Vista Sucks

Daren
on December 27, 2006

I'm not having the same experience. i'm running Vista x64 from a clean install, Firefox works fine i can bookmark, remove toolbars etc i do get the animation if i remove all bookmarks but that is a trivial bug, i can download files and run them, I actually like the new programs menu i find myself just typing a few letters of the program name and hitting enter. Sure i have some issues but all are caused by 3rd party apps written for XP, to be expected i think.

Vegard
on December 28, 2006

I have to agree with Daren. I'm running Vista x86 on my trusty T42p. Now, I don't use Firefox, so I can't comment on that, but the rest. Beside the disclaimers for VS 2005 and SQL I really like Vista.

Why expand menus at all, just hit the start button and type the first letters of your app and hit enter, unless you've installed tons of 3rd party tools with similar names that is, then you have to with for the search result to appear.

Jason
on December 28, 2006

It doesn't matter if _some_ people have no trouble with Vista ... it is supposed to be a commercial grade OS. Until _most_ people have no trouble, Vista is not worth the plastic it is pressed on.

Joe
on December 29, 2006

My experience has been the opposite I love Vista. Yes if you are an early adopter you will have to wait for vendors to catch up. But, if MS left any security holes your post would be about Vista security.

Maybe they should of waited a little longer before releasing, but would have pissed off Shareholders.

Nicholas
on December 29, 2006

I too have very few complaints. Most of the problems you're describing sound like driver/software issues, which Microsoft can't be blamed for. I'm still waiting for final ATI/Creative drivers on my machine... but the betas (at least for ATI) seem to be holding up nicely.

I'm using VS2005 and SQL2005 without any problems, using the latest service packs and beta Vista service pack.

Firefox works perfectly. Not sure if you installed it to a non-default folder or something? Or have your user account set up wrong? But it just plain worked for me out of the box. Did you leave UAC turned on or off? I've left it on (default) and haven't had troubles.

Carl
on January 2, 2007

Milan, sorry to hear you've had so much trouble. Of course the first suggestion to folks is "clean install." I understand this is daunting for folks but Vista clean install is much much improved.

My first hunch on the sleep/freeze problem is a problem with your BIOS. Check your manufacturer's website for updates.

Certainly you registered and validated your copy of Vista, right? Your lockout problem sounds very much like Windows Genuine Advantage [Reduced Functionality Mode.](http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=148)

Still, I agree that Vista is not a no-brainer upgrade, yet. It requires careful evaluation for each individual. And perhaps some bug fixes. :-)

David
on January 3, 2007

My experience with Vista is horrible. I installed it on very decent hardware (new HP notebook with 2GB RAM..) yet this thing is slower than a turtle on Vicodin. I agree that the menu is absolutely claustrophobic. I normally more-or-less like MS products, but I will not be using Vista even if Microsoft gives me free notebook combined with use of private jet. Many applications do not work and the OS freezes randomly. No BIOS settings helps. And I did a clean install. Sucks sucks sucks big time. Even basic things that worked correctly in XP seem to be broken in Vista, e.g. wireless networking disconnects randomly.

David
on January 3, 2007

Plus, I forgot to add, my notebook battery drains in under 2 hours in Vista, while in XP it lasts over 4 hours. I guess the name 'Vista' is appropriate - you are left without battery power so quickly you can just stare out of airplane window and enjoy the views instead of actually working.

Alec
on January 10, 2007

Wow, I just read your piece and I have to admit I am having the opposite experience with Vista. While I do find the fact that VS 2003 does not work properly, I can easily solve that with a virtual machine. Firefox is my main browser and works perfectly. I have not had one problem with it yet. I have been running Vista since it was released on MSDN. I did not do an upgrade (because quite frankly I do not trust upgrading an OS), choosing instead to do a full install of Vista Ultimate. One thing I did do and recommend to all that are going to migrate to Vista is run the Vista Upgrade Adviser. This one move saved me loads of time diagnosing compatibility problems.

Shawn Oster
on January 10, 2007

I installed the RTM version of Vista Home Premium on my new HP dv9000 laptop. Installed fast, looks pretty, seems as snappy or snappier as XP SP2. I like it better for a laptop OS as I can get to all the power settings in one place. The start menu took awhile to get used to but you can also set it back to XP-style though I use Windows Key + Search to find all my apps these days.

VS 2005 + SP1 is working great, minus the usual cavets.

Firefox installed and works fine.

There are some UI things I'm adjusting to, I'm not big on the folders being sideways and while I like the new control panel I can't always tell where I need to drill into to find things.

I do *HATE* the multiple versions. I struggled with IIS7 forever before finding out that the Home Premium version doesn't allow Windows Authentication on IIS7. It also doesn't allow Remote Desktop.

Overall I like a lot about Vista, the visuals are slick, I like the full preview of items in the taskbar more than I thought I would, the photo gallery is very nice, tagging support is built into a lot of the apps and Windows Update is finally truely built into the system. I really like the network view that gives you a network map.

Sorry your experience was so bad, mines been great so far.

Jaykat77
on January 10, 2007

Vista is a hog, it runs ok on my duel core but is sluggish on IBM T43. I can also confirm that it drains my laptop battery much more quickly (lost 45 minutes from a full charge).

Lets get real here. WHY does any want to upgrade to this? I mean serious, what do you get? Considering MS track records and how 2003 was suppose to be the most secure OS in the world. I don't see how this is going to be THAT much better.

