everyone has the right to sell his soul to microsoft. i'm not reading your crap any longer. bye.

Thank you...very nicely written and put. And if you want anti-virus protection without running Windows Defender, try Windows Live OneCare. It just works, it's nicely-priced and it doesn't use nearly as much in the way of resources as some OTHER programs.

I like how defending a Microsoft product based on actual experience is considered "selling your soul" :P

I see Dvice/SciFi is well and firmly in Microsoft's pocket. Way to go guys.

The problem with UAC is not (necessarily) solved by turning it off. The problem is its inability to learn which programs/sources are acceptable. e.g, Why do I need to repeatedly approve downloads from MS for Defender updates?

Here is my 2 cents. Vista is not a bad as everyone says it is but it still sucks. MS has been doing this for years and in my opinion XP was the best OS it had to date. It had security issues but all the other OS’s did too. I currently have a laptop with vista on it and it is the most annoying OS EVER! It’s like they took the paperclip in the old version of office and gave it a promotion to middle management. Here are the reasons it sucks.

1. Why does the OS not learn, it keeps asking me the same questions when doing repetitive tasks like during an install! I should only get asked once.
2. Why is it that I bought a new HP multimedia laptop and vista rates it as a 2.3 under settings? Do I need a super computer to get it to be rated a 10?
3. On a clean install and updated with SP1 I can’t install windows live. The install just hangs. I looked this up and other people have the same problem with no resolution. PS trying to search on the forums for a fix was tedious.

I was a huge fan of Microsoft. But they have in my opinion become anti consumer. They are over charging for the OS don’t care about anything but their bottom line. To sum it up I expected better and am very very disappointed.

Having used Vista a bit, I have to agree with most of your points; to be fair, the resource-hog thing is more important than you let on (The OS uses a full gig of RAM on its own, with nothing running), but IMO it's still an improvement over XP on machines which can handle it. And to those who think I'm a Microsoft shill, my full "relative merits of operating systems" equation goes Gentoo > Ubuntu > OS X > Vista > XP.

It really is nice to know you're in Windows pocket.
I begun reading, and stopped at the iTunes 8.0 part.
If you actually did anything, you'd know Apple had a faulty driver in the original realize and fixed it a few hours later.

try running a laptop with a discrete graphics card with vista (much less dual graphic cards w/SLI). Oh, and as far as the argument "Drivers are the responsibility of the manufacturer, not MS", what a pile of BS. Had these kinds of issues for maybe 2 months after XP came out. Vista is pushing 2 years. "Problems Windows has identified", i have 175+ entries since February, all over the map. Yeah, it's a real gem.

have 2 laptops with XP Pro (one at work i use everyday), one with Vista, the only benefit Vista provides that I can tell is that it looks prettier (and that's subjective). if you took Vista away and flushed it down the toilet there's not one thing I would miss. I still haven't had anyone tell me what the features are in Vista that are supposedly saying "you need this now".

@justaguy
Yes you do need a super computer for a 10. If you get a 10 you have a computer that can run crysis and barely be pushing its power.

vista is a nice operating system I use both vista and the new mac one I like both of them and definitely everything that was said up there is true.

@justaguy
Yes you do need a super computer for a 10. If you get a 10 you have a computer that can run crysis and barely be pushing its power.
Where did you get it that you have to get a 10. About a 3 or 4 is ideal.

While I can't disagree with most of your comments, I notice the one complaint I hear and make myself is the compatibility issue with various software. This continues to be my number one complaint regarding Vista. Since I only HAVE one complaint about Vista, I'm "mostly ok" with it, but it's a big annoyance between "mostly ok" and satisfied.

@justaguy, ninjon

You can't get a 10. It's capped at 5.9.

I am a system support technician, and I deal with Mac OS, XP Pro, and Vista all day on laptops, including bootcamp for XP and Vista in the hands of college students. If it can break, they break it.

Microsoft SUCKS in general. But people think vista is the worst thing ever, it is merely just the worst thing lately.

I perennially have blue-screen errors for USB drivers when nothing is plugged in to USB, and other things.

I HATE the fact that Microsoft updates fail to install almost constantly, and sometimes even break the bootability of Vista, requiring an OS install disk startup repair.

XP Pro is not much better, Service Pack 3 won't download and install, saying it needs 4 more MB. When 23 of 25 gigabytes on a dedicated drive are free, and the OS was just installed minutes before.

UAC is annoying. The new start menu and control panel organizations are horrible. Activation is a pain, and permissions frequently don't behave as they should, and don't seem to practically change when you change them.

The worst is that the default Folder Action is to hide the File Edit, etc... Menu Bar. How insane is that? They break common and basic user workflows just to have something different.

Microsoft cannot get its act together. At this point, I consider them a necessary evil. If Autodesk software ran on Mac OS or students were proficient enough to use linux, I would bin Microsoft entirely.

But this isn't new. Microsoft has been doing this for almost two decades now. Vista is just the latest and most visible failure.

And BTW, the Microsoft experience scores only go to ~ 6.0 A machine above 4.0 is doing well, and above 5.0 is pretty darn good.

FINALLY! Some one with some sense. I have had almost no problems with Vista. No more than when XP first came out and Vista is way more usable than XP ever was. I haven't re-installed had to reinstall Vista either and I've been running it for over a year now. Good article.

*I haven't had to reinstall Vista either and I've been running it for over a year now.
By the way can you guys fix your "Leave a comment" area. It really makes replying very hard.

Wow. I thought DVice was pretty cool till I read this. Lame. Vista is FAT BLOATWARE and is still driver crippled. I have 6 months of OK but degenerating performance before I have to wipe my "Ultimate" waste of money. It's not even a primary machine. I use OS X for that (a real OS). The problems that do exist are dealbreakers for prime time use. Vista *is* slow. Poor performance from it's bloated interface. Sure it's OK if you turn off half the new crap, but how is that a benefit when you paid for it as a feature? Windows defender is smoke and mirrors. Pure garbage - turn it on and port scan it. Don't even get me started on it's CRAPPY media support. Hello?? In this day and age? MEDIA IS IT!!! SUPPORT EVERYTHING!!! DVice just made my /dev/nul/ file. Losers.

UH, I've seen every one of those per say myths. Unless I'm blind, dumb and brain dead the reviewer is.

Remember DVICE, it's all the rage to hate on Microsoft so be wary of your articles. Apparently if you're not for them you're completely and totally against them. You know how there's no such thing as disagreeing with an article but enjoying the site, apparently.

I'm fine with Dvice being in Microsoft's pocket, but... I mean, I gave the article a rating of one, and it IMPROVED the rating. (I know it was one since none of the other stars were lit up and two of them were empty.)
It went from 3.5 to 3.6 which is the opposite of what should be happening.

You people must do something real bad to your computers. I triple boot Ubuntu, XP, and Vista. I have never had any problems like the ones you are mentioning. I never really had any problems in the Vista or XP betas either. As for some of these rumors. Vista is only slow if your computer sucks. DEAL WITH IT. As for drivers, there are a lot avaliable. Find something better to do with your lives than bag on Vista.

This article is too partial to be taken into consideration.
Even though i agree with some of the points being made, you CANNOT state that the worst lie about Vista is a 5 on a scale from 1 to 10. That cannot be said from any operating system, let alone a Microsoft one. I still have problems trying to network a Vista and a XP computers.
I use Vista because its advantages outweigh its drawbacks, not because the latter are nonexistent, as Mr Charlie White makes it look like.

