Windows Vista

[screamingman12 30]

I have recently been intregued by Microsoft's new OS, Windows Vista. Is there anyone here who is/was in the beta testing program for it, if so, could thay possibly give me some reveiws? Also, how can I get it, I'm not looking foreward to paying about US $400.00 for it, so does anyone know where I could get a free fully legal copy of it? As I'm pretty sure those promotinal giveaways don't really work.

[Frigid 6]

I don't see what's so good about vista. It looks like the same as XP except with nicer graphics and a fancier interface.

The only reason I see that other people might get Vista is for DX 10, for those who play games.

Maybe I'm missing some really important feature?

[BurroDiablo 222]

I don't know about any new features... only thing i'm wanting Vista for is the DX10 games. You can download the Vista graphics and interface for XP from BricoPacks

But $400? Really? Thats abit steep... its practically verging on vertical! Thats abot £250... half of what i paid for my new base unit!

[hym 358]

Windows Vista is $400 depending on the version you buy and whether you choose to upgrade.  I run XP Pro on my laptop (technically, it's Media Center 2005, but that's built on XP Pro).  The business edition of Vista is $300 I believe, but if I choose to upgrade from my XP Pro OS, it's only $200 (which is the price of XP Pro).  I believe that if you upgrade from XP Home to Vista Home, it's about $100 (I think, don't quote me).  So, if you're upgrading, Vista isn't that much more expensive than XP prices.

As for features, well, Vista has a wide range of new features that XP does not.  The question is, do you want/need them.  Consider the following:

DirectX 10:  Totally revamped for faster system performance.  The games talk directly with the hardware, no middleman software, a la XBox.  MS did this because when they were still working with the Aero interface, they couldn't drop the interface during full-screen programs with causing problems (XP drops Luna when running games to save system resources).  Eventually, they figured out how to drop the Aero interface without causing problems, so we get extra horsepower for our graphics.

No System Admin Account:  Yes, you heard that right.  MS is planning to drop the Administrator account with Vista because they learned that they couldn't trust users to understand how to keep their computers safe (that's their words, not mine).  In its place is the "Administrator Privilege Account."  Basically, we all run as a limited user unless we need to access admin functions, in which case we type in our admin password and get temporary admin privileges.  When you are setting up your user account, you choose whether the account can access admin functions; if so, then type your admin password when needed.  If not, then it's just like your typical limit user account in XP.

Native IPv6:  Vista comes with a native IPv6 stack so when Internet 2 becomes widespread, we'll all support it natively.

I could go on and on about the various system changes made in Vista: new power management schemes, it's total divorce from DOS (won't even install on a machine with a DOS-heavy OS like Win98 already installed on it), the fact that it's built off of Windows Server Edition Service Pack 1, that it doesn't want to talk with XP for security reasons, etc.  Wiki has a page on the changes that are taking place with Vista and it's several pages long for just the feature information.

[___idiotbox 0]

well, i dont know very much about windows vista but my dad has had it for quite some time because he works for Microsoft. By the looks of it, it is just better graphics... but i havent fully looked at it. 

ill probably get back to you guys on it. 

-Ellie

[coolotter88 2]

free AND fully legal? well they have free AND illegal copies with steps online how to bypass the so called extremely good "anti-piracy" function....or you could download the RC version which is free. maybe I could send you a copy because I have the ISO, you'll have to look for a serial online though.

I'm pretty mad they added the ready boost feature...I thought of that a long time ago. I came up with the idea of RAM that you can plug in and unplug....GRR! must patent every new idea from now on!

[Camaron 1]

I will eventually get a new desktop computer, and it will probably have Windows Vista included. Though nothing has really inspired me into buying it, some of the new features look good, and so does the graphics,

(Picture credit goes to www.wikipedia.org)

There will be six main versions of Windows Vista,

- Starter

- Home Basic

- Home Premium

- Business

- Enterprise

- Ultimate

Some useful Wikipedia articles worth looking at,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Vista

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_new_to_Windows_Vista

[S1acker 0]

I only have one thing to say...

Windows Vista = Another cheap crappy Microsoft imitation of Mac - This time its a copy of OS X.

[beebs 129]

Unfortunately though, I'll be suckered into the cheap imitation of OSX for the lure of games, games and uh... more games. I'm pretty confident that if OSX had the same games and the same support for the games as PC's do, they'd easily be competing with Microsoft. And we all know that more competition means better product.

[ccecill 52]

It looks awesome, but it's useless. Why pay that kind of money for a good looking OS. Go to crystalxp.com and just get the skins for it.

[Kippis05 2]

Well, I tried out the Release Candidate for the Vista OS, and I have to say depending on what you're going to use it for, will ultimatley be a factor in whether

or not you would put a couple hundred dollars down for it or not. I personally feel that what I need it for I will upgrade to it (at least on my laptop) for

gaming use, and the interface is a little bit smoother than XP is, so I think it's worth USD 250.00 for the upgrade.