I'll stick with XP and 2003 for now.

Michael
on January 15, 2007

Mmmh, so far I have no problems with Vista (in opposite to older Windows versions). Everything works great.
But I also realized that the battery of my T43p drains much more quickly. So maybe I will only use it on my desktop pc and delete it from my notebook.

csharp guy
on January 15, 2007

Well i guess we need to wait for a little more time for a stable version :)

ScytheNoire
on January 17, 2007

I couldn't disagree more. So far, after figuring out a few minor things that are different from XP, I've had no problems, for the most part, and things have worked very good. There's an annoying bug when it comes to thumbnails and certain mpeg's, but other than that, I'm enjoying Vista very much. It is a step in the right direction and I can't wait for the DirectX 10 games. My only future concern is DRM, although I never use any bought media that might contain DRM on my computer (which is a good thing given the Sony rootkit issue), I always use stand-alone players, so I may never experience those DRM issues.

steve
on January 18, 2007

Vista is the biggest joke MS has ever unleashed. I have many facts to back this up, but I will only tell you about one. Vista still uses NTFS. Regular old NTFS! The only difference between XP and Vista NTFS is symbolic links. BIG DEAL! UFS has had symbolic links for decades! Microsoft completely ignored 20+ years of file system research when picking a file system for vista. Instead they picked a file system that remains relatively unchanged since 1993.

Vista is supposed to be a "commercial" grade OS, but that is a joke. Once again MS has made a OS that is barley fit for home use. In fact they have made it harder for home users with all the fancy security features that will be broken shortly.

Listen, don't be afraid of change! Save your old computer and put Linux on it, or buy a Mac!!! Both OS's undergo constant change and improvement, not just when their creators find a problem! The old stereo type of software only running on Windows is gone, anyone who wants to remain in business has ports to at least OSX. Internet Explorers position as the standard web browser is dying too, Mozilla Firefox out numbers hits on my web site almost 2 to 1.

Microsoft should wake up and smell the coffee, or they are in trouble.

dave
on January 19, 2007

everytime I think it's ok, something else is all screwed up. Seriously, vista is a royal pain. Changing well known paths? what were they thinking... And yes, my network disconnects randomly... DNS doesn't work more often than it does, My host sits in Local Only network mode until I go into a command prompt and ping something. Only then, does it drop into internet mode. I can hit reload all day long till the cows come home in firefox OR IE7 and it still won't go anywhere without a ping. Visual studio finally works, but yells at me like I'm riding a motorcycle without a helmet for running it... That's one of the FLAGSHIP products... they should have waited. these are individually minor issues, but as a whole it's a terrible experience

lisa
on January 22, 2007

I have to say I tried installing it 2x now, not even going to bother, get most of the problems the first persn is talking about. Blue screen then computer can't start up....not worth the effort anymore, I just couldn't be bothered.

Dragan Panjkov
on January 26, 2007

I installed Vista while it was in Beta 2. After that, I upgraded to RC1 and currently I have RC2 CPP version of Vista Ultimate... I had some problems with VWD Express - unable to run site with development server. Besides that, it is working fine, considering my low-level hardware (Radeon 9250/128MB, 512MB RAM and small 10GB dedicated partition)... Office 2007, Gimp and Expression Web B2TR also worked fine on it, but slower than on WinXP (And some testing NetFx3 apps :) )
Problems you encountered with Firefox I had on XP x64, same behaviour, but I didn't resolved that...
Did you tried to install Vista on Virtual Machine using VMWare?

Megan Kingslock
on January 27, 2007

VistaBootPRO is a copy of EasyBCD, which is the real deal. EasyBCD has a hundred more features and wasn't written from stolen code. If you liked VistaBootPRO you really should check out EasyBCD, it gives you features like automated MBR backup, Linux & OS X support, and comes with NeoGrub too.

PROnetworks should be ashamed of theirselves for copying such an excellent (and free) program!

Roger
on January 29, 2007

My experience has also been horrible. My target box is 3 months old and after I crawl through the carnage of driver hell I get slapped around by Vista Advisor that VS2005 and SQL2005 "Probably" won't work right. So I figure I'll deal with it and proceed to install. Right! 3 hours later into setup I get blue screen of death and then roll back into XP with no report or explanation other than visit microsoft.com for Vista Advisor.

Ok, I get it. Install fresh. But what's the deal with the lack of support for, as I read above, the Developer's Flag Ship VS2005? Shouldn't at least Microsoft support, say, Microsoft?

As with probably most of you, I D/L'd from MSDN. But if I was joe blow who picked up Vista from worst fry (bestbuy) on my way home from work, I'd be up all night and feeling totaly burned by morning.

Capth00k
on January 30, 2007

Installed the RTM Vista, Build 6000 ; on a Sony Vaio laptop machine with 1gb of ram & a P4 2.8 ghz ; I guess you need a real 3+ghz machine to run vista and a slick video card because on notebooks... well, let's just say - its slow, and it sucks. I cannot believe this is being put in shrink wrap and sold as the 'next best os' for computer users when it will only work on 10% of home user's PC's. This is going to be G-R-E-A-T PR for Microsoft when people get home and install it (which takes friggin HOURS) ; only to realize that you cannot UNinstall it and it runs like Windows ME on barbichuates & tranquilizers!!! ROFL!!

cdz
on January 30, 2007

Well got my action pack copy today took 3 tries to load it on my desktop.. I guess my sound card (USB Audigy 2 NX) will probably never work with it. The graphics are pretty almost reminds me of Linux 3 years ago. I have to agree though the menu interface sucks. runs about half as fast as it used to atleast on a perception basis. Also loaded it on my 3.04 ghz laptop..... Bad move my Geforce FX go5600 simply can't do it and thats in most basic mode. I also upgraded the drive before hand but it seems really slow now.. Pretty much seems unusable also downloaded the update SIS graphics accelerator and have now lost all transparency. I was more impressed when I loaded Knoppix... it actually made my laptop run faster. Bah I am very dissapointed. The one thing I do like the memory test software.