I guess we know now where a portion of that $300,000,000 went. Disinformation, a word you clearly misuse, is by definition untrue. Try a dictionary on this one. Also, if one particular nerd, or someone on the 10 Lies About Vista payroll says that the start menu works just fine, but ten "normal" people call it confusing or hard to use, are the ten lying? Are subjective judgments lies? And aren't your personal judgments equally subjective? You've worked with Vista 24/7 for the last six months (No days off, no time for sleep?), but how long have its detractors used it? Dismissing the price issue on the promise of free updates (What, they could just give the system away and charge thousands for the updates, but they're too nice to do that?) is like saying a Lincoln truck isn't expensive because the safety recalls will probably be free. Your points are very poorly reasoned, but reason obviously has nothing to do with it. The whole piece has the classic look and feel of here's what we want you to say put it in your own words genuine disinformation. Of course, that's just my opinion.

This is so ridiculous I don;t even want to waste my time with this bullshit...

props to TDUB, vista is only slow if your computer blows. its 2008, just upgrade already. get a amd quad core 2.6Ghz for like $160 bucks, a decent motherboard and some RAM, done! now u can run vista and stop complaining. A equivalent intel cpu mind you at 2.6Ghz costs $280 on newegg, so..get amd, they rock. so stop hatin on vista, i havent had one problem since i put it on my computer, and its been on for days.

You missed one of the biggest complaints of all, DRM. The reason Vista requires so much RAM is because of the extra clock cycles required by the DRM. Also worth mentioning is how the DRM can disable hardware or downgrade video quality, because you just might be trying to pirate something. Personally I want my PC to work for me, not against me. Sorry Vista, no sale here.

Vista rules. SP1 cleared up the main problem I had... BSOD upon sleep mode. Which was known to Microsoft according to their website. Now, no problems or hangups. Plus it boots in under 20 seconds.

the thing that annoys me the most is that people complain that there is so many security issues, but really guess what.... so many people use PC's. Apple just had their boom a year or 2 years ago! give it another 2 or 3 years and watch a whole flood of virus' and spam specifically aiming for macs, then watch people complain about apple...

Microsoft were the people that were at the forefront of OS's and even helped Apple when they were going through a tough time, but Windows was THE OS that had to deal with Virus's, Spam & Pop-Ups the most and they've dealt with it, to my opinion, the best they could, but there are just way too many idiots that think virus's is a cool thing to make!!

For you people that say that this is disinformation (CCE) and what was written in the article is just fake... SHUT UP.... how many times have you come to this site and found something that DVICE put something up that's not true?! *sigh* seriously guys... grow some Brains and think outside of the box and it's exactly as Wil Wrote.. i haven't had any more problems then when XP came out and the only reason why XP is such a stable platform is because they've had 8 YEARS TO MAKE IT BETTER!!!!!!

Well i am not a M$ Fanboy nor am I a Apple Fanboy, but i HATE Vista.. its just a nockoff of Mac OSx.. Linux in general actually... But they still use their horrible coding.

I love my XP, and love my MacOSx. but really. Vista has flaws, i have it on my old Laptop, highend btw. and its slow as hell, I actually did have the annoying secruity "Are you sure?" 2 times, before i could install something. The UI was interesting, but i couldnt find my damn files i wanted....

They need a NEW O/s before i leave XP for another M$ messup.. they should'nt shove thier o/s down peoples throats as well... Thank god some companies are making Linux OS' for their machines.

Vista is still annoying, no matter the test-drive - I can never find anything in the Vista set up. Also, one person never uses a system exactly the same as another person. The test-drive is likely to have big variations. Complaining about Vista is now as common as chatting about the weather.

I love it....Windows users have finally felt what Mac users felt for years. Constantly trying to convince everyone around them that their OS is great. Ignorant people refusing to listen simply because of rumor, fear, and past history. I absolutely love it! The tables have turned, and they'll tun again....but not for a LONG time. [evil laugh]

oke here is my beef...

like many here i have 2 laptops 1 running xp 1 running vista...

i'm no microsoft fan , but i use it becouse i have to chose 1 of the 2 eavils , so jobs vs gates....

and yes i liked win 3.11 better then even xp and vista combined....

but if i have to say something about the differance about the 2 then it's this...

1st thing i realy hate about vista is this :
- the fonts !! who got it in there mindes that if you have an 18 inch laptop screen that the fonts on the biggest setting should stil be that small ???

tel me becouse sometime i want to kil this gui...

and in the windows menu they are no barable , although i stil want them bigger...

but it's when i open a game or a nother program like sketshup etc that the fonts and the toolbars are much to smal for my liking.... !!!

it's something that realy bugzzz me about vista , and no sailsman can help you about it becouse they do'nt know....

- it's also slower on startup...
- and it activates my bleutoothe and lan on startup without me wanting it...

- if i'm used to the xp layout i do'nt realy want a new layout , even when i revert back to old settings i stil sometimes have trouble finding stuf specialy in the confugaration screen....

on the other hand i also like something new

- i finaly get hand writing recognition for my wacom tablets.....

but on the whole i stil hate microsft....

just yesterday i did an xp update and it got slower.... my firefox is now slower then it was...

but google chroom is now faster....

isnt that funny ?? NOOO not realy , no doubt yet again a microsoft trick make copmpeditive internet browsers go out of buisnes...

the thing is we need a new os....
1 that is not as corupt as microsoft and apples...
but 1 that is more suksessful then some others out there....

1 that does more withe les computing power...

but it's like air , we al have to breathe :-(

I definitely call into question the validity of this article, as others have. While I do not like Vista itself, I still would love to see an article that compares Vista to Mac OS X, Ubuntu, and XP in a fair and objective way.
Thexfile, You might try Ubuntu. I really do like it and it's got a great cost!

All in all, this is a major disappointment Dvice! I like your website, but a good comparison would really benefit me in future purposes. This just reads like a MS-lover rant or commercial. Whether or not that is the case, it does not matter. I want more objectivity.

This is a great and (in my opinion) acurate article, keep up the good work DVice - you've just gained some new readers! I find it interesting that the Mac sheep can't stand anything positive said about Vista, because they know it's not the bad OS Apple would have you believe. I myself experienced the iTunes 8.0 debacle - way to make quality software Apple. Most people will continue to ignore the squeeky wheels and enjoy our Vista experience.

what ???
hehe this post seems its from a microsoft guy

well
first i wont say anything about the first two cause i never tried this features but i played enough with the os to know its not good for most of the people..
people dont want to struggle with the pc.

3. this is the most annoying thing i ever see
even if you can disable it realy easy i dont like a system that dont let you do what you want without disable anything, its stupid..
they should have done it the other way.. that you can enable it.. but should come disabled.

4. who cares how many versions they has? they are all suck and it is expensive.
and sure updates should be free, if they didnt no one would use it, people did pay enough already.

5. i dont care if its easy to use or not
but vista dont let you do anything
you cant change anything in the system, it works how microsoft want it to work
stupid security checks and stupid user management

6.you are right.. every antivirus or stuff like this takes all the memory and cpu and takes all the fun.
BUT... who needs an antivirus?? cant you do a better os that is less affected by stupid viruses?
i hate antiviruses
no need for one in linux or osx
so this also should be disabled by default.

7. huh ?? where are you living ?
why all the resources should be taken by the os ???
even if you had a super computer you would want that every possible resource will be available to other stuff than the OS. the OS is there only to run other stuff and manage the computer, its not a game.
i want to run things with best performance, and i cant if the OS takes a big part of it.
also why do i need a new (and not from the cheap ones) computer to run vista? i have here very good computers that are more than a year old, do i need to throw them away ?? i dont think so..

