000 Pro to XP Pro. The process has usually been: I find something that is far easier with the new OS (Remote desktop on XP for example) and move to it; I spend an initial period not liking it and wondering if I've made a mistake. Then it starts to grow on me and I find more and more improvements over the old OS. I end up loving it. That's how it went with NT4 to 2000 pro, and 2000 pro to XP pro.

Vista has been different in that I liked it a lot when I first started using it (as this post indicates). However, the more I used it, the more it annoyed me. Some of the annoyances could be turned off, but things like the number of wizards you need to go through to change simple settings wouldn't go away. So I binned it and went back to XP.

I wished they'd bug fixed and tweaked XP rather than trying to reinvent the wheel with Vista.

I'm using Ubuntu more and more and I really like it. It's flexible, easy to use. It's free. It's also quicker. What's not to like.

I've not given up on Microsoft, there is hope coming from the Server side of things. 2003 is still my favourite OS and 2008 seems to have a lot going for it. However, my worry is Microsoft will do their usual with those too: get a product that does just what you want and then mess it up by making it "easier to use ".

I think the common open source and Apple strategy of regular small improvements is producing far better products than Microsoft's occasional reinventions.

 

I have been running Vista since June 2007. Aside from a week or two back in October 2007 when WMDC would not sync my PDA, I have been OK with Vista. It is much better than XP in a number of ways.

 

I'm getting very fond of Vista. It works well for me. I've learnt not to treat it like XP or try to make it work like XP.

Things are different from XP, you have to be prepared learn new ways.

Wizards? It is a rather large OS. It is incorporating more sub-programs (ancillary programs). You can make the settings manually, but the location of those settings may have changed. Newcomers may need to be led on how to make settings. If you want an "everything thrown in" (premium/ultimate) system compared to a basic system, there will be a lot more settings to make.

Reggie, you could probably make Win 2000 work better than Vista without the "extras ". I could probably do the same with Win 98 (as long as the support hasn't run out ) . Turning off the extras may be the key for those of us that don't need them.

People seem to have expected a "bigger and better Win XP ", not a different OS.

For me, I see these systems as getting gigantic. Not to run the basic system, just all the ancillary programs.

Matt

 

I use vista for 1 year , I think it's better than Xp

 

I don't think the number of ancillaries are the problem. A standard Linux distro comes with a lot more applications than 'out of the box' Vista, and doesn't seem to have to tie itself up in knots to achieve it like Vista does.

Look at what you have to do to change screen resolution from the control panel in Vista:

"... clicking Appearance and Personalization, clicking Personalization, and then clicking Display Settings." (from this Microsoft guide)

Now compare that to the XP method where clicking on Display took you to a single "Display properties" GUI. (this shows the same steps but sidesteps going via Control Panel)

Vista method: user processes two sets of user interfaces and is then taken to a single interface that only alters monitor settings.

XP method: users has one choice as to where they want to be and is then presented with a single interface that not only allows them to change the monitor setting but also a number of other related settings.

With the Vista the user continually dips in and out of unrelated interfaces. Get it wrong and you have to navigate back out and in again. It's like wondering around a modern housing estate full of cul-de-sacs.

With XP there are a number of tabbed interfaces which means if you get to the wrong place, it can simply be a case of trying another tab to get to the right place. Also once you've changed one setting, you don't have to come right out and back in again to change another similar setting.

Therefore, I think the problem with Vista is not the number of ancillaries, but the design decisions as to how users should be guided around them. I think in Vista everyone is treated like an idiot who has to be guided absolutely every small step of the way and will be confused if too much information is presented to them when they get there. That bugs the hell out of me.

 

I know what you mean. You can get to Personalize by right-clicking on the desktop. For me, there is a graphics manager (nVidia) in that selection. Do I use the Windows settings or the nVidia settings?

Matt

 

I have been using Vista Home Premium (would recommend at least the Home Premium, as it has an excellent restore option with more automatic restore points) since August 2007. I have had absolutely no problems with Vista. The problems that I have had with my computer have been quickly diagnosed and automatically fixed. I'm an intermediate user, so I don't look for the advanced options in a os, however, I do want the computer to run, and run Vista does! It's way underrated; way underappreciated in the public dialogue. I'm a daily user who is very pleased with Vista Home Premium.

 

If I could add one thing: Vista does make some things a little more cumbersome, even just finding the version number in an Office doc, for example, to get "about" info you have to click the Microsoft Office Button (I have mine located right up in the upper left corner of the Word window) and select "Word Options" at the very bottom of the dialogue box, then click on "Resources" on the left column and then select "about Microsoft Word 2007" in the list, and also click the "about" button to the right. Lots of work for what used to be a simple step in earlier versions.

Also, the file sharing with a non-Vista user can be tricky. I save a Word file in both the current version and in a 97-2003 version, and send the 97-03 copy. My on line fax service only accepts the 97-2003 version of a Word, gets dumbfuddled when I send a 2007 version of Word to transmit.
I "ll still take VistaHP's superior diagnostic tools and the speeded up disk error checking and defrag options of Vista. Plus, ease to "restore." Vista HP will restore the computer to a previous date from one of the frequently set "restore points." And, again, I'm an intermediate level user. So Vista HP is just right for me. And my name isn't Jerry Seinfeld, who will be doing the Vista ads on TV and the Internet for Microsoft.

Sorry for the long post. I guess it is obvious, I like Vista!

 

I don't like Vista, too many bugs,Besides I don't think it will be around long..
For a much better OS, I have switch over to Windows 2008 workstation,Now with some tweaking , this is a real OS... Faster than both XP and Vista , I have mine setup just right now..It is very stable and runs real smooth...

 

Hey Centurion: Sounds good. Can you run a home computer with this? Or do you have to be on a work system, or a larger network? I checked on line and searched for Windows 2008 workstation, I'll have to read up more on it.

 

fourdoor2041 - for clarification, most of what you are describing in your second post relates to Office 2007 and not Vista. Office 2007 is often bundled with Vista, but the two are not the same.

You can run Office 2007 on XP, and get all the same problem there.

I don't like Office 2007 either

Don't worry. It is a common mistake. I was watching a program recently called 'grumpy old woman' and they were all complaining about "Windows ". When you analysed what they were actually complaining about (paper-clip, systems automatically formatting sentences that start with a number as a numbered list, having to upgrade because the they can open new versions of document etc.) there gripes were with Office and not Windows at all.

 

Are you making up Operating systems? You can run Window 2008 Server on a workstation and use it as though it is a standalone PC. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it didn't run faster than Vista and XP. However, it'll cost most people an arm and a leg as Windows server operating systems are a lot more expensive than a desktop OS.

 

Yes, I have it running as my main OS,There is a guide to take you through to make (SERVER) a Workstation...

Your Answer IS NO...Look here:
www.win2008workstation.com/wordpress/

 

So the answer is yes. OS is 2008 Server.