JJ
on February 1, 2007

Last year where I worked we hired a developer that had just come from the working on the Vista OS development team. He did not have specific comments other than he left because he said 'it was a total mess'. Granted MS could have fixed a lot of stuff in a year (or if status quo, screwed up even more stuff). Hesitant to install Vista after an experience with installing XP service pack 2, I asked our desk top support person if any one at work has installed it (over 4000 people work here). He said he had installed it for a number of early adapters (also referred to as masochists). He said a few people were really happy and had no negative experiences but the majority had problems. I'm seriously thinking of buying an Apple computer the next time around, you know one of the dual boot systems so that when I have the normal 'my windows OS is hosed again experience' I will at least have a system that I can use. My wife switched to an Apple about 2 1/2 years ago and has not had any problems.

Mike
on February 1, 2007

I can't believe people actually like vista. I work at best buy at store number 221 in the computer department Tulsa OK, best damn best buy in the country ( check if you think I'm lying )and it pains me to promote such junk. So far we have had three computers BSOD and I'm not talking about just dumping physical memory either.
In my opinion 1 in 1000 BSOD MIGHT be acceptable. If MS hyped about how safe this OS was then how come on the first day I had a ZLOB downloader on my computer? What makes that funny is that I have only been on the MS forums checking for good and bad things so far... hhmmm, seems kinda funny to me.
Anywho back to it, after this fiasco with the trojan I decided to go back to Firefox... Firefox would go through the installation until it got to the final touches and ''File is corrupt'' !!!!!!!(tried the install 3 times, and also tried different download locations different from mozilla's main webpage) well let me put it this way, in my XP firefox is all I ever used and had no use for virus protection, now the first day with IE7 I have a ZLOB? No thanks, Microsoft can have this back at least until SP1 rolls around.
Oh btw I am now back to my XP on my firefox right now surfing safely as ever.
That reminds me how people complain that FF doesn't work with certain webpages, well the reason for that is that you haven't downloaded the Active X plugin from mozilla. Why you would want to do that is clearly not obvious to me.
I am also keeping in mind that active X accounts for over 70% of the viruses out there, so I'll stick to flash in FF thank you.

Yes vista sure does LOOK pretty, I want an OS that works, not something that looks like it would work. Sure I can use ''ReadyBoost'' or all of the other neat features that mean nothing to me.
Office 07 makes things HARDER dammit!? who would have thought, where are my properties, and margins( ok wait I found the margins sorry)
Finally this whole experience has been bad from the get go with having to RE-install twice and both times I had to verify my license. The third time took the other two just failed completely.

My score from a computer builder/ sales associate on my first vista experience...2/10 That my friends is a very generous 2.
!!!FIREFOX!!!

Karl
on February 1, 2007

I installed Vista on my HP computer (2GB RAM, AMD, latest greatest NVidia card, all new stuff) and it is constantly crashing my computer. I am less than impressed - the network drivers are only working after every other reboot, the "great" Aero interface is very slow (and I have a video card with 512MB !!!). Many of the applications are broken and IE7 is the biggest joke- such a clumsy interface, impossible to use. Even I have 2GB RAM, Vista is constantly doing something with the hard drive, even if there are no apps running.

So, going back to Windows XP tonight. I need the computer to work and not to be a Microsoft testbed. Maybe Vista will be usable once SP7 is out.

Carlos de Zayas
on February 2, 2007

Tried to upgrade to Vista Ultimate on my brand new dual core box. After two failed upgrades, rolled back to XP and bought a copy of Xandros Professional, a Debian-based Linux distro, for my old computer. I was amazed. Someone has finally made Linux "just work" like Windows. Installation is GUI-based and was a snap; it recognized the gateway automatically, connected to the Net, downloaded its updates and there it was. No problem joining the Windows network and sharing printers and drives. All the software I need (including the firewall, the antivirus, the internet security app, as well as office, graphics, multimedia and DVD apps) comes as part of the distro, works almost identically to the equivalent Windows software, and the files are compatible with Microsoft Office. The OS comes with CrossOver, which runs lots of Windows software, incuding Microsoft Office and Photoshop (if you must have them instead of the native Linux apps) within Linux. And it comes with a membership that allows you to get operating system and software updates automatically for a year; $40 for subsequent years.

Why mess with Vista Ultimate at $499 when you can have a real network operating system, complete with software, for $150?

Michael S.
on February 2, 2007

I have purchased and installed Vista Ultimate RTM, and it is the stupidist thing ever.

I am sorry but after several years of development, this is Microsoft's breakthrough??? I am really disappointed. I have been a professional .NET developer for 6 years now and have always loved the platform and I was hoping Microsoft would do just as good a job on Vista. Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 work on Vista, but with SEVERAL ISSUES. At first, SQL Server 2005 wouldn't even start up, it would just disappear. After 3 hours of research, I found out that it did not have the necessary permisssions to run. Whatever happened to user-friendly warning messages, at the least????