7. isnt vista an upgrade from XP ??
everything should be better WTF, didnt they learned from mistakes ?? when you update something you want it to be better, not that the speed decrease is not noticable
this is stupid it just make me see how much you just love microsoft no matter what.

the last two are not important so much..

conclusion:
you cant control the OS, the OS is controlling you
you can do everything you do in vista also in XP and more
and XP is faster and better in anyway (maybe except eye candy) and it doesnt need a supercomputer, and it lets you do things. so why even bother for the vista ?
just use linux or osx.
or if you realy realy need the microsoft system.
use XP, its the only good (but not enough) OS that microsoft made (since MS-DOS)

cheers

Complete hogwash. I am a software developer and Vista has more bugs than a swiss cheese has holes.
Just try to save a file to a network folder where the file aready exists. It says it fails, but saves the file. So you save again, it says it fails. Ad infinitum ad nauseam.
And don't let your wireless connection go down on you. Just TRY to delete an existing connection.
And I can go on with this for hours.

Sorry Microsoft, Vista still sucks. Bad.

Most people commenting seam to be against microsoft in general, and if they owned apple, they would say everything they make is crap as well.

You better get over yourselves, cause every OS will have its own problems.

For example in a recent computer security competition, the mac air was the first to be hacked: taking just lasting just under 5 minutes. Now that's what I call security!!!

What a load of crap. I come hear trying to find an unsub from your weekly email which sounds more like a Zune fanboy email (and your unsub link doesn't work) and then I find this article glorifying Vista. Does Microsoft really own DVice?

vista is fine, everyone needs to stop thinking mac is perfect. if you want to spend twice the money for the same shit because its a mac, go ahead. I have a gateway fx with the new vista and it works perfectly fine, better than my friend's mac. i agree with anonymous on 9/25/08 at 7:02 am, you guys need to get over yourselves.

i personally like vista

www.apple.com/getamac

My goodness; the hatred being spewed by people just because they happen to disagree. This is unfortunate, yet so reflective of our society today. Remember WAY back when our differences made us STRONGER?

I am a support technician at my company. We have Macs, PCs and laptops with XP Pro and PCs and laptops with Vista Business. I like the Mac OS X best of all. Far and away, I believe it's the easiest OS to work with.

That being said, Vista isn't NEARLY the demon people are making out to be. True, when it first came out, there were dozens of issues with it. I was one of the people who signed the petition for Microsoft to continue supporting/selling XP after it was supposed to be discontinued. However, there are workarounds for some of the issues and SP 1 fixed most of the rest. Personally, I'm running Windows Vista Ultimate 64 on my laptop. First off, there are definately driver issues with it. That being said... it FLIES. I'm quite shocked how fast it is. AND... drum roll... it's STABLE. Despite all the crap I've installed on it, the thing just keeps going.

I'm certainly NOT in "Microsoft's back pocket" nor am I in Apple's 'back pocket'. I have to support all 3 operating systems. Vista is now a good operating system. It's a resource hog, sure... but in comparison, so was XP compared to Windows 98 when it came out(I don't count Win2k or WinMe because it was a minor upgrade from Win2k to XP).

Can we please keep the hatred out of conversations just because we may disagree on certain issues?

I've got to disagree about the Start Menu; it's very confusing even to seasoned Windows users. Example: what do you think the "Power Button" symbol button does? It puts the computer to sleep! By default!

It's the stupidest design choice ever. You can change it though following these steps (source = http://www.escapeswansea.com/sat/forum/index.php?showtopic=4795):

"Many Vista users are annoyed by the behavior of the new power button on the Start menu, which puts the computer into sleep mode instead of shutting it down. To fix this annoyance, open Control panel, Power Options, click Change plan settings, click Change advanced power settings, scroll down to Power buttons and lid, click the plus sign next to Start Menu Power Button, click on Sleep, and change to Shutdown (Wow - only 8 steps !) ."

The tone of this article is silly anyways - "if a lot of people on the internet complain about the start menu, they must not be able to operate a computer." Don't you think that's a pretentious stance to take?

i'm tired of people saying "oh vista sucks, xp was so much better"...vista was microsoft's way of BUILDING on xp, they didn't reinvent the wheel, they just gave it rims. if you have a problem with vista now, then 8 years ago, you probably had a problem with XP too.

I bet most of the whiners in here haven't even used Vista for any significant length of time. I have a desktop running XP & a laptop (with discrete nVidia graphics) runnig Vista. I game on this laptop and haven't experienced any problems with Vista other than the slow file transfers.... which was improved significantly with SP1.

Regarding software incompatability... are you even aware that you can right click on the program, choose properties, go to advanced, and tell it to run in Windows XP compatability mode? I haven't found any program I own to not run in this mode, even an older adobe photoshop works just fine.

Great article. I have a Dell Inspiron E1705 that came with Vista Home Premium, had the typical new release grief with it, but since I joined the Microsoft Customer Experience Program and then installed SP1, I have had many fewer problems than my wife's had with OS X at work - their office LAN went down for a week, taking with it all records not printed or written on paper. Some killer OS. Best guess afterward was server problems caused by malware.

No, the degree to which all the gripes about Vista are stupidware became apparent when I used two of our older laptops, one running XP, the other Win98SE; both of them were dogs compared to the Vista laptop.

To BOXERFANATIC: the problems you ascribe to Vista are very probably malware-related; when I served as the computer consultant to my sons' private school, PCs and Macs alike were infected with some of the worst malware I've ever seen. Try advising your student users to steer clear of those Russian porno sites. Apart from that, I'm at a loss to explain your experience with Vista, because I've had none of the problems you mention.

Vista is less buggy than XP was this long after its initial release. It wasn't until SP2 for XP came out that it has been as reliable as Vista is now - and my Vista XP laptop is MUCH slower than my Vista laptop.

It's time for the Mac community to admit that they're running a niche OS for a relatively small group of users which supports a relatively tiny number of applications natively; of all the jokes circulating in the Mac community, "support for Windows applications" is the worst one.

Had to laugh when I read this from Reno: "The tone of this article is silly anyways - "if a lot of people on the internet complain about the start menu, they must not be able to operate a computer." Don't you think that's a pretentious stance to take?"

No, it's a pretty realistic stance to take. Most people whose postings I read on the Internet lately are barely literate. Some of them are illiterate for all intents and purposes, because their postings are impossible to interpret as sentences written in the English language.

So the assumption that many of the people who can't even use the language they were brought up speaking can't use a computer well enough to get decent performance out of it is not pretentious; it is a sad fact.

I doubt things are Malware related that happen as soon as Windows is installed on a clean drive from an XP Pro SP2, or Vista Enterprise install disc.

Broken updates, or updates breaking bootability, and XP SP3 install failures, and USB-driver and video-driver related blue-screens ALL have happened minutes after install.

On top end laptops, which is all I deal with. Dell, Gateway (pre-MPC buyout), and now HP. Apple MacBook Pro, also via BootCamp.

The hardware isn't always the reason. Malware is a problem, and I cannot control students in the environment in which I operate (it is not a static lab, the machines are purchased and carried by the users.) but I have problems with Windows that are inherent to it's design, and technical issues that occur before students get their hands on them, and that has nothing to do with malware.

This is specifically what I have been doing for 5 years now, and I've been a tech for ten years. I know how to build a solid installation, and it is possible with Windows, but it is very difficult, and one bad update can re-introduce problems. The lack of good quality verification in Windows Updates is a bane of my existence, and it lends to the instability of the operating system as a whole.

Just because one or a few platforms are stable, doesn't mean windows is stable on all of them. And laptops tend to be worse than desktops, due to higher content of tightly packed devices that are specific to laptops, or specific models of laptops, and high heat loads. If a device has poor driver support, or is heat sensitive, it very well can cause driver failures, or software issues, and can't just be swapped for a different part with a different driver, but the same general function, like most standard desktop hardware can be.