Signed

Good Ol' Kippis

[coolotter88 2]

stay with XP, vista hasn't been a big seller for businesses so far...(i guess). IMO, paying over 100 dollars for even "home basic" is too overpriced, what microsoft should do is lower the prices A LOT, I don't want to "just surf the web and do some intense word processing" on a 200 dollar piece of software! why should anyone pay over 100 dollars to "just check e-mails and do word processing" sounds like a software that is designed for email and word processing should cost somewhere between 20 dollars and 60 dollars. and what is the point of aero...give me one example how Aero will help make you more productive. can you think of one? I can't think of one...so tell me, how is Aero a sell point? 1) it takes up truckloads of system resources 2) it's only graphics 3) it's not productive.

I'll give you guys a challenge, if you can tell me 5 good reasons why I should upgrade to Vista.

[hym 358]

Well, if you have XP and are looking to change out to Vista, the Home Basic is the same price of XP Home.  Basically, if you upgrade from whatever version of XP you have to the Vista equivalent, you've spent about the same amount of money that you would currently spend to get XP.

As for reasons to upgrade to Vista, it may just be that I'm a computer nerd, but here are some things I think are good features of Vista:

Windows Task Scheduler has been totally revamped and made significantly more powerful (more power is good).

Basic subsystems like printers, device drivers, etc. have been overhauled for system performance and stability.

Psuedo-firewall protection on all Windows services.

Improved network handling (prioritized bandwidth usage and faster communication throughput).

Drastically improved wireless networking support (Vista now supports automatic wireless network switches as you roam around, and it can run multiple wifi networks to ensure you don't lose your connection).

All programs written for Vista have to tell the OS what permissions they need, and they are granted no more permissions than that.

All programs run in their own service, with reduced permissions if the administrator chooses.

Individual audio profiles for all software (when you run the ST chat, Messenger, and crank up music all at the same time, this feature will save your sanity).

I could go on for pages about the new features, but you can look at the links provided above by Camaron if you want to read more.

[thundercrack83 0]

Can anyone point my in the right direction for screenshots of Vista? I'm curious to see what it looks like.

[coolotter88 2]

1) I rarely use task scheduler, last time I used it was almost 2 years ago

2)my sub-systems are perfectly stable right now, I think if they're unstable, you did something wrong.

3)hardware firewall, software firewall, nuff said, no need for window's firewall

4)what difference this feature makes is probably negligible with the fast internet connections many people have

5)what if I don't use wireless internet?

6 & 7) come together, it's a good idea but why didn't they implement it earlier?

8)and if I don't listen to music, and use 3 different programs that all require sound?

[hym 358]

thundercrack:  Well, there are some screenshots in the links provided by Camaron.  You could probably also Google "Vista screenshots" and get a healthy chunk of pictures of Vista.

coolotter:  Well, I never said you were obligated to agree with me.  Personally, I think that those are good reasons for getting Vista (on top of others), but that's just my opinion.

[Voar Tok 4]

coolotter88: You're not the only person on this planet.  Just because you don't have need for some features doesn't mean that there isn't a reason for other people to get it.  I know a guy who still uses Win98 because he doesn't see a need for XP.  I remember upgrading from 98 to XP and thinking "ya know what, I don't think I like this."  I had to use Win98 over the summer for a while, and I when I started using it again, I thought "ya know what, 98 sucked."  Give the world a few years, and we'll be saying that XP sucks.

I have beefs with Vista, but overall, I see merit in the thing and will eventually end up getting the thing, I'm sure.

As for your five reasons to get Vista, here are some more.

1). Native support for 64-bit computing: (Programs run theoretically run twice as fast as 32-bit)

2). Much improved support for multi-core systems: (Hello real multi-tasking)

3). Better support for new RAM and higher quantities: (XP doesn't have a problem with DDR2 RAM, but it can't handle anywhere near the same quantities)

4). Direct communication with hardware: (Less horsepower gets wasted running things like the interface because the hardware can talk directly with the software)

5). Better protection with the permissions requirements: (It doesn't matter if it didn't come out earlier - point is that it didn't)

[amal81 3]

My friend works at Microsot and he did show me the final release version of Vista. He told me that the shell for the new Windows OS has been re-written entirely, so it basically means that the files will be handled somewhat differently from XP. That is one of the major changes in the system. It also means that whenever you exit a big(resource heavy) application, it takes much shorter for Windows Vista to dump the memory. Right now if I exit Simcity4 from my current PC with 1GB ram, it takes about 10-15 seconds to get responsive, in Vista it will take about 3-5 seconds.

The help/search functions have been revamped too. Now you can search for the settings you want to change. for example I want to change my netowork firewall settings but don't know where they are, now I can easily search for it in the new system.