Breakthrough OS? What a joke!!! If I did not need Visual Studio and SQL Server, I would install one of the Linux distributions. I know they have Mono (.NET for Linux) and all, but nothing that comes close to Visual Studio and SQL Server.

I will be installing Windows XP Pro again. What a waste of my money.

Jasper
on February 2, 2007

I was eager to upgrade from Xp to Vista and now that I did it is a big disappointment, most of the above critical behavior happened to me to, also Vista is to patronising.

I"ve had it with Windows.

Daniel L. Taylor
on February 2, 2007

Installed some custom software on a client machine today. First machine they've bought with Vista, a brand new Dell notebook with Core Duo, 1 GB of RAM, and video that can support the glass UI.

Vista Pros: nice UI look and feel. Good help system.

Vista Cons: slow as a dying dog! I could boot and shutdown my XP notebook in the time it took Vista to get to the password screen. I could boot, shutdown, boot, shutdown, boot, shutdown...boot, shutdown a MacBook in the time it took Vista to boot and be ready for work.

Too much "in your face" stuff. This has always been Windows problem, but it seems worse in Vista. I want to work, not read 20 unimportant messages from my OS!

Just enough movement of commands to force an XP user to the help command.

Annoying security that doesn't really secure a single thing. Do you want to do this? Are you sure? Did you do that? Maybe you shouldn't do that? Did you launch this program? Did you want it to do something? Are you sure? SHUT UP AND JUST WORK!

I'm not impressed. If I want a hip interface, I'll buy an iMac. At least Apple's bouncing icons don't turn a Core Duo into a 286.

Vlad
on February 4, 2007

I never used Vista, but recently visited the local Staples store to just check it out. At first it looked great, but then I realized how unconfortable it is. Its funny, how they have this new GUI involved -- the desktop manager similar to xgl and beryl, when I ran a simple prog - AIM, it didn't show the fancy visual transformations when minimizing and resoring. I guess it works only for windows' apps. That is just funny. It took me two minutes before I realized that I came there for no reason

stu
on February 4, 2007

Fourth day enduring this new HP machine loaded with Vista. Took 24 hours to get the printer to work. Won't network with my mac. System can't find the "Vista ready" Quickcam after multiple driver re-installs, (though the cam plugged and played on the mac, no install required, just like they say...)

Kirby
on February 5, 2007

I just bought a new Compaq with Vista and I'm just about to install XP! Vista takes so long to boot and programs start so slowly it's like going back to my old Commodore 64.

Ry
on February 5, 2007

I just bought a new machine for our office with Vista. Got to the office, booted up. SLOW as heck (3.3 with 1mb, ATi 256). OK, who cares if it is slow, just connect to the network and lets get to work.... No dice. Can't find the network, and I can't figure it out.... contact HP, they tell me "can't help with network issues". Call our IT guy. Take the computer to him the next week. He works on it a couple days, calls and says "Get rid of it. I'll get you a used machine running XP cheaper that works better, plus I can't get it to network, and I think it will not run some of our enterprise software."

So now I am in this position, I need a number of new computers, as many as ten, and I cannot buy them cause they all come with Vista. So I have to go out an BUY a copy of XP, then buy a new computer with Vista (which I do not want), and then..... oh you get it.

So instead of buying new computers at CompUSA or wherever, I am just buying used ones with XP on Ebay.

Hey computer retailers! Vista is great for business!

Jane Quatam
on February 5, 2007

Vista is the software equivalent of the Zune. An underwhelming product that has no charisma, and even less functionality. Both these Microsoft breakthroughs are symptomatic of a company past its prime. I am not a Microsoft basher, I have been using MS sw for 20 some years. I have learned to tolerate it, but never love it. It can get the job done as long as you don't jump on the upgrade train. Find a stable incarnation/matrix of software products and use them until they won't work anymore. Its really the only way to get any work done with MS stuff, everytime you upgrade things break, they run slower and you spend most of your time babysitting & googling to try to get your sick hardware happy again.

Vista, I don't think so, unless they rewrite it in machine code, make the DRM an optional module and skin it so you can make it look like & run like the o/s of your choice.

Brian
on February 5, 2007

I wait 7 minutes alone for my XP machine (dual 3 ghz cpu, 3 gb of ram) to boot. My G5 (dual 2.5 gig with 2.5 gb ram) is up and running in about a minute (that's rounding up).

The idea of switching to vista anytime in 2007 is laughable. The idea of using my PC is becoming laughable (see prior comment about G5...apply it to all applications, upgrades, stability of the system as compared with my XP box).

Let's get real, Microsoft does not compete anymore. They do own the market, so they are not going away, nor should they, but if another OS (say OSX) can run efficiently (on intel CPUs now), then Microsoft has no excuse. They just didnt make a better OS. I'm NOT a Microsoft hater, but since WinXP, I've found myself using the Mac more and more exclusively, and especially for the client work I do. Both OS' have abilities. It's just about reliablilty at this point.

Ry
on February 6, 2007

Now Vista may corrupt your iPod!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/06/napple106.xml

Fred McKinney
on February 6, 2007

I stumbled onto this page from Google, entering "Vista sucks", and as a Linux fan, I wanted to see if it really does suck as much as all the pro-Linux sites out there say it does. When I saw this page, which, I presume, is dedicated to promoting ASP.NET, which is a Microsoft product, I knew that it wasn't just the open-source fans, like myself, saying Vista sucks, but from someone who manages a site promoting a Microsoft-created technology, no less! In fact, I counted all the pro-Vista and anti-Vista posts on here and counted 10 posts on this page saying Vista worked wonderfully for them (congratulations if it works for you, BTW) and 26 posts saying Vista sucks.