My computer at work was the first time I was exposed to Vista, and I was surprised at how smoothly it's been operating. Nobody was more anti-Microsoft than me before then, but my stance has softened a bit since. I was pleasantly surprised.

Oh c'mon, there is a reason why Dell and other companies give you the option to get XP installed instead. Despite this list, Vista is problematic up the ying-yang.

Well, I've had and have ALL OF THIS ISSUES ON MY VISTA MACHINE and I have used Microsoft operative systems for over 15 years (ever since 3.1). I have to say I've been reading you guys for not a very long time but I am now dissapointed with you, the problems stated are not propaganda, they are actually happening.

How does it feel to be owned by the Microsoft corporation DVICE? How does that whip feel?

at "coonass":

Let me show you what your argument is basically saying:

"There are complaints on the internet about the Start Menu. Well, most people on the internet *THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN [emphasis on this part]* can barely use the english language properly.

Therefore, *all* of these complaints are by people who can't use the english language properly. Because of this, it is not pretentious to assume that they cannot understand a "simple" start menu."

It is a silly article, half of the points they never bother to actually provide examples of improvements (#4 is the biggest problem with this article - where's the resolution? You can't just decide "these 3 versions don't count").

I'm glad I provided some humor for you; the article and your response have done the same 10-fold on my side.

everyone try Kubuntu..
or other Linux distros..
try it.. and than say Vista is good..

XP is ok and Vista sucks.. OS-X is cool
but Linux is the best of them all..
at least your problems dont cost money.
and almost all of them are fixable.
and its FAST !!! and prettier and nicer and better

This is why Vista sucks:
http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.html

This is one of the things that annoy me most is how people think that just because they are pointing out things that you hear on the internet aren't always true people forsake the website. Sure in one year I've had to reinstall vista twice but it works nicely you know what your doing. The most annoying thing I read so far is how people are getting upset saying vista is crap because they've had one bad experience.

Say goodbye to your ad revenue, Big Brother.

I agree VISTA is great and no problems for me.
I do recommednd "LIve Care"
However on the UAC, it prompts me every time on a few applications when I start them. It would be really nice if UAC would ask "Don't ask me again".

I put the blame on people who have really stupid P.C.'s I have a friend that bought a closeout Gateway Laptop and he cannot run Aero at all.NOT VISTA'S FAULT......Pluse he wanted VISTA and did not even have any idea about AERO till he saw it on my PC "Wow what's that ?"......

The problem is not VISTA the problem is PC's have now reached the lowest common denominator of user's, no longer for the technical or savy person but now for the people that stiil do not understand why there TV must be on channel 3 to use the cable box......

LOL! This is the best article yet! I love the sarcasm! Man, and to think I almost thought they were serious about this shit!

Fess up you just wanted to see more then 3 comments for once. :)

After reading the article, and subsequently the readers comments, I was suprised to see how strongly this issue affects people personally.I like the range of replies too. From well informed and well spoken to the typical knuckle draggers "You Suxor kuz Ur a Vista fanboy" types.
Me personally, I have an XP Desktop, a Vista Laptop,and a 30GB Zune player. Now I am admittedly a vanilla type user though. I game quite frequently, and also do level editing for games, music editing with Adobe
audition, and all standard internet and e-mail stuff using Outlook and IE8(beta).
My point being that Vista has performed flawlessy for me. My Zune syncs with both versions of the OS, Neither of my computers has ever thrown up a BSOD, and system hang ups are extremely rare. I use only software I have purchased, avoid questionable sites, and try to find peripherals which play nice with Windows.
As vast as the technological industry is, I believe it to be impossible for MS to make it's product compatible with every bit of code and every piece of hardware out there. The same can be said for Mac, and Linux as well. Combine that with malware,security hacks, virus laden free/pirate warez, and whatever other factors I can't even think, or know about, and I doubt there will ever be a "Truly Perfect" end user experience.
So, am I a fanboy?. I don't think so. I'd like to think I'm just a satisfied customer. I don't have the time to learn how to fully master more than one operating system, and I'm nowhere near being a windows professional at that!
If you don't like Vista, great!, but swearing off of a website, or accusing someone of being in MS's pocket because they said some good things about it seems kind of extreme.

Not extreme at all, especially since some of these "lies" are actually truth in the experience of people who have nothing to gain financially by telling their tales of woe. In other words, DVICE is essentially calling its readers liars, since their experience is the only experience that can be at all truthful. Seems a lot like the Party to me.

Long after the SP1 release, I had a chance to test Vista and OSX 10.5. I'm not playing devil's advocate.

I don't want to see this Big Brother doublethink perpetuated by a major network's tech blog. But instead of swearing off DVICE, I just block all the ads.

If you're going to define reality, then you can create your own ad revenue out of thin air as well.

So dissapointing from dvice.
Do you find normal a PC running VISTA to connect to (google it) baytest2.microsoft.com and others servers at m$ when you play premium content.
That O.S was made by the major players in music/video content for 50%,biggest issue for microsoft was to put an O.S next to this whole bunch of DRM infested crap,that like everyone knows,slows down PCs,even make it very unstable.
People apparently find normal to use 4GB of RAM and a 4Ghz Quad core CPU,for surfing the Web and read emails,through a deceiving Aero interface.
Ask yourself what happens in backstage when Vista is running,install packet sniffers(especially when playing premium content) to see it by yourself
We'll talk further once you have done that....
The worst is,I'm sure VISTA is a quite good O.S if it was made for peole and not to monitor people's habits and files.

wow!
Are you one of those new Microsoft "in-Store Cheerleaders" they are sending out? Your a shill! Too hard..? Hack? Butt-Boy? Zealot? Any of those better for you?
Lets get serious here, it took Microsoft from October 25th 2001 to August 6th 2004 JUST TO GET THINGS RIGHT. Once they did, XP is now a really stable and fun platform, but Vista? I don't think so. EVERY single one of my peers, 21-28 (years of age) dislike Vista. I have heard a single nice thing about this operating system..........YET. Now they are working on a new OS. Gee.....I wonder what wrong.
Those who take the time out of their day, to try and lure people into believing that MS. Vista is a good OS should be taken and....Abort, Retry, Fail?.......sorry Vista just interrupted me by asking if I was sure I wanted to write something negative about it, because it was unsure of the content. Seriously though, XP does everything I want faster then Vista ever will.
You my friend, need to wake up and smell Steve Ballmer's sweat.

Everything that could be said about Vista has been said. My issue however is with the article itself. I really like Dvice and eventhough this is a crappy article I will continue to read the blog, though I'm increasingly becoming dissapointed with the site because of pieces lacking any common sense like this one.

In essence this article says: We've been sparingly using this 2-year software for the last 6 months and we know better than you. All of you who complain about Vista are either stupid, ignorant or part of a conspiracy to discredit Microsoft.

I love number 4 (too many versions & expensive). You categorized it as almost a complete lie eventhough you admited that MS is spamming us with diff versions. You resolved the matter by not counting some versions because they are not as pretty as the rest (really?!?) and dismissed the high price because you can keep the software in your machine for years and you get free updates, don't all OS's do this? Funny I always thought bigger numbers meant more money, I guess I was wrong.

With the logic you used for this piece you could say something like: you've never been mauled by a lion eventhough you've been to the Zoo plenty of times, therefore the people you claim to have been mauled by a lion are either mistaken or lying to ruin the reputation of lions everywhere.