The other thing which I noticed was that it can run smoothly (with all the GUI effects ie-transperancy, aero etc) turned on) on a laptop with a 1.3Ghz M (1.5 year old) processor, 512 Ram and a 128mb Nvidia graphics chip. I am going ot update my PC next month with a new Core2 duo system, which I think should be able to run Vista without any problems.

[Constantina 5]

Hi,

I like the name, but I will have to pass on this one. It took quite a long time to improve Windows XP since its first release, and by now many users of XP are finding it easier to use. I think it would be worth staying with XP for about a year more before reviewing my opinion on Operating Systems, as a new operating system does not normally indicate that 'you must get it because XP is out of date' or something like that.

If I do get Vista, I'd like to keep the XP theme or at least revert to the good old Windows GUI schemes of 95, 98SE, 2000...

[sendarrow 3]

I think that Windows Vista looks like Mac OS.

[Urbandogg 0]

I like vista !!!!!!!

[Goldfish4209 9]

I'll probably never get vista until:

1. We win the lottery

2. Our current computer gets completely destroyed in some way.

3. Our current computer gets too slow to use.

4. My parents both get drunk at the same time, which will never happen. They don't drink anyways.

5. XP becomes completely obselete and unusable.

I'm hoping for the hardware to die.

[nealos101 20]

Does Vista allow a user to install and play games that could only be played by Win98/3.2/DOS OS'?

If not... I'm not getting it since XP works fine for me and that would be the only reason for getting it.

[Krio 626]

Buggy and expensive. Microsoft should finish their work before selling, they can afford that. Maybe next year I buy upgraded Vista and new computer.

[ExiL3 10]

Too much stuff doesn't work yet in Vista, I am probably at least going to wait a year or two before I go Vista.

There are so many programs for XP that can do EXACTLY the same that vista can do, and at that using less RAM. XP is highly customizable and works with all Windows software, also earlier if you have emulators. There are tons of Security software for XP, so also here I find my XP quite secure. Also I have NO spyware on my PC, and I use quite a bunch of anti spyware programs.

ALSO, a lot of the software that now comes out, will work for XP for a long time.

take care,

[coolotter88 2]

vista is pure poopoo, why bother with DX10 anyway...like right now, its all messed up, they aren't going to get Dx10 games til 2008, Dx10 says its backwards compatible but it really isn't, you have to go through all sorts of dialogs to do stuff (even though the OS is now idiot-proof, only idiots will use it).

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: hym

No System Admin Account:  Yes, you heard that right.  MS is planning to drop the Administrator account with Vista because they learned that they couldn't trust users to understand how to keep their computers safe (that's their words, not mine).  In its place is the "Administrator Privilege Account."  Basically, we all run as a limited user unless we need to access admin functions, in which case we type in our admin password and get temporary admin privileges.  When you are setting up your user account, you choose whether the account can access admin functions; if so, then type your admin password when needed.  If not, then it's just like your typical limit user account in XP.quote>

*ack* Okay, that I'm not gonna like. Since whatever my computer is is going to be used by me and me alone for the foreseeable future... I don't see why I should have to enter some password every damn time I wanna change a setting or something. I hate it when people try to make things overly idiot-friendly, because by doing so, they often make things a pain in the ass to use by people who aren't idiots and want more manual control of things (like myself). That's why I despise photoshop (I use GIMP instead).

Anyway, what has surprised me is that we managed to go over five years without a new version of windows (XP was released October of '01 if memory serves correctly). It had before that been 1 year since Windows 2000 (ME), two years before that since Windows 98, and three before that since Windows 95... so we were seemingly rather overdue here.

Still, I'm not installing a new OS on an existing system, so I won't be using windows vista until I get a new computer. And since the computer I'm using isn't even two years old yet, family history says I've probably got at least another couple of years on this one.

[Urbandogg 0]

Yeah I will wait a year 4 it 2. Cuz then there will be grande updates!!

[beebs 129]

Originally posted by: Duke87

*ack* Okay, that I'm not gonna like. Since whatever my computer is is going to be used by me and me alone for the foreseeable future... I don't see why I should have to enter some password every damn time I wanna change a setting or something.quote>

You don't, you just have to confirm some things... and apparantly there's a setting to turn most of those off.

[clindhartsen 5]

Honestly, the upgrade isn't bad and it honestly runs pretty smoothly, even on dated hardware (my computer is 3 years old-ish).

Personally, I used the OS during the CPP (Customer Product Preview, something like that) and the OS was finally getting perfected around RC2, and honestly, the final release version (I have Home Premium) runs smoothly and ultimately very well. Also, one of the most unnoted but somewhat noticeable things about the OS is the new audio stack (the way audio is sent out and in), which makes your music sound better than it did on most cards in XP (or atleast on my PC it did ).

Anyway, depending on your usage, some of the smaller changes (navigation inside your PC, search, SuperFetch, etc.) just make the experience better, and ultimately make the upgrade worth it in my mind.