Microsoft Vista - Beware!

[JonUrban]

Geez, Bulldog. Have a grudge or something?

I recently bought an HP dv9000 laptop that came with Vista Ultimate installed. Now, granted, this is a high end laptop (Duo T2700, 2Gb RAM, 2 100Gb 7200rpm HDs, 512Mb Video), and my Vista experience has so far been great.

It took me a while to "find" everything, but the interface is beautiful, and I am actually enjoying it.

I will say this: There is no way I would ever "upgrade" to Vista. The problems with drivers that you mention above are 100% true. Also, I do not see corporations jumping on this OS for quite some time. The learning curve for thier support staff will be larger than the switch from 98 to XP.

There are bound to be bugs and holes in any OS, but if you get a powerful enough PC, and start Vista from scratch, the experience is great.

But you are correct, you must move carefully and be sure that you have the power to go with it. Putting Vista on a box that can barely run XP would be a MAJOR ERROR.

 

[cybertrip]

You are right JonUrban. Learning Vista is a whole new experience than it was to learn administration for XP. I installed Vista on one of my office computers and boy... I could not see using this in a network environment. I wish Microsoft would make a simple OS in which users could install modules to customize the way it looks and have modules for major updates like service packs. Honestly, if Apple ever releases MacOS for the PC and more software becomes available for it, I would probably switch to that.

BTW, I have a dual core Pentium D 3.2, Radeon 9800 All-In-Wonder, 1GB Dual Channel DDR. My score on Vista is only 3.4. Bleh!

 

[His Self]

hardware aside, I'm seeing a lot of people who are very upset to find most of the software they purchased in the past year or two is not supported by Vista..and so are looking to buy all new software and all too often are stuck with few choices... same thing happened with XPx64 bit.

Best of both worlds.. Dual Boot XP & Vista or even run a Tri-Boot of Linux, XP & Vista...

 

[Bulldog]

Geez, Bulldog. Have a grudge or something?

I recently bought an HP dv9000 laptop that came with Vista Ultimate installed. Now, granted, this is a high end laptop (Duo T2700, 2Gb RAM, 2 100Gb 7200rpm HDs, 512Mb Video), and my Vista experience has so far been great.

It took me a while to "find" everything, but the interface is beautiful, and I am actually enjoying it.

I will say this: There is no way I would ever "upgrade" to Vista. The problems with drivers that you mention above are 100% true. Also, I do not see corporations jumping on this OS for quite some time. The learning curve for thier support staff will be larger than the switch from 98 to XP.

There are bound to be bugs and holes in any OS, but if you get a powerful enough PC, and start Vista from scratch, the experience is great.

But you are correct, you must move carefully and be sure that you have the power to go with it. Putting Vista on a box that can barely run XP would be a MAJOR ERROR.

I had to chuckle on that one, but please don’t kill the messenger!

I have worked with pre-release Vista versions and have been providing Microsoft with what I found, and many times they have written back acknowledging the problems. Now based on this and other information that I have gathered I just wanted to make sure that folks were aware of possible problems that they will encounter with a Vista upgrade.

If you look back at my other posts, I have been just trying to keep people from jumping in blindly. That is why I have provided the link for the Assessment and the Test drive.

I am not bashing Microsoft, I just have the feeling that Vista might turn into another ME type version, and then have to wait for the next operating system to replace it.

I have been hoping to hear something from members of the forum on their personal experiences with Vista.

Regards

 

[damaged]

I just have the feeling that Vista might turn into another ME type version, and then have to wait for the next operating system to replace it.

Get out of my mind!

 

[JonUrban]

Windows ME?? Yikes! I hope not. That was an abortion. Worse than even MS-DOS 4.00.

So far I am happy with Vista, I was never happy with ME. Even for $50, which was what they sold the upgrade for. (Remember?)

 

[Bulldog]

Microsoft has verified 800 applications to run bug-free on Windows Vista

Alright guys here is some good news and some bad news from a report I got from Computer World:

Thursday, February 22, 2007 12:00 AM PST

Microsoft on Wednesday released a list of 800 applications it has officially verified so far to run bug-free on Windows Vista.

The list is notable for both its brevity and the absence of many applications popular on Windows XP, although Microsoft and analysts said that the majority of XP software can run, albeit with hiccups, on Vista.

Note: After this article posted, a PC World editor verified that vital drivers are still not available for the operating system.

Popular Windows software that is conspicuously missing from Microsoft's list includes Adobe Systems's entire line of graphics and multimedia software, Symantec Corp.'s security products, as well as the Mozilla Foundation's open-source Firefox Web browser, Skype's free voice-over-IP software, and the OpenOffice.org alternative to Microsoft Office.