You're OK, keep'em coming, but not like this one.

I couldn't read past #1, it was so silly. The computer only crashed once during an install, so no problem at all! and the crash wasn't that terrible blue screen, "just a hard lockup that required a cold boot" ...that' all, so we'll score this one a "10".

You know you have Vista when "explorer.exe" crashes 2 times a day on a computer capable of running Crysis.... Enough said.

I have been using Vista for about a year. One problem i have is the dificulty with networking with other MS operating systems let alone my unix server. It is also the biggest hog of ram i have ever seen. On multiple occasions it locked up until i fed it 1 more gig or ram. I have tried my best to like this OS but failed. I plan on going to XP till the next "Great" OS comes out or i can figure out how to use linux better.

This article really doesn't say anything new. Basically this is simple. People who are complaining about Vista are doing so because they got a clone of Apple's OS but at twice or three times the memory requirements. Oh and as always Microsoft has cut up the software and removed alot of basic options not only from the Home version but also the Ultimate edition. Probably to charge more money for less. Everyone remember Outlooks 97 abilities to share contacts with other users over a network. ... M$ took it out so people would pay $1,000 for Exchange... I leave the rest to critics.

How can some of you be so closeminded that even when a 3rd party does an independent test, if the result aren't completely horrible you don't believe them and even go far enough to say that the people who did the test are in Microsoft's pocket? I have been using Vista for over a year on 2 desktops and 2 notebooks and the only problem I had is with the sound icon not appearing in my system tray. The registry hack used to work, does not anymore. Other than that it's been great! I also have an Ubuntu box and a Debian box as well just FYI before you accuse me of accepting large sums of cash under the table from Bill Gates. I do not own any Microsoft stock, and am not realted to anyone there BTW. I work with a bunch of software developers who are extreme Linux heads. When I started there they all warned me not to get Vista, saying you couldn't activate it and that NONE of my games would work on it. I then told them I have been running all my games, including WOW and UT2007 on Vista for over a year on all my boxes with no problems at all. I didn't have to use compatability mode or anything. They just made a surprised face and said "oh really?". Funny that, no? Then they told me they hope I don't mind getting even more BSODs!!! They said Vista whacks out so frequently that they now have blue, yellow, and red screens of death. I have never seen even one of these on any of my Vista machines. All my machines have NVidia cards, which I was told initially that NVidia cards did not work on Vista!! I do photo and video editing, play many of the new high res games, and do some serious developing with VS2008. No problems at all. Oh by the way, I don't want to shock you or anything so sit down: NONE of the people at work that talk bad about Vista have ever used it. I know this because they would exclusively use Linux at home except for the minor little problem that they can't play WoW or anything else decent on their Linux machine. Have to use XP for that. Why is that? They say they are waiting for the video drivers to go open source. OK in the meantime they still have to use XP. On my machines I have had to activate 5 times. And believe me, because of all the trash talk I hear at work, I WAS very scared every time I had to activate, but each time it worked without a hitch and extremely rapidly. I was surprised! One of the times was when I upgraded motherboard and processor, that went smothly as well! That was the one I was very concerned about. People at work told me I would have no choice but to purchase another version of Vista. They sounded very sure of themselves. Didn't happen. Again, I use Vista, XP, Debian, and Ubuntu at home and XP, Debian, and Mac OS at work. I do not care which OS a computer has, I simply get on the machine and do what I need to do. I am not a Vista head or a Linux head. I can not understand what all this trash talk about micrsoft and their OSs is all about. It is just a waste of time. The only problem I have is not being able to put Wow or UT 2007 on my linux boxes even today. BTW, does anyone know when Linux will be able to run apps like those? Thanks.

everyone who is talking crap about vista and dvice is cracking me up. DVICE in windows pocket? what you think microsoft goes around and tells people to write good reviews about them. it's a multi-billion dollar company. also for people who said they are done with DVICE, DVICE is not just some blog it has sponsors. no offense but what are all you guys that hate on vista gonna due when ubuntu is the new thing to hate? i'm sure when you heard it was cool to be on linux you dual booted mommy and daddys computer. i have been using windows for the past 15 years and havent seen a bsod since windows 98. i use and have used slackware (much better package management imo)since the beginning, xp pro, and windows vista ultimate all on different computers (not counting my file server). i have vista on my gaming computer and it works seamlessly with any game i play on it. so leave starbucks and do something productive.

If Vista is so good, why do you need hundreds of dollars of software to fix its weeknesses. Such as Registry repairs, virus protectors, ect!! Vista is the most "user hostile" software since MSDOS!! I wish I had a MAC!!

Microsoft must've given you a hefty chunk of money to put this crap up. You forget to mention that Vista requires a super computer to run it.

I have vista and I have XP I installed vista and YES it sucked. There are massive bugs 1/2 my stuff thats supposed to work with vista didnt the security promts are a PAIN! It boots slower then XP and shuts down slower then XP. The start menu bites big you have to hack your copy of vista to use most of the stuff you use in XP atleast I did now my copy of vista sits on my shelf getting dusty I went back to XP. VISTA BITES ARES!!!!!

I recently ordered a new computer with Vista, and it worked perfectly, right out of the box. All of my old software installed and ran way better than they had on my XP machine. Vista does not require a super computer, as so many have complained, just an understanding of what those funny strings of numbers and letters in the system requirements mean. You can get a computer that runs Vista well for under $500, and one that doesn't even blink for less than $800. The one and only minor annoyance I had was the security prompts, which are easy to be rid of.

7. It's Generally Slow - Lie meter : 10

If you're so sure about that, try running this test on a regular PC - not some 8-core super-monster!

Vista IS generally slow - very slow! On any mid-range PC that's running XP absolutely fine - Vista crawls!

What I have never, in all the years, understood is: why doesn't Microsoft make each new OS downwards compatible? Say, for example, with an XP window in Vista. Then there would never be a problem with either hardware or software. The big BRAKE on updating would be nonexistant, and µsoft would make much more money.
The only remaining problem is getting used to everything new - which can be a big problem for people who have gotten used to a system over many years. Therefore it shouldn't change too much.

My comment is,i have win os x ok dudes,but know i'am sick and need 2 go to the clinic,btw it is not a tr,Chris the master,but he needs rest=)

Idiots speak of "selling your soul" but they are the lemmings buying anything Apple puts out without question. Pretty does not equal performance nor productivity.

truly vista is ok. for what i'm not sure. the only reason i use it is to take advantage of the .Net 3.0 that is required to build programs, when ever it is need. Objective C for apple is ok too, just for everyday porgramming. the truth is, a lot of the OS out there needs to go back to basic and be reprogrammed. all OS sucks and there is no point to them. i preffer a $2000 paper weight than a machine that is pointless.

I guess I just don't get all this Bad Buzz about Vista.
I'm a seasoned citizen with a six weeks old Dell Studio hybrid and it's working just fine for me. I like it very much! Sure, it's not a clone of XP but I'm able to figure most of it out without a great deal of confusion. Anyway, my store doesn't sell anything else.
At first, XP was a challenge also, as was going from a Packard to a VW with all that gear shifting and "do it yourself" mechanical work.
Lighten up kids and marvel at this wonderful feature packed program.

I was using Vista on my Dell XPS M1330 because that is all they would let me have on it. I don't like using the first version of any windows product. I still believe that Win2k is the least problematic OS the MS produces.

When the Vista auto upgrade happened one night, it broke a bunch of things, including the desktop icon in the quick launch. I had to call Dell but they could not fix it. Dell wanted me to delete the current user or re-install windows for a simple little thing like that. That is always the cure all for the Windoze OS. They suggested that if I didn't like their fix, I should call MS. I checked the MS help site but they wanted $60 to fix a problem they caused.

