Vista

[Tomasas]

10 reasons not to get Vista

• 21st January 2007
• Ashton Mills
• Kernel Knowledge, Linux, Vista, Windows

It's all too easy to get caught up in the million dollar marketing engine as we approach the consumer release of Windows Vista, so lets not forget that it isn't the second coming, and by all counts is an upgrade you can do without.
There are many lists out there on why to get Vista, so here's ours on why not to.

1. You don't actually need it -- No, think about this. Vista doesn't do anything you can't already do with XP. About the only significant shift requiring Vista is DirextX10, but as no titles support it yet and, according to John Carmack (the godfather of modern gaming) there's no need to yet either.

2. Cost $$ -- It's so blindingly obvious, most people will be blinded to it. You already have XP, and alternatives like Linux are free. If you really want to throw money away, go give it to a local charity.

3. On that note, it's outrageously overpriced -- As revealed in the current APC, even after taking into account the profit margin Microsoft Australia previously applied to XP (as well as exchange rates, as you would expect), Australians are paying hundreds of dollars more for their copies than in the US. In fact, it's cheaper for Australians to buy Vista direct by mail order from the States. If you think Microsoft Australia is reaming us, vote with your wallet.

4. Upgrading hardware -- XP was demanding at release, but Vista more so. If you have an older machine that struggles with XP at the best of times, Vista is out of your ballpark unless you spend even more money to upgrade. If this is you, see point 1.

5. Driver support -- Key hardware like video and sound is crippled at the moment -- while Nvidia is working furiously to get a stable driver for the 8800 out by the 30th, there's still no SLI support for any of the Nvidia range. And thanks to the removal of hardware accelerated 3D sound in Vista, Creative's popular DirectSound based EAX no longer works at all, muting this feature for just about all gaming titles on the market today. Creative is in the process of coding a layer for its drivers to translate EAX calls to the OpenAL API which is seperate from Vista, but going by past experience with Creative drivers we won't see these any time soon.

6. Applications that don't work -- there's been plenty of coverage about applications that won't work without a vendor update. These include anti-virus, backup and security software such as those from Symantec, Sophos and ilk; CD and DVD burning tools like the suite from Nero need updated versions to work; and even basic disk management and partitioning tools such as Paragon's Hard Disk Manager are awaiting an update for Vista to be compatible. How many more will fail as Vista enters mainstream? Even Firefox has issues with Vista.

7. It's a big fat target -- with a new and untested in the global wild architecture, virus and malware authors are going to work overtime exploiting the holes Microsoft missed. In fact it's already happening. Loath though I am to use the word 'security' and 'Windows' in the same sentence, Windows XP has at least been patched to the hilt and can be used with a plethora of reasonably effective security tools that work now, without waiting for an update down the track.

8. UAC -- Oh yes, the Microsoft solution for an operating system where mutli-user was an afterthought. Sure, you can disable it, but the OS then makes it clear then that the onus is on the user for any damaging programs that got to run with permissions, rather than with Windows in the first place. If you do have it on, it is going to annoy the hell out of you. It pops up far too frequently, and even on a fast PC, the UAC screen takes too long to come up and disappear.

9. DRM -- And to a lesser degree TPM -- were made for the RIAAs and MPAAs of this world, and the even tighter integration of copy protection mechanisms and 'Windows Rights Management' into vista are nothing more than a liability to you, the user. This ComputerWorld piece says is succinctly: 'it's hard to sing the praises of technology designed to make life harder for its users.' As for TPM, this short animated video shows just how far the rabbit hole goes. And to think you pay for the privilege of having the use of media you purchased and own dictated by third parties, even on your own system.

10. The draconian license -- somehow, Microsoft has forgotten that it built its business from products that empowered its customers, not hampered them. Of course, we forget that Microsoft's customers aren't you and I, afterall (see point 9). Aside from the backward thinking that is licensing, and not actually owning, your software new terms with Vista include being able to transfer the license only once; half the limit compared to XP for Home Basic and Premium on how many machines can connect to yours for sharing, printing and accessing the Internet; limits on the number of devices that can use Vista's Media Center features; activation and validation governing your ability to upgrade hardware and use Windows itself; and outlawing the use of Home Basic and Premium with virtualisation software, and Ultimate only if DRM enabled content and applications aren't used. But then again, who reads these anyway?

[Sam]

They said the same things about upgrading to Windows 95. I remember it like it was yesterday.... Microsoft will force users to upgrade to because of new software releases, all new computers will now have Vista on them, hardware drivers will come out for Vista soon... Yes, it is overpriced, but if you can get it for free with a new computer (Like Dave) Do it...

[Steve]

Unless you buy a $2000 machine, you are paying for Vista and NOT the hardware. These inexpensive machines have the bottom of the barrel hardware, in most cases. Poor sound, shaky net connect, strange unheard of hardware that is painfully slow, etc, etc, etc.....