Software that has been tested as part of Microsoft's Vista certification program to run on all 32- and 64-bit versions of Vista include CorelDraw and WordPerfect from Corel, PowerDVD from Cyberlink, Nero 7 Premium, Trend Micro AntiVirus and PC-Cillin, AutoCad 2008, QuickBooks 2007 from Intuit, Microsoft Office 2007 and many other Microsoft applications.

In addition, Google's Desktop Search and its Toolbar for Internet Explorer have earned Microsoft's approval.

Missing From the List:

Windows' extensive software ecosystem has long been one of the operating system's chief attractions. But Vista's long beta program last year allowed users to start compiling their own lists of applications that they claimed were broken or problematic on Vista.

Many of those were graphics-intensive games, which was the result of a new rendering engine, DirectX 10, introduced for Vista. But there are also a number of business and utility applications that have not been updated to ensure Vista compatibility. For instance, the latest version of Skype doesn't work on Vista. Firefox does work, though Mozilla has documented known issues.

Most of Adobe's multimedia software won't be officially supported for Vista until the middle of this year, though many applications can run today with minor problems (download Adobe's explanatory PDF).
Adobe, which will face competition from Microsoft this year when Microsoft releases its suite of graphics and multimedia design tools, did not immediately return a request to comment.

Symantec is already facing similar competition from Microsoft, which released its OneCare security suite last year.

In statements on its Web site aimed at business and home users, Symantec said some of its software, such as Norton AntiVirus 2007, already works with Vista. Other Symantec software, such as Ghost 12, won't be ready until mid-April.

Microsoft's Vista testing program, which vendors must pay to be a part of, has two levels: software that is "certified for Windows Vista" and software that "works with Windows Vista."

At the moment, 108 applications have been certified, while 683 have been awarded the "works with" distinction.

For companies that tend to run both off-the-shelf software as well as custom applications written in-house, Silver said that the percentage of applications with problems on Vista runs as high as 50 percent in some companies but is less than 10 percent in others. While many of those problematic applications won't need to be replaced, he said, "there's a good chance for disappointment for people that aren't careful."

 

[Pepper]

Sure it has its bugs but there are great things in there too.

Virtual PC 2007 is a free download. Right now I'm running Vista on my desktop and a couple different versions in virtual machines for testing different stuff. Works great!

 

[Heavie]

I wonder if Vista will be like ME and no one will use it.

ME was one the smoothest running os from windows. You had to format and reinstall it every three months, because it will lose drivers like a leaking water line.

I hated windows 2000, because it perform so stiff.

Xp is 2000 + ME together. Xp is strong like a server os, but have the feel like windows 98.

 

[cybertrip]

ME was one the smoothest running os from windows. You had to format and reinstall it every three months, because it will lose drivers like a leaking water line.

I hated windows 2000, because it perform so stiff.

Xp is 2000 + ME together. Xp is strong like a server os, but have the feel like windows 98.

uh... no.... XP = 2K + ME.... riiiiight. ME was horrible and XP bares no resemblence. XP is a little bit more user friendly than 2K as 2K was not designed for the average home user. XP is strong, like a good OS, but still has the feel of 2K with some graphical enhancements. Like I said, it bares absolutely no resemblence to Win9x.

 

[tonyp56]

Well, spend some time repairing PC's, dealing with customers wanting to upgrade, etc. and you learn that you NEVER EVER go out and buy any software especially OS's for atleast a year after they come out.

Vista sounds promising, and looks and feels good (I've used it) but it will have issues. I wouldn't say so much in the form of bugs, but issues, you got to remember how many models, types, etc. of devices there are out there. Almost endless amount of drivers have to be written, and those drivers will have to have the bugs worked out of them as well.

 

[tonyp56]

RC1 released and even more stuff didnt work on an up to date computer.

This is something stupid that Microsoft (I'm sure others do too) does with their beta versions. They don't fully enable 100% of their bells and whistles (security, anti-piracy, etc.), and then, when they release the full product, they turn all that stuff on, and wham, you've got issues that never came up before during beta testing.

 

[Bulldog]

Well, spend some time repairing PC's, dealing with customers wanting to upgrade, etc. and you learn that you NEVER EVER go out and buy any software especially OS's for atleast a year after they come out.

Vista sounds promising, and looks and feels good (I've used it) but it will have issues. I wouldn't say so much in the form of bugs, but issues, you got to remember how many models, types, etc. of devices there are out there. Almost endless amount of drivers have to be written, and those drivers will have to have the bugs worked out of them as well.

The excitement about Vista in as far as manufactures are concern, is that it will create a demand for new computers and equipment .i.e. Printers, Scanners. Therefore, very little effort will be expanded in creating new Vista drivers for older gear; and retailers are happy because they stand to increase their sales for all this new equipment.

What a deal!