Not to mention, I remember my oldest sister-in-law saying she was planning to buy a new computer sometime this year with Vista on it. I didn't say anything to her about it at the time, but I couldn't help but think she's gonna wind up disappointed when and if she does.

Given how strongly the "Vista sucks" posts on here outnumber the posts saying Vista worked fine for them (a staggering 72% of the posts on here say Vista sucks!), and with this site promoting ASP.NET, which is a Microsoft product, I'm definitely gonna pass this page along to her.

For the record, yes, I have Linux on my PC, running MEPIS, to be exact, and I absolutely LOVE it! :-) I'm a Linux convert as of January of 2005 and haven't looked back since. Not to mention, later this year, Ubuntu is expected to have drivers in their next version that will run internal modems and wireless network cards that have previously never been able to work under Linux -- and my oldest sister-in-law and her husband and family live in a place where they can't get DSL, so they're still on dialup for now, given that they live out in the boonies...

Fred in St. Louis

Stick3X
on February 7, 2007

After using Windows for over 12 years and going through all of the head aches and up's and downs I bought a MacIntel machine that dual boots window XP Pro. I learned the basics of OSX Tiger 10.4.8
in about a week and it is way ahead og the game as far as simplicity, speed, and stability. Not to mention you don't have to screw with tweaking your system for performance, different versions etc... It just works straight out of the box! I have only two programs that I use that won't run on the Mac but with Boot Camp it's no problem and very easy to set up. You can just tell that Vista is trying to be like OSX. I will still continue using Windows XP Pro, it takes Microsoft about 3 Years before there operating systems get stable and I should know, I used them all except for the one before windows 95. It's a no brainer. Get a mac
and dual boot with boot camp, windows runs very stable on that hardware using EFI instead of Bios and you get the best of both worlds. But I gaurantee you that once you go Mac, you won't want to go back to using Windows unless there are programs that don't run on the Mac that you need to run. Other then that, I am going to buy another Mac Mini, Mac Pro, and Mac Book Pro that is all set up and ready to Go!!!!

Mike
on February 9, 2007

I laughed pretty hard at the post above from the Linux guy who found this forum searching for "Vista sucks" because that's exactly how I got here, and for the same reason. I really wanted to know if all I've been hearing is true. And apparently it is. Wow.

I didn't plan on posting anything, but since people are really sharing their experiences here, I'll throw in mine as well.

I worked professionally as a Windows only programmer for years. I moved to Linux about seven years ago. I have still had to work with (and program on) Windows over the years. In my years of developing on Linux, I've seen the same power and reliability of Linux/UNIX over Windows from the system call level all the way up through the application stack. This is very technical, but look at the following link, and see how Microsoft's design/architecture compares with Linux/UNIX/FOSS (free open source software):

http://blogs.zdnet.com/threatchaos/?p=311

Which do you think is the better-designed system? I've written tens of thousands of lines of code on both systems, and I can tell you from experience which system is more stable and works better. There simply is no comparison.

So does this mean I am recommending Linux for the average disgruntled Windows user? Absolutely not.

Linux is too big of a jump in my opinion. While you might do just fine with Ubuntu, Xandros or Linspire Linux, most people would really hit it off best with a Mac. Apple's operating system is based on UNIX, has all the stability of Linux/UNIX, but also has all the commercial applications you would want and quite probably the best designed interface and software in the industry. It is a wonderful combination of a powerful, industrial-strength technological core (UNIX), and very innovative, stable, highly user-friendly software. It really is a well-done system.

I'm not saying this for myself, or because I hate Microsoft. I'm taking the time to post this for your sake. I'm happy. I'll be in Linux for the rest of my days. If I didn't have to work so heavily with Linux, I would be a full-time Mac devote.

Yes, Mac is more expensive. But which would you rather have, three years of a computer that does NOTHING you want, or up to five years of a computer that just plain works (and also looks incredibly stylish to boot). Sometimes you get what you pay for.

Imagine a world where you never have to experience an unpleasant upgrade ever again, your software always works like it used to, and you are the one in charge of your system. No anti-virus software, no worms, to spyware. Really. I'm not kidding.

After what I've read recently in the trade journals, and what I've seen on this forum, I would say making the jump to Apple is much less troublesome than making the jump to Vista.

In any case, best of luck to you.

And for you developers who think you can't do without SQL Server, you really should give PostgreSQL a chance. It's better, and free. Read the history on http://www.postgresql.org. I work with both systems in production. PostgreSQL whips SQL Server.

Shaun H
on February 9, 2007

I also Googled "Vista Sucks" after my action pack "upgrade" experience. For fellow Action Pack people out there, here's a few tid-bits that I learned:

1) The product keys provided will only allow UPGRADES on existing XP Pro machines. No more installing to a clean drive and showing proof of existing OSes. On a clean drive, you MUST install XP Pro first, then choose "upgrade" from within XP. Yes, it blows.

2) I have a new nVidia 680i board with a "Vista" sticker on the box. I've tried 7 times now to install, each failing with a very vague error message "could not continue installing - not changes were made - please restart the install program". Nice.