You buy a bargain basement machine and you get what you pay for.
Don't let 'em kid you, you are paying for Vista.....

I'll wait until the drivers are out there for all the hardware I want to use.
I'll wait for holes to be plugged and my existing software such as virus scanners, 3rd party ad and malware scanners and blockers, etc.
Heck, you can get Vista for less than $200, buy WHY????

Wait a bit, build a nice machine and buy Vista if you really need it.

[Sam]

Steve, just for s&g, show me a bargain basement machine from a main stream manufacturer.

Here is the article referring to the top ten reasons.

Halo2 for the PC will only play on Vista. I would imagine the list of "vista exclusives" will get longer by the day.

[Steve]

Best Buy weekly ad, this week.
This one was Sunday only.
And it's a laptop!!!!
There are others, but ya get the gist....
The list of "Vista only" playable games and such sure will get longer.
It's called "force upgrade".

Toshiba Intel® Celeron® M Processor 430
#8231148/7863341
(Reg. $649.99)
$399.99
SUNDAY ONLY, After Instant Savings
thru Feb 10
1 DAY ONLY—SAVE $250 ON THIS TOSHIBA PLUS, GET A FREE LEXMARK® ALL-IN-1 PRINTER. Surf and search securely
Windows® Vista™ Home Basic, 512MB memory, 80GB hard drive, reads and writes DVDs and CDs, 15.4" TruBrite™ widescreen. (A135-S2306/X1200 series)

Emachines desktop with Vista, $350.
HP desktop with Vista, $510.

[Sam]

Ok, ya got me on that one... Celeron sucks and it needs another 512mb for Vista to run efficiently... Any time they give away a free printer, look out.

To be honest, I wasn't really thinking about laptops. Cheap laptops are just that, cheap.

I remember when Win XP came out on the new Dell Dimensions. They only had 128MB of Memory, which is the minimum for Windows XP. They were so sluggish and had a lot of problems... Once the memory was upgraded, they were fine.

Dave, what kind of a computer did you get? Processor, memory and so forth.

I just installed it on my Dell Laptop Inspiron 9300. Pentium M 1.73Ghz, 1GB memory, DVD Writer and it works fine so far. I really like the interface and every program I have installed works fine. When installing Vista, it automatically had all of the drivers and the screen looks much sharper for some reason??? Haven't figured that one out yet.

I know some of you are Linux fans and I would be right there with you, but I make my living off of Microsoft based machines, so I have to know them inside and out. I have a feeling this will take over by 08 and XP will fall behind just like Win2K (A great OS, by the way).

Just my $.02

[mdram]

well before xp i was using nt 4.0, didnt like the 95/98/me stuff

i'll switch. just dont know when

[igormothra]

lord help me..... I now need a motorcycle, a new computer, a new os, more fishing rods and god knows what else......come on powerball!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Critter Gitter]

Hey Sam, its a BB Gateway 2 Gig of Ram 250 Gig harddrive and a AMD Athlon 2.2 GHz processor whatever all that crap means. Just got Verizon Fios fiber optic so now have dedicated line. TV also 10 times better. Looks like HD even thought its not. HD hook up Thurs but can't imagine it will get better than what I have now. Multitasking feature pretty neat not that I need all this stuff. Still haven't burnt a disc yet.

[Sam]

Dave, that computer is a BEAST! If you have fiber for your internet, you must be blazing. Check out this site and let me know what your download/upload speed is.

Definitely get the Vista.. Your computer was built for it.

Speakeasy - Speed Test

[trowpa]

you got FIOS?!?! Man - i'm so jealous - not available here and I'm stuck in a cable monopoly - my #$#() cable provider advertises 10 megs, but caps me out 3 yet raises my rates twice a year

OK now that I got that out of my system.... Sounds like a sweet setup Dave!

[Critter Gitter]

Download 5190Kbps - Upload 1848Kbps. Is that good? All I know everything is so much quicker especially bringing up my stock charts. The best part is how quick I can sign on now. I used Washington DC

[Steve]

Sam, I retired my 2.3 a year ago.
Now doing a 3.4 clocked at 4.3.

BUT!!!!!
A 2.x machine will do everything you need to do.
There ain't nuffin out there that won't run nicely on a 2.x machine.
So if Dave got a good price, it works!

You REALLY need to attend some of these Intel workshops with me.
Best thing there is FREE FOOD!

[ffemtreed]

I am extremely jealous of the FIOS -- I want very bad!

As for that 2.8 athalon PC. It will be great for an everyday internet warrior.

Unless you plan on doing some heavy graphic and 3d animation rendering that PC will last you for years. Maybe a ram upgrade in 3 years, but other than that a solid PC.

[Sam]

I'm thinking it's a dual core processor, folks...