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Microsoft Foresaw Vista Problems
Wall Street Journal ^ | 02/28/08 | ROBERT A. GUTH

Posted on 02/28/2008 10:57:49 PM PST by militem

A Microsoft Corp. executive last year said the software company made a mistake by lowering the minimum technical requirements needed to run Windows Vista, a decision he said was made to help Intel Corp. meet its quarterly earnings, according to internal emails disclosed this week. The emails provide a glimpse into how Microsoft executives and hardware partners grappled with technical glitches and other problems as they prepared the long-awaited Windows Vista software for market. The emails were released as part of a federal class-action suit alleging that Microsoft's marketing program for Windows Vista misled consumers. In several of the emails, Microsoft executives appear to be planning how they will explain to Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner how a branding program implied that certain PCs were technically capable of running Windows Vista operating system when, in fact, they weren't. The emails also show how Microsoft executives struggled to respond to complaints from a Microsoft board member about technical problems he had encountered.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: billgatescaresnot; businessasusual; microsoft; vista
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To: KayEyeDoubleDee; Salamander
1.66GHz does strike me as a little slow for Vista, and I would also wonder how quickly that hard drive responds. Also the FSB, at 664MHz, is just a tad slow.

But otherwise it seems like you should be good to go.

...go...back to Windows XP. Kidd, stop blaming hardware for the problems that Vista has. What, do you work for MS or something? Don't get me wrong, I make a very good living thanks to MS, but I recognize a rotten egg when I smell it.

61 posted on 02/29/2008 6:04:39 AM PST by Ignatz (Female teacher sex scandals? Dang! I didn't even get to bang the erasers...)
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To: KayEyeDoubleDee
As for the RAM, I'd want at least 1 GB [preferably 2 GB].

Two gigs of RAM from Newegg add $44 to the price of a barebones computer from Newegg.

62 posted on 02/29/2008 6:05:32 AM PST by js1138
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To: AlexW
Since I have a duo2core processor I run XP pro 64.
63 posted on 02/29/2008 6:09:40 AM PST by armymarinemom (My sons freed Iraqi and Afghan Honor Roll students.)
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To: CutePuppy
...since the overwhelming majority of the revenue they get is not from retail sales...

They are facing a bigger problem. Vista is the client for Longhorn (Windows 2008 Server), much like XP was the client for Windows 2003. They are going to have a hard time selling enterprise Admins and CIO's on the benefits of upgrading if they can't get Vista fixed. Would you risk your mission-critical environment on a server O/S whose client can't even run properly?

64 posted on 02/29/2008 6:10:04 AM PST by Ignatz (Female teacher sex scandals? Dang! I didn't even get to bang the erasers...)
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To: militem

bump


65 posted on 02/29/2008 6:15:08 AM PST by Freee-dame
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To: Ignatz

And I got a whole nestful of rotten Vista eggs.

Gonna kill it dead soon, yes I am.....LOL!


66 posted on 02/29/2008 6:17:38 AM PST by Salamander (And don't forget my Dog; fixed and consequent......)
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To: KayEyeDoubleDee

QFT


67 posted on 02/29/2008 6:24:34 AM PST by pilipo (I am officially a man without a country.)
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To: KayEyeDoubleDee
What are your specs?

Especially: Do you know what kind of hard drive you have [ata100, ata133, satai, or sataii?], and how fast it spins [5400, 7200, or 10000 rpm?]

I'm sorry, but an Operating System is there to take care of the housekeeping chores of the computer, such as file management and graphical interface, so that programs can run.

An Operating System shouldn't be so complicated and computationally intensive that it requires more resources than the underlying programs it is supposed to support.

Vista spent more time trying to make the windows do neat graphics tricks when opening and closing than they did in making sure it tracked memory use, file structures, and allowed programs to run efficiently.

They should have named Vista Windows MEII because it is going to suffer the same fate as ME.

68 posted on 02/29/2008 6:27:40 AM PST by Yo-Yo (USAF, TAC, 12th AF, 366 TFW, 366 MG, 366 CRS, Mtn Home AFB, 1978-81)
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To: AlexW

I know dell still sells XPs via their small business operation.


69 posted on 02/29/2008 6:29:29 AM PST by Jagman (Liberalism is a "progressive" disease)
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To: KayEyeDoubleDee; AlexW
Here’s my take:
I’m running VISTA Home Premium, 1.5 Core2 Duo w/2mb L2 cache and 866mhz FSB, 3Gb Ram, 160Gb 5400 rpm drive, and an Intel 965 Graphics Chip.

It runs well and although I have had to do some tweaking it is really no better or worse than any of my XP Pro installs.

The biggest issues I have had are with Media Center (a pig that I have never had on XP, so I can’t compare it to anything in my experience).

I would not recommend doing any of the following in today’s market regardless of the OS you choose to run, and especially if you ever want to run Vista: Less than 2Gb Ram, Less than 256Mb system ram dedicated to video, a slower Front Side Bus, or less than 2Mb L2 Cache.