I decided to fix it myself just on principal. I spent four hours doing research (my rate $125/hr). I eventually figured out what the problem was.

Then some of my financial sites could not send certificates because some directories got their security messed up by the last upgrade. I think MS Windoze costs more just to own it. Forget the outrageous price to by it.

I finally got tired of all the Windoze problems and loaded Ubuntu Linux on my Laptop. This little XPS is running the 64bit version (something MS still can't get right) and it is kicking butt. I love this and Linux finally has all the software any office will need and it is free. A free OS and Office software that runs on 64 bits. I am glad my competition is using Windoze.

I have a degree in computer science and I still feel like a witch doctor trying to find the right incantation to fix MS Windoze. Linux sometimes has a higher learning curve but the rewards are full use of all your computer has to offer. Linux is something you can actually figure out and know that it is right.

If someone is promoting Windoze, I would say they either work for MS, are your competition, or don't know anything about computers.

Waaaahhhh. Waaahahahhah.

The world didn't work out. Boooooooo!

Someone of you that complain about Windows sound like it broke up with you when you were 15 and you never got over it.

Or that it was your parent and didn't attend to you. Here's blanket. You babies.

It's always fun to see a post incite flamers... Anywho, I do appreciate this article because it shows one person's perspective, revealing just how much opinions can vary from one user to another. I run Linux, but my current laptop came with Vista. I played around with it for a while just to check it out and I personally don't agree with *all* of the points here, though many of them were valid:

1) Vista *is* a resource hog when it comes to the UI. Add some desktop widgets and load a lot of stuff up and it can be quite cumbersome. Obviously better hardware will give you better performance, but I think that's dodging the issue. This is actually the primary reason I've stayed away from Windows: they try to make you keep pace not only with software but with hardware, albeit indirectly.

2) My laptop has two geforce 7900 GS cards in SLI; Vista didn't support SLI out of the box, and possibly more importantly, forces you to upgrade to the vendor drivers to support OpenGL. To me this is just poor OS/video driver support. I think blaming NVIDIA for display driver issues is rather backwards since the drivers that come with Vista don't fully support the card. It's easy enough to fix (install the vendor drivers from NVIDIA), but I do believe that Vista falls short on display driver support out of the box.

3) Usability is always in the eye of the beholder as the article states, but I do think Windows has always suffered one major usability flaw (which still exists in Vista): you have to click a lot to get to where you are going, in general.

All in all, good article. If nothing else it shows that tastes differ when it comes to operating systems. Vista isn't for me, but I'd be naive to think that it wouldn't do the job for others.

I have been using MS Windows from 3.0 through Vista. I've also been using the Mac since OS 7, Linux since 0.12, Solaris from 7 and even DOS from the 2.x days. In doing so I have garnered some experience dealing with them from a users perspective. Comparing the current versions of the OS's (with the exception of DOS) against each other I have to say that Vista is not quite what this article implies.

Going through point by point...

1. Plenty of Bugs and Glitches
When compared to OS 10 and Modern versions of Linux the reality is that it's just about as buggy as anything else. Current versions of Linux are as stable and glitch free as Vista when used in similar situations. Both get hinky when you start doing development and esoteric things on them. OS 10 is paradoxically both less buggy and more glitchy than either of the others.
Lie Meter: 6

2. Upgrading is a Hassle
Upgrading any OS is a PITA. There's no way around that.
Lie Meter: 5

3. Nagging Security Prompts
As one who's worked on high security systems this so called annoyance is trivial. Disabling the prompts is completely unneeded though "not a bad thing."
Lie Meter: 7

4. There Are Many Versions — Expensive Versions
All OS's have free bug fix updates. So expense is still based on initial sales price. Vista Home Premium is $259.95, OS X v10.5.4 Leopard is $129.00 and there are hundreds of Linux options for $0.00 so this one is a straw man.
Lie Meter: 1

5. It's Not Simple or Intuitive
Here is something that is just plane wrong. One of the reasons that Vista upgrades have been virtually nonexistent, besides the massive HW upgrade expense, is that the UI is so strikingly different from previous versions people often can't figure out how to do things. This is universal from bug business to hi-end tech shops to regular users. Compared to OS 10 it's nearly impossible to use.
Lie Meter: 0

6. Windows Defender Slows Everything Down
This point is basically on spot, though compared to the alternatives Vista is still very susceptible to virus and spyware infection.
Lie Meter: 5

7. It's Generally Slow
Vista is faster than XP, definitely. It's a little faster than OS 10 on average but still slower than your average Linux option. However the differences are small and usually unnoticeable.
Lie Meter: 9

8. Slow File Transfers
Again, compared to XP but when compared to the other OS options it's still a bit slow.
Lie Meter: 6

9. Activation Issues
On preinstalled systems activation is preset. However the functionality of the OS should not require a net connection nor be tied to specific hardware. Linux has shown that there should not be anything which will impact the functionality of the system. It's ironic that MS is mandating very strict anti-pirating measures now when the very reason it's the worlds dominant OS is that for many years they allowed everyone and their brother to copy and share their products.
Lie Meter: 8

10. Start Menu Is Hard to Navigate
This is a non-issue, really. The Start menu is no more difficult to use than it's ever been. While UI specialists will tell you that it is very poorly designed, the fact that it's been basically unchanged since Win95 makes it just as easy to use as ever.
Lie Meter: 10

Article Conclusion
"Most of the disinformation floating around about Windows Vista is simply not true."
Lie Meter: 10

Real Conclusion
An OS is an OS. The truth is they all suck. http://linuxmafia.com/cabal/os-suck.html
Lie Meter: 0

Microsoft’s revolutionary choice to change how the user interacts with the product is the real sin. Forget that the ideal Vista machine will probably not be built for a year or more.

Microsoft Vista and Office 2008 changed the location of the controls, and even the nomenclature of processes. This makes it confusing enough that large businesses and corporations have to allocate time and training for the change. Then for several months there will be mistakes caused by adapting to the new stuff. The IT and other departments will have to be upgraded. Checks and balances should be updated and/or instituted. This all costs big bucks (which puts the accounting dept. in the mix) and could also put contracts at risk.

Microsoft is a business and should realize that the basic goal of any company is to thrive. More complications mean more to do while trying to make a profit. Change creates inefficiency among other things. Change also means risk. Risk must be quantified, qualified, and, justified.

As for the products themselves, they are at best marginally better, and do not represent any real promise of improvement in productivity. The old stuff still works fine, but Microsoft has dictated that change is inevitable. So try the new stuff in a few places, and then the probable impact can be studied. A new study of other alternatives may also be warranted.

The bottom line is;
We need to see more improvements, less change.

*whistle* The hate! It burns!

I'll put my two cents in since every other "tech, IT, sysadmin, etc" has spoke. I've used almost every distro of Windows (sans NT and CE) and I can say with utmost certainty...

Microsoft is no worse today than it was when Win95 came out. 95 was frowned upon by people because it was new, rich, and used more system resources than 3.11 did. XP was frowned upon because their 98SE (as it was the primary OS, even with ME/2000 out there) computer needed an upgrade to run it. Vista, even moreso.

Without getting into the cost/compatability/control argument, let's just lay it on the line.

Vista is a larger, bulkier version of XP with plenty more beneath the hood, a better paint job, and plenty of other bells and whistles the "common user" has (supposedly) absolutely no care for.

However, comparing Vista to XP is like comparing a 1950 Ford F-150 with a 2009 F-150. Both run good, with the proper care and respect. Both are fun, if you know what you're doing. But both. are. different.