 

[SideSwipeX]

The excitement about Vista in as far as manufactures are concern, is that it will create a demand for new computers and equipment .i.e. Printers, Scanners. Therefore, very little effort will be expanded in creating new Vista drivers for older gear; and retailers are happy because they stand to increase their sales for all this new equipment.

What a deal!

for the most part isn't already cheaper is most cases to buy a new printer instead of ink cartridges?

 

[BobMurdoch]

In the mid 90's I was one of those guys that bought the new operating system within a few days of it coming on the market. Lately, I've stopped doing this and merely wait for it to come bundeled with a new PC. Too many glitches with existing equipment.

I agree... wiat six months and let the drivers and software catch up. I'd rather be in the third wave of D Day than the first... The first two waves can absorb all the gotchas....

 

[8bitbytes]

I've started testing Vista Business for work - seems to be working fine with the standard installs we use. It doesn't like the little updater utlities that run in the background for Sonic/Roxio and other programs but I try to keep those off my pcs anyway because they are just hogging up memory and cpu cycles.

Of course, I did a clean load like I have with every upgrade since Windows 98. It just works better that way. Took me three days to help a friend over the Internet fix his "upgrade" he did over the top of his well used XP machine. You can do a clean install with the Vista upgrade DVD, there's a ten step procedure list out there on the Internet.

When I installed, it already had drivers for both of my printers, one laser and one inkjet, so I didn't have to load those drivers myself. I'm running Vista on a 3 year old Pentium 4 2.8 with built-in audio/video/network on the motherboard and a SATA hard drive. The onboard Intel Extreme 2 video handles the new look but I will turn that all off when I'm done testing - I prefer the classic clean look. No icons on the desktop, no wallpaper, black background, hide the taskbar.

I like the new security model and I get more settings to control under Group Policy so it's looking good for the office. Not sure if and when I'll load it at home though. It took me a year before I went from W2K to XP so it will be awhile before I fix what ain't broke!

 

[Bulldog]

In the mid 90's I was one of those guys that bought the new operating system within a few days of it coming on the market. Lately, I've stopped doing this and merely wait for it to come bundeled with a new PC. Too many glitches with existing equipment.

I agree... wiat six months and let the drivers and software catch up. I'd rather be in the third wave of D Day than the first... The first two waves can absorb all the gotchas....

I agree!

I have 4 systems (one runs Ubuntu) in my home network, my main system has certain hardware attached, and when I tested Vista these were the following hardware problems I encountered:

• Belkin PCI Wireless Card Ver 5100 – No Vista drivers for this version of this card
• HP Laser jet 3150 All-in-one Printer – No Vista drivers available and HP web page on this model stated no drivers will be issued
• Epson Perfection 2480 Photo scanner – No Drivers for Vista. Epson will not provide driver for it.
• Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000 – No Vista drivers yet
• Konica Minolta 2300 DL Color Laser Printer – No drivers for USB support, but have a work around via Ethernet

Bill Gates said that Vista is the most tested of the Windows OS and it has the best security. He expects that there will be few problems with VISTA. Now with that said, if you just have to be the first one on your block to have it then go ahead; but if you are happy with Windows XP then why rush out to get the latest Operating system?

 

[damaged]

Bill Gates said that Vista is the most tested of the Windows OS and it has the best security. He expects that there will be few problems with VISTA.

To add to that, let us not forget, Bill Gates is the same man who stated that 512K of RAM is all anyone would ever need.

 

[Bulldog]

U.S. Government DOT Bans Vista, Office 2007 and Explorer 7

I just read about this today that the U.S. Department of Transportation (D.O.T.)
has banned Windows Vista, Office 2007, and Internet Explorer 7.

It seems that D.O.T.‘s critical applications do not work on Vista. There are some issues with legacy software, but the main problem is that the current standard DOT build doesn't meet Vista's minimum system requirements.

Since Al Gore help to invent the internet maybe he can help D.O.T.

As far as Office 2007, I am using Office 2007 and I like it very much. It takes a little bit of time finding out the new bells and whistles also finding where they moved things around, but overall a very nice upgrade.

 

[Bulldog]

NIST bans Vista in major blow to Microsoft

Another Federal agency is banning Vista for the time being, this report is from Information Week, and it reads:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology isn't just another federal agency - it sets the standards for federal computing. And NIST doesn't like Vista.

In fact it has banned it from its internal networks, according to document obtained by InformationWeek.

IW obtained a copy of the formal agenda for an April 10 meeting at which tech staffers will explain their concerns and discuss "the current ban of this operating system on NIST networks," the newsweekly said.

This follows news that the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration are also banning Vista. FAA CIO Dave Bowen told InformationWeek he wold consider running a combination of Linux and Google Apps.

Among other things, Bowen said he is concerned that Windows Vista may be incompatible with many software applications already in use at the FAA.