Called MS and they informed me that Action Pack people must pay $59 for support on installing Vista. After I stopped laughing, they were wise enough to pass me on to support. 147 minutes later, I'm at the same exact point I started. Obviously there is some driver issue - but no one is quite sure why or what it is.

It's a nightmare and a joke. Yes, others have had good luck. Good for you. But I'm with others on this in that Vista should not have been released. Most everything is half-baked, and specifically for developers, it's a no-go. Sure, you could do everything virtually - but you should never have to. The comments I read above are beyond forgiving; the facts are out, and Vista is at this point about as (or possibly more) difficult to install/upgrade as your favorite flavor of Linux. It makes me sick.

The one thing MS did get right is the new Vista slogan: "The WOW starts now". Which is funny, because that is Exactly what I said when the install failed after 7 tries (removing, disableing etc XP down to a mere shell). Wow is right.

I'm sticking with XP. And selling my MS stock. This will be known as the beginning of the end for MS.

Jonathan Kimmitt
on February 10, 2007

I was going to setup my own website, vista sucks, but then I found this one! When vista upgrade advisor told me I should have no problems upgrading from XP Pro SP2, I fell for the hype about better security and upgraded my business machine to vista business edition (£190 almost $400 for the upgrade in the UK). I expected a few flaky apps would have to be retired but I never expected Outlook 2002 to fail - this is one of MS's flagship products, right ? wrong. I found that for all my pop3 accounts outlook under vista forgets the password each start outlook, is that annoying or what ? Apparently outlook 2002/2003 store the password in a special area of the registry, which gets nuked by the security layer vista adds to the registry.

There was no compatibility warning for Quickbooks, my other business package, which actually crashes and corrupts your accounts database when you try to reconcile on vista .. fortunately the back statement arrived the day after I installed vista, so there weren't many transactions entered before the crash, I was able to roll back to my backup after reinstalling XP

BTW, the reason for the crash was, when you reconcile, a pdf is generated of the bank statement to date, and this is done with a 'virtual' printer driver, which guess what does not install under vista. Quickbooks does not notice the problem and crashes as it tries to save the database, leaving your reconciliation in tatters. Rolling back the reconciliation does not help

Snubbly
on February 11, 2007

Add my name to the list of victims. Aero worked fine on my 2004 laptop, even better after updating with latest ATI video drivers for Vista. So what's my gripe? Same as David (7) says "Even basic things that worked correctly in XP seem to be broken in Vista, e.g. wireless networking disconnects randomly." Besides wireless just disconnecting, it fails to reconnect, even after reboots. After Visa drops the wireless connection I have to recycle the power on my wireless router to get Vista to reconnect again. After trying every wireless network authentication option on both Visa and router, including no authentication, and getting the same randomly dropped connection each time, I tried installing my XP wireless network drivers in Vista. This provided a great yo-yo effect of watching the wireless connection go up/down/up/down/up/down, but at least it was consistent. It was also the deciding factor in re-installing XP. Next step is to replace MSFT with AAPL.

Jeff
on February 11, 2007

I have to agree, it really does suck. Ah, the list....

*Poor video performance from a 6600 gt.

*32bit business version can't count past 3.24Gb ram, although beta1 and beta2 could see all 4GB fine. RC1 and RC2 stuck at 3.24GB also.

*Always disk io even when your doing nothing, makes me think it will wear out the hard drives long before the 5 years warranty expires... That is something the disk manufacturers are going to hate.

*hardware that was supported in release candidate can't find drivers in final release.

*Windows update complains that a functioning device with a valid driver from MS updates needs to be updated then fails with error message that new update is older than existing driver. Its the same damn driver from the same site, wtf.

*Digital rights management, lacking video drivers = poor mpg2 playback..

There's more but I've had enough of Vista for one day. Its a good thing I've got X64 on the primary drive, otherwise this whole vista exercise would have really p*ssed me off. Now if can just get debian to run the RT2500 wireless pci card properly thats where I will go instead. Forget Vista....

Robert
on February 13, 2007

Vista is an absurdly arrogant op system.Key word the whole world needs to be "Proprietary MS". I had to buy a new AIO printer because my printer and scanner as well as most software won't work with Vista. The AIO won't network with it and it doesn't take the software disk packed with the HP "Vista ready printer".It won't do IPods unless you get the 7.0.2 version of Itunes and then you get your Ipod and library wiped clean for starters. You will be talking to support for days on end and they will only scratch there heads and tell you to do things that will only make it worse so pack a lunch, better yet save your money and buy a Mac.

Kris
on February 14, 2007

Sorry all you vista supporters, Vista sucks.. What a resource hog! I feel bad for anyone who bought this. You paid for a graphics upgrade, and for all of your config menu's to be buried. Not to mention, I have messed around on the public release of this, and it locks up doing what? simple crap.. moving files, etc. PATHETIC.. not to mention, yeah you can open the task manager, but where is the shutdown option?? so now I have to rely on the start menu which locks up with explorer, or the power button.. I had to reset my machine 2 times in the midst of copying one 300mb file..

piece of junk. Im staying with xp pro.. I will go to a mac before im forced into vista..

Scott Tieu
on February 14, 2007

I must say that my experience with Vista has been horrible so far. I am no Microsoft basher and/or think that Gates is the new coming of Satan, but this is too much. I have been involved heavily in developing with MS technologies, ASP/SQL Server etc..

