Posted on 01/26/2007 10:33:04 PM PST by CedarDave
Unless you've recently emerged from a coma, you know the consumer versions of Microsoft's new Vista operating system ship Tuesday. This column is not a review of Windows Vista. ... This article is for those of you who are about to download or purchase Windows Vista and install it on a PC. I'm here to talk you out of it. ...Here's why.
1. Vista is incomplete
Microsoft is already planning its first service pack .... Vista probably won't be truly ready for prime time until that first service pack version, possibly later this year.
The hardware and software companies that make compatible products for Vista aren't all ready for the new OS. ... Most importantly, not all video and sound card companies are ready.
~~ snip ~~
2. Vista is expensive
Microsoft offers three versions of Vista to home users in the U.S. ...
~~ snip ~~
3. Vista wants a new PC
To get full value from Vista, you're probably going to want to buy a new, Vista-optimized PC. Many of the benefits of Vista require hardware your current PC doesn't have.
~~ snip ~~
4. Vista is time-consuming
Installing any new operating system is time-consuming. You have to configure everything, load your data, install your applications and get your peripherals working. Then, in the case of Vista, you have to figure out where Microsoft buried all the options, menus and features ....
~~ snip ~~
5. Windows XP isn't obsolete
Vista ... doesn't really "solve" any existing problem. Windows XP ... is a solid, well-understood and highly functional operating system. ... Microsoft itself has committed to at least seven more years of XP support, and even plans a Service Pack 3 next year.
~~ snip ~~
6. Vista may be the best reason yet to buy a Mac
(Excerpt) Read more at computerworld.com ...
Shadowace PING!
Again, it depends on your specs.
If you've got a P4 with 512 Megs or a Gig of Ram - yeah, hold off. You'll need a new computer before you need Vista.
If you've got a newish system, especially an x64 one, with a Dual Core processor - get the OS. I've been running Vista since the earliest previews and, since the Release Candidate stage, I've been using it as my main OS (well, my main PC OS). I'm planning on getting a copy of Home Premium on the 30th.
Of course, in part that's because one local store is offering a free Wireless-N router with it, but still - I'd go for an OEM copy from somewhere else otherwise.
So was Windows 3.1, Windos95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows
whatever. BS. Just another ploy to get our bucks and make Gates richer.
As the poster said
gives me more reason to move to a Mac platform. Not that they dont have version upgrades on a regular basis. At least their upgrades tend to be somewhat stable and without a lot of fixes to keep them alive.
I don't see ANY upside to buying Vista now. I have a stable system that performs well and is fully matured through all its service pack incarnations. So now you want me buy Vista and jump through all those hoops again?...I don't think so.
Back in the days of DOS (Does that make me an old fart?) we learned to NOT buy new offerings from Microsoft. We always waited a few months for someone else to work out the bugs.
This is good news; seven more years of XP support, and they even plan a Service Pack 3 next year.
It gives me more time before I have to learn Linux. I personally don't like Macs because of the risk of getting a not good Mac. Plus, it's so easy to assemble a PC and install an OS, why bother paying more money for something welded together that you can't upgrade.
Tossed out the Windows?
There reasons not to buy Vista that are not even in the article.
But what will you do when they stop sporting your current version of windows?
To keep up-to-date with the latest, you are stuck with buying the latest
Gates needs to buy toilet paper for his multimillion dollar home after all.
I still like win 98 SE.
MS is committed to XP support for at least five more years. Don't see any exciting new functionalities on the horizon that compells me to get a new computer or new OS. I might buy Vista in three years or so once they shake all the bugs out of it and I buy a New PC. But until then what is the point of buying Vista beyond trendiness?
PING!
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PING!
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you're probably going to want to buy a new, Vista-optimized PC.somehow I just don't think so. :')
I just got this one working good ...do I really need to change?
Such as??
Exactly. I expect to buy a new computer next year (hard drive limitations, larger monitor) and I'm sure it will be more powerful than my current one that works fine with Windows XP.
My question, asked elsewhere, will XP still be sold or will I be forced to take Vista and spend hours and hours learning a new operating system? The answer I got was to buy a copy of XP on Ebay. Does that mean I won't have a choice if I buy a new computer from a company like Dell or HP; I will be forced to buy one with Vista?
In the past you have been compelled to by the latest OS. You could install XP in a partition and then delete Vista but you still gotta pay for it.
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