Heck, it's the same as comparing Vista to OSX to *nix distro. You can't seriously compare them as they. are. different. Do similar or the same things, yes. But different.

Not saying to stop supporting your side or your argument. But be fair.

With all that being said, two things before I leave. I'm personally of mixed opinions with Vista. Parts are good, parts are bad, and there is one or two parts that is just plain lousy. But I said the same about XP, OSX, and everything else.

Also, I have at least one computer with each major OS on it running, either dual boot or single. They're all fun to use if the hardware isn't constrained by the software, and vice versa.

i must say i havn't had any probs with my copy of vista and i also got it cheap only 99.99 from office depot so some off you need to just watch for sales and you can upgrade cheap and the one i got is windows vista home premium so come on guys the price of it could be worse

Vista is great... if you want to buy new hardware because your 1 year old scanner isn't (and won't be) supported. Or if you want to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on new versions of software that ran great under 98 and XP (or even ME). Or if you don't mind buying gigabytes more RAM or terabytes of hard drive space.

Vista has been a major obstacle between me and getting my work done. Newer versions should by nature include improvements in form and functionality. Vista has demonstrated neither.

All that is fine and good, however it seems you don't even apply your own 'lie meter' on the items you listed.

Note that on #4, you basically agreed with the allegation and yet your 'meter' puts it as an 8. ('mostly a lie') Get a grip!

If any of your writing staff is wondering why so many comments are accusing you of 'selling out', then this would be a big part of the reason.

For my 2 cents, it's rather simple. Vista is an overhaul where a tune-up would have worked. Some fundamental issues (like interoperable VPN) were never addressed, and other parts fall under the saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Visually, Vista was an improvement. Certain UI functionality was improved and they debuted some new bells-and-whistles to give it a "wow factor". Unfortunately, this meant that the average PC user was faced with upgrading to something 2x-5x more powerful than their PC's running XP. (read: 2x-5x more expensive, too)

If it were offered as a trial package... or maybe even as a "shell replacement" for XP, (low/no charge) people might be more compelled to put out good money for it. As it is, Vista just isn't a good trade-off for someone that has a working PC with XP.

If this is somehow linked to "Project Mojave", then it's missed the mark by sheer inaccuracy. (see my first complaint above)

Did MS think about that name at all? We all know that "Mojave" is a large desert in the continental US... so what does that say about the "Vista Experience"?

Yea, the latest incarnation of Vista finally works, but that's after 2 years as a release. I'll believe Computerworld, Maximum PC and Tom's Hardware Guise before I'll believe DVice on this one.

This is schlock!!! I purchased a brand new computer with Vista Premium home edition and right out of the box the very first time I turned it on I got a blue screen and the computer had to be rebooted. I get tons of blue screens, errors, and shut downs and this all happened well before I added or downloaded any programs or devices to my system. Vista is garbage for stability.

Based on this, could someone explain why my work Vista machine (Which I only use because it's company policy) has so far today (in the last 2 hours!) had two programs randomly crash - both of which I've never seen crash since I've had the machine, so about a month - and why I've managed to determine that a VMWare image running linux on this machine with 1 Virtual CPU and 1GB of ram seems significantly more performant than Vista with 2 Real CPIs and 2GB of ram...

I use Vista everyday and its never given me any problems.

Thanks... I too, at first found Vista to be a pain in the butt. But once you get over the learning curve, it is pretty stable and safe. It is still difficult in regards to the security features that I am trying to custom, but other than that, I like Vista.

First, let me state that my system dual boots XP Pro and Vista Ultimate.

Some of the above points completely miss the mark:

#3 - Yes, you can turn off UAC so you don't get the prompts but you just *turned it off* so you don't get *any* benefit from it either.

#4 - Why not just install XP Pro? It's quite a bit cheaper *and* works better (I have yet to find a program that works better under Vista than XP (barring DX10 games which were artificially limited to Vista)).

#5 - It is subjective but my view is "what improvements?". Also, what do two buttons on Vista laptop mouse have to do with anything (my XP laptop mouse has three buttons).

#6 - Again, yes, it is easy to turn off. But, again, you turned it *off*. That means that "great new feature" does *nothing* for you.

#7 - bwahaha. In my tests on the same machine (E6600, 4GB RAM, etc), Vista is consistently slower (no exact %) than XP.

#10 - No, it's not hard to navigate but it is *harder* (than XP) to navigate. Then again, I use "Classic" theme on XP because it's faster to navigate menus than the default XP theme (plus I hate the look of both the default XP and Vista themes).

I bought a computer with Vista Home Edition on it. The system works. My wife has it on hers also.

Nevertheless, I uninstalled Vista on mine and installed XP professional. I found the Vista system annoying. I found it difficult to get useful information about how I could management it to serve my needs. I did not seem to have to many options for cutting out the media and securing less gloss but more functionality (e.g., the classic gui on XP). I just thought the flash got in the way.

I also really hated the abject failure to support MS-DOS. I have DOS based software I like and intend to use. I am not going to use a version Windows that prevents that.

I understand that Microsoft is about to stop supporting XP. [Why is there not a federal statutory requirment that forces software manufacturers to support their software for as long as anyone uses it? Why should I march to Microsoft's drum?)

I am so ticked off with Microsoft that I am considering installing the Unix X-terminal instead of a Microsoft OS, when XP becomes unavailable. Hopefully they will have an Open Source virtual device software pacage (like an improved version Virtual PC) that I can use to run the MS-DOS based material I like. The Open Source version of Office works fine, and the price is right.

Intuitive?!? Really?? Is that why when I want to add a remote printer (on a networked machine) I have to select "local printer". That's not how my intuition works (or any previous version of their OS). Yes the annoying security "do you want to do this?" can be turned off... but do you want to turn them _all_ off? Do you want to be told your computer is now at risk because you've turned that off? (I'd like to know when my firewall or av is off, so I'd rather not be detuned to that alert thanks!).

Now, I'm neither a rabid M$ fanboy, nor a diehard linux enthusiast - though I am taking courses on *nix usage. I have a Vista laptop - Toshiba Satelite A13* - and I use it, though I don't really like it.
I have an older PC - Dell Dimension 4100 tower, P3 1.0GHz, 512MB PC133 SDRAM, nVidia GeForce2 MX400 (128MB). This system has been running with impressive solidity on WinXP, and has seen screentime on Ubuntu and Xubuntu, though it was /not/ powerful enough to run Ubuntu smoothly considering my *nix (lack of) expertise at the time, even as PnP(ray) Ubuntu is to optimize for that system.
Back on track: the P3 machine plays older games Circa its manufacture date at a higher FPS than the Vista laptop, which is Aug '07 manufacture with Core2 Duo (I think) @ 1.7?GHz each with 'intel integrated graphics' (no dedicated gfx chipset?).
Vista is a GOOD IDEA but it is POORLY IMPLEMENTED - I feel that independent programmers with enough time and effort could design an equally functional add-on package for XP that would duplicate all of Vista's *features* without bringing the *problems already described* with it

LOL the never ending story all over again :P

my opinion on OS's first if you crash your computer with any OS's out there.... there are usually 2 reasons... and both are the users fault... first it's because you have no idea of what you are doing... and it crashes because of a missuses on your side.... or you know exactly what you are doing and you know it will probably crash your rig.... in any case it's your fault.... remember a computer or OS mostly reacts to your actions....

now beside open source OS's on security straight from the OS... with no additional software or hardware anti viruses firewall and other anti spyware I'll defy you to take over windows vista faster than I can take over an apple computer running last version of OS X so way to go with apple OS's being more secured.... it's just they are under less threat.... by no means more secured natively....

after than run your rig with whatever OS's fits better your needs.... and honestly all things together... most common users don't have the need to run an open source OS like linux... evne though now a day it's rather easy to implement... I still wouldn't see my mom getting into it and look for all the free stuff out there when it's easier to buy a PC with MSFT OS and software suite like office or else.... and there is absolutely nothing justifying the price of an apple computer.... for the same price I get a better PC than I'd get a mac.... so don't even start arguing.....