I can now see a switch to Mac or Linux in my near future. It's one thing if you download free linux (I tried Ubuntu) from internet and something (sound card) does not work. That's understandable. If you buy $400 operating system and the networking+sound does not work and graphics only works with bugs and garbled display..and when you eventually get the networking to work, it disconnects randomly (as others commented above) - THAT'S COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS !!!

And what about the fact that Vista is constantly using the hard drive - and I have 3GB of RAM and the performance is absolutely horrible..

What was MS thinking? I am glad I could try Vista from MSDN first at my workplace without paying for it.. Of course I am not going to buy this piece of crap. And I have to install XP back on my work machine now, because Vista is not usable for work.

JVerd
on February 14, 2007

Vista is completely horrible, I have 2GB ram and GForce 256 Mb and sometimes vista gets retarded and sometimes crashes. And I can't run some of my programs or games :(

toby
on February 14, 2007

I also found this site by typing "vista sucks." I saw a buddy play around with vista on his laptop and it sparked my interest. I wasn't planning on upgrading because I simply didn't want to spend the money. At the same time I was worried that I might 'miss out' on the WOW. Having read this forum, I have no desire at all to upgrade. I am glad I have no Microsoft stock to sell, and I don't even plan on going to Best Buy to see how bad vista sucks. ALthough that was my plan before reading the posts...

Chase
on February 15, 2007

Bought a Macbook recently, haven't had to restart it once (in about a month) except for a single update.

My brother's Vista system runs about as quickly as a turtle dipped in molasses climbing up a hill.

Apple has a beautiful interface, and I never have to install any anti-virus anything.

Vista is bloated and convoluted. It's really no comparison.

Oteotd
on February 17, 2007

WOW = Why O Why!

I guess my opinion is like others. I actually purchased a new machine out of desperation because one of my XP company machines got hit by lightning 3 days after Vista was released (could not find an XP machine in any store).

As of today I will order parts to build a new XP machine or get a used one from some local computer shop or the newspaper from someone silly enough to sell the XP and keep their new Vista.

When I find time I will do some experimenting to see if I can get some XP Drivers for the new machine and downgrade it.

Basically I have had many or most of the issues posted here that everyone else has had and then some, way to many to list so I will just give one more new problem that I have not seen listed yet.

I have four computers in the office, all are visible from any place in the office, we have never had a security issue so we did not lock the machines down much. The one thing I did do was simply point my IE to a fake proxy server that does not exist. This works fine to stop IE from going on the internet, but it allows Windows auto updates to continue to work and the antivirus to continue to work since they bypass the proxy anyway. Well in Vista you can not do this. At least I have yet to find a way. As soon as you put the proxy info in IE you break windows updates and the antivirus updates even though in the antivirus software you told it to not use a proxy.

That and the fact that my brand new specially designed company software locks up constantly on the Vista machine is enough to call it a loss and use the new machine as spare parts in my network.

When I came here I had no intention on writing a post I thought it was just me.

Oteotd

VistaRefund
on February 17, 2007

Stand by for a day or so--information will be released soon on how to get a refund for Vista. I personally would like to have a mass consumer vote by not accepting this product. I am out $400 for Vista, not counting the time wasted installing and attempting to troubleshoot problems that should not exist.

The site www.vistarefund.info will be online soon. It does not collect money, advertise or attempt to sell anything. Just an information source that the informed can use to end this madness.

Scott Moore
on February 18, 2007

I too found this site by typing Vista sucks.

I haven't tried Vista yet, but I'm looking at a new computer. I went to apple and configured the machine I want. It seemed expensive. Indeed, it's expensive. So I thought, I wonder how much a similar Dell would cost?

So off I go to Dell. I spend an hour online configuring my system, and at the end it says "Vista doesn't support the 30" monitor". I think, this can't be right. So I talk to tech support. Sure enough, their high-end graphics machine does not support the 30" monitor with Vista. but XP isn't an option in the "Home division". The only way to get XP is to go to the small business division of Dell. But why would I buy a brand new machine running an already obsolete OS? That doesn't make sense.

Not only that, I had a hell of a time trying to figure out which version of Vista I should buy. But the monitor issue made it easy to figure out which version of Vista to buy - I'll get OSX. Simple. More expensive, but simple. And the only upgrading I'll do to that machine over the years is to add more RAM when the price comes down. Besides, after all I've read, I'll be damned if I'm going to hook it up to a $5000 high-end printer and a $3000 high-end scanner to find out they don't work with Vista. My time is worth more than that. Looks like I'll be making the switch to MAC.

William
on February 18, 2007

What a mess. I used CPM prior to DOS prior to Windows... etc. Over 35 years of this stuff and this is the worst attempt yet.

Wait for SEVERAL service packs before going here unless you are buying hardware with vista already installed.

I too waited patiently for the official release of VISTA. No WOW here. Almost broke the reset button, pressing it so many times. Lock up after lock up. Only one CPU of my two 64bit dual core computer worked. It did see all 4 gig of RAM. Did not like my $1500 Video Card either. Software installs were iffy at best. Adobe software is not happy with VISTA yet, especially not 64bit. Looks like much the same old stuff under the hood. DLL's and driver hell all over again. After the last blue screen, the speakers started screeming and my D drive started dancing the heads back and forth then fried before I could power off. Overall a very frustrating 5 hour experience before tossing a hard drive and Vista along with it. The pretty graphics just aren't worth the trouble.