My 2 cents
(FWIW I also had a properly spec-ed ME PC that ran as good as 98, but now I am running XP Pro on it with good results).

70 posted on 02/29/2008 6:32:15 AM PST by Woodman ("One of the most striking differences between a cat and a lie is that a cat has only nine lives." PW)
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To: Salamander
I have a Dell 690 work station with dual - dual core 3GHz Xeon processors, 4 GB of RAM and two 250GB SATA drives with Raid 0 to double the throughput. It has Vista Ultimate on it. My primary use for it is heavy duty engineering programs. I’ve been using it since late April of last year. While I’ve had serious compatibility issues with older software (mostly engineering tools) I haven’t had many stability issues. In that time I’ve probably crashed the OS a couple of times. Most of the compatibility issues involved the mouse and installation. Programs written in Visual Basic 4 and 6 also have serious problems. I use VMWare Workstation to run a virtual Windows 2000 machine within Vista to run my old software that wouldn’t run on Vista. I don’t use those older programs that often but I have to from time to time.
71 posted on 02/29/2008 6:32:50 AM PST by DB
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These Vista threads are the same everywhere. A number of people pipe up with the long laundry list of things required to run Vista along with all of the switch to Mac or Linux posts.

The question never answered is, “why upgrade at all?” XP seems to work just fine 99.9% of the time and has functional and stable drivers. And it works with the hardware you own right now.

So what’s the point? Does anyone need DRM crap or the zoomy interface to get things done? Of course not.

Vista was released to keep the MS revenue stream flowing, not to help you out as a user...


72 posted on 02/29/2008 6:56:34 AM PST by jsharpscs
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To: jsharpscs
Your missing the point. I didn’t upgrade, I bought a new piece of H/W. My recommendations are in regards to if you want to have a good expirience with a new P/C, this is what you should look for. Similar to telling someone that if you want to buy a jeep Wrangler and do some serious offroading, don’t get the 4 banger.
73 posted on 02/29/2008 7:00:16 AM PST by Woodman ("One of the most striking differences between a cat and a lie is that a cat has only nine lives." PW)
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To: AlexW
If you have any software that you like, it might not run on Vista.

A relative did the same thing (98 to Vista laptop), and had to spend even more money to get the latest QuickBooks, an unplanned purchase, among other annoyances.

74 posted on 02/29/2008 7:04:39 AM PST by Calvin Locke
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To: MikeHu; Swordmaker; randita; HAL9000
"Apples are the only computers worth buying used because they are so well made — unlike the PCs which are designed for obsolescence."

Yes, indeed! My wife is still using my 10-year-old Mac "Wall Street" G3 laptop -- which has never had a problem.

I'm writing this on my 2003 Titanium G4 Powerbook -- which I bought used -- sight unseen -- from a fellow FReeper several years ago. ;-) I have used it so constantly and heavily for doing high-end graphics ("overhead imagery", cartography and graphics-heavy presentations for archaeology) that the plastic frame to the right of the trackpad is worn down ~3mm below the titanium deck plate. Aside from adding a larger HD and 1 MB of RAM, all I have done is lug it all over the country -- including "in the field" on digs -- and use the heck out of it.

I have the $$ set aside for a new 17" Macbook Pro, but am holding off in hopes Apple will soon offer their great LED backlighting on the 17" (as they now do their 15").

When I get the new 17" MBP, I will set up a partition to run XP via VMWare. Then I'll dump my Dell laptop -- that I only use for running ESRI's ArcGIS software...

I run both systems daily -- and hate every moment I'm on the Dell. OSX/Mac is the only way to go!

75 posted on 02/29/2008 7:42:24 AM PST by TXnMA (Don't vote for McCain. Vote AGAINST the Democrats!!!)
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To: Woodman

It wasn’t a criticism, just an observation. I have a recommendation too. If you’re looking for a “good experience” when buying a new PC, look for one that’s running XP...


76 posted on 02/29/2008 7:42:42 AM PST by jsharpscs
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To: AlexW

XP With its Service Packs is as far as you want to go....

VISTA is not ready for Prime Time


77 posted on 02/29/2008 7:45:24 AM PST by Halgr (Once a Marine, always a Marine - Semper Fi)
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To: KayEyeDoubleDee
2 GB RAM is cheap these days. Only $50-60. You can run it with 512 MB but it'll be slow as molasses and crash frequently. Windows Visa is happy with 2 GB of RAM. 4 GB is optimal. I upgraded my RAM this week and the first thing to go was the mouse freezing up after a session.

78 posted on 02/29/2008 7:49:25 AM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: militem

Got my first Mac last week.

Love it. Adios Vista and whatever crap is in the pipeline from Microsoft.


79 posted on 02/29/2008 7:50:00 AM PST by The South Texan (The Drive By Media is America's worst enemy and American people don't know it.)
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To: militem

BTTT


80 posted on 02/29/2008 7:50:00 AM PST by dennisw (Never bet on a false prophet! <<<||>>> Never bet on Islam!)
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