I can't believe how Windoze users are brainwashed to accept this kind of compromise. If the computer crashes, it is either faulty hardware, faulty installation, or a faulty Operating System. It should never be the fault of the user. I never blame a Blue Screen on my users; that is just lazy or stupid.

As for doing things that can crash "your rig", I had five developers all working on a little Linux box, that I pieced together from old parts, and they never crashed the thing in eight months. These were developers that occasionally wrote bad code. The code would crash but the box just kept on chugging. Of course if you get a bad driver in the kernel, it will crash but that is where the good install comes in.

I don't know how secure Macs are out of the box but most Unix installs are secure and you have to turn services on. Mac may just install insecure stuff just to make it easier on non-tech people. I am sure if they paid a visit to their local tech geek, they could harden that puppy so that nothing could break in. I do that for my Windoze installations but it is much more difficult than for Unix installations. Windoze is like swiss cheese and that will not change because of legacy issues.

As far a price goes, my 64 bit linux installations beat your Windoze installs in price and performance everyday of the week. Twice on Sundays. If you are my competition, I am so glad that you love Windoze. You can stay up late reloading Windoze on your machines and I will sleep good at night knowing my linux boxes are working for me.

boy can you all tell a good store i am useing vista ultimate and let me tell you all it is crap you can say what you want but it is crap and before you say my compute is vista ready i have amd 1150 cpu 4 gig of memory and the radion x1650 512k video and the x-fi xtreme audio card and 2 hard drives 300gig and a 500gig and 2 dvd burners
now i will tell you again vista is the worst that i have seen i have had 95 98 me 2000 pro windows xp pro and now vista and i want my $ 499.00 back because vista is crap

My opinion is that the activation is an unnecessary step. And yes, there are those out there that swap out hardware on a regular basis and having to deal with MicroShaft constantly is ignorant.

Plus there is the fact that you mentioned that there are "workarounds" for some of the activation issues. So, what's the point of torturing people with the activation in the first place?

ROFL, I completely agree with this article. I despised Vista, even though I had never tried it, then I got a new laptop with it, and was overall very impressed. The UAC is the major fault if you ask me, but that can simply be turned off and no more annoying prompts. And I don't think it's possible to get a 10 on the Windows rating, my laptop has decent specs and has a 3.0 (Meeting the min. requirements for COD4).
My laptop will occasionally freeze randomly or seemingly the LCD screen with apparently stop being detected and won't display anything. This happens maybe once a month at most, I think it was just badly packaged and it's some hardware fault rather than OS.

I'm not a Microsoft fanboy, if a Mac was moderately priced, I'd look into a Mac, if Linux was a good gaming system, I'd be into Linux, Windows works for me. I've tried Ubuntu, pretty nice, I like it, but I don't think I'll put my money into changing my OS anytime soon.

ROFL, I completely agree with this article. I despised Vista, even though I had never tried it, then I got a new laptop with it, and was overall very impressed. The UAC is the major fault if you ask me, but that can simply be turned off and no more annoying prompts. And I don't think it's possible to get a 10 on the Windows rating, my laptop has decent specs and has a 3.0 (Meeting the min. requirements for COD4).
My laptop will occasionally freeze randomly or seemingly the LCD screen with apparently stop being detected and won't display anything. This happens maybe once a month at most, I think it was just badly packaged and it's some hardware fault rather than OS.

I'm not a Microsoft fanboy, if a Mac was moderately priced, I'd look into a Mac, if Linux was a good gaming system, I'd be into Linux, Windows works for me. I've tried Ubuntu, pretty nice, I like it, but I don't think I'll put my money into changing my OS anytime soon.

Vista update almost totally fried my daughter's pc, which she bought with Vista installed. Took a month and a very talented tech to fix it for her. Online (DELL) help was of no help - though they did concede that the update did this. "Happens sometime," they said. And she is conservative, doesnt dl music or movies, doesnt go to dicey sites. Just sits and writes her papers, keeps her security programs uptodate. She's not into facebook, myspace and all of that. Luckily, she backed up most (though not all) her documents. Her comment to me: should have got a mac.

Most of my negitive feelings about Vista, Stem from the fact that this program does not contain very many drivers for added equipment such as my HP all-in one printer.I removed this printer from my older computer and installed it on my laptop in which Vista was already installed.Well as a result this machine can now only do the simplest functions.I can print and copy but only in the paint program. The photo director and all it's constituents are a no-show. I tried to download the update for the printer from HP.It seemed the process went ok but when I tried to install it nothing happened. Now I have this terrific printer and a much faster computer with which I can print faster but make only low quality copies of anything. The speech recognition program works but is not very user friendly in that words must be repeated many times before it can understand what is being said to convert.I can't see going out and spending lots of money on a microphone that may or may not work anyhow.I hope you folks out there have better luck then me with Vista.I'll take good old Win XP home anytime over this.Trouble is Microsoft Will be discontinuing that soon and shoving Vista down our throats.I wonder how much I would have to spend to come even close to XP.

I have used Vista since it was first released. Just to be difficult, I decided to install Vista 64 bit on a 4 drive raid 0 array. I thought if I could do that, I could do about anything with it. It took me a bit of time to figure out what I was doing, but I did it, and I have been so unbelievably tickled with it, that I kept it that way. I have since set up many computers running Vista, and none of my clients have had any problems that a little education wasn't able to fix. Many of the things that people have issue with on Vista are caused simply by a lack of experience or understanding of the operating system (the same as any other operating system when it is first released). Overall, I would give it high marks for the attempt at protecting the end user's computer from attack, and I would give it very high marks for it's look and ease of use. It is a beautiful operating system, and anyone who thinks otherwise has either not tried it, or not taken the time to get to know it.

Vista sucks. I've ever used Windows XP, but I have bought a laptop with Vista preinstalled (no simple possibility to downgrade to xp), and from that very moment, I'VE BECOME A LINUX USER!!! THANKS BILL GATES!!!! I'M FREE NOW!

I would change "10. Start Menu Is Hard to Navigate" to "Lie Meter: 8", Its true that the vista start menu is not 'hard to navigate' But the program list is 'harder' to navigate than XP. This is because it is in a list box, rather than filling the screen, which causes a user to have to scroll to find programs that he does not use often. Of course there is the beautiful search bar which i use 99.9% of the time. But occasionally I want to use that dvd creation software that I don't remember the exact name of. And I am forced to use my mouse to scroll through the start menu, rather than looking at the entire think and then using the keyboard to jump right to it.

I've had the oportunity to work with 4 of the last MS OS's, XP, XP x64, Vista and Vista x64. I currently use XP x64 because of hardware requirments. out of XP and Vista, Xp is better, more compatable, easier and faster to use. Vista x64 is by far the worst of all of them. what a piece of @#$%. They may of had 8 years to get Xp working the way it does but 2 years or 8 years it's no excuse for MS to release a program that is so buggy(including SP1) and intrusive as vista. It's not MS job to control the content on a persons computer. it's the users and the laws. If Microsoft wants to impress it's users then come out with a real operating system, that works for it's user and not against them. and just remember for every programmer you have trying to take away peoples freedom, their's a 1000 trying to restore it.