Fene
on February 18, 2007

Vista absolutely blows!!! I was forced to buy a new computer and opted for HP's Slimline... not a bad machine but Vista is the only option and Vista sucks ass. Not only did I spend entirely too much time trying upgrade my Quickbooks so Vista could interpret a year old program, I had to spend money on Norton security because the Vista can't handle the "old" xp norton language. What a bunch of shit. Here's the final rub. I spent two hours on the phone yesterday with Habeedagee only to be told that Vista and Quicken are NOT compatible. WHAT! M

Ric
on February 19, 2007

I have to agree with the comments above. I got my action pack yesterday and was disappointed with the problems encountered with SQL Server. To add insult to injury, the system appeared to have random DNS issues. I have just rolled back to Windows XP and have decided to wait a while before trying Vista again...

I was impressed with the visual effects and the interface seemed cool but I am not prepared to forego all my productivity under XP for them.

It's a shame...

Joel Cory
on February 20, 2007

What I can't understand is why Microsoft in an effort to add more user hand holding to the OS created a product that requires even more tech-savvy than any of their previous products. The people responding on this forum are all very technically inclined developers, if they can't hack their way through to OS...how are their parents going to do it.

This is just another example of a software company releasing a product for public beta testing. It took Microsoft so long to develop the product to its current state that they "had" to release it to appease stock holders, but the public is forced to test it until all the complaints and hardware varieties result in enough data for Microsoft to release service packs.

I started reading this thread to determine what the real advantages to upgrading were. I was hoping that the security improvements would be a key feature, but it really seems that the security additions are a smoke screen. For example Defender is available for XP, has some serious flaws in detection, and the UAC is nothing more than more dialog boxes being forced upon the user. The real problems with security in Windows aren’t people hacking into your home pc, its malware and web based exploits. Why not release a new version of IE that prevents script based installs except those that meet a stringent approval process. Adobe would submit their Flash plugin, it would be added to an authorization list and IE could install it...otherwise the browser wouldn't install it. This doesn't seem like a big leap in logic.

So the real question comes back around to Vista, what reason would anyone have for upgrading?

Batman
on February 20, 2007

Vista is S-L-O-W. I am a geek and disabled the security stupidity for admins. I am running it on a high powered dual proc 64-bit machine.

Windows 2003 server and XP FLY compared to what this crazy bloatware OS called Vista does.

Microsoft still has not got it. They went backwards with this piece of crap..

Scott
on February 20, 2007

I am the IT manager for a local government and I purchased a new computer with Vista Business and gave it a try with the software that is used at our facility.
Aside from the nice graphics, there are many problems that plague this release.

For starters, I installed the Foxpro runtimes that are needed on the workstation. The security dialogs starting popping up warning about untrusted software and/or untrusted publisher. (Great it doesn't even know about a product from the same company.) It installed without any error messages. There are 7 different Foxpro modules that we use for day-to-day operations and they are made by a third-party company. Only three of the seven opened up without errors and the ones that did, generated multiple errors. These are errors I never seen before and I finally had to end task to get out of them. The third party company probably will have to get its whole user base to upgrade Foxpro and make many changes in its code. This would be a good hit on taxpayers money. Someone would think that they would test to see if their programs would operate better in the business evironment before releasing this.

I installed Office 2003 with no errors but when it asked if I wanted check for service packs and updates. I agreed and it finally ran me to a web page stating that updates for Office 2003 were not supported yet. Sure there may be more security in this operating system but without the service packs and multiple security paches, who knows where that leaves the security of the system. I have heard that Vista also has major problems with Visual Basic, Visual C, MSSQL, and more.

Later while navigating around, it pops up and states that it installed a few security updates. Right when this machine came online, I installed it into a domain with Group Policy set to not allow installation of patches and such until approved by IT. The machine showed up in the WSUS server but never listed what it needed for updates. I guess the machine just ignored the group policy and decided to install the patches without approval. So much for IT having control over this operating system, which seems to have mind of its own and disobeys group policies.

While trying to clean up all the useless icons such as "Sign up with this [ISP]" and "Subscribe to this and that", I decided to uninstall a lot of windows components that are not needed and against local governement policy. There is no way to uninstall the Chat, MSN, Movie Maker, and a lot others. The workers are secretaries, not movie creators/directors. Why don't they allow to remove Movie Maker on the business edition? Do they think we all work in Hollywood?

I believe this product is nowhere near commercial quality. I am finally just getting the last of the machines off Windows 2000 over to XP. XP has gotten much better and I was hoping for Service Pack 3 but I guess that is just a dream now as I imagine all the programmers have their hands full with their new behemoth.

The time I spent trying to figure out where everything is made me realize that the only way for the employees to learn the new system is to wait until they buy it for their home computers and let them fumble through it there. Considering all the hardware upgrades, employee downtime, operating system issues, and major amounts of money to upgrade this, I come to the conclusion that this operating system is not going to be installed for at least 1.5-2 years in the future. There may even be some room for Linux machines.

sriram
on February 21, 2007

it's like this ur on xp ...
ur on car u find that ur are avin a tyre flat....
ur on vista u find that .......
ur outta gas!!!!!!!!!!!

Stephen
on February 21, 2007

To everyone who's come before me. Thanks for reinforcing my beliefs that I shouldn't buy Vista. With what I've read I think I'll make my new business a big success. At least until I can only buy the Vista machines. Right now I'm buying all the XP machines that the companies like Best Buy and Fry's didn't sell before the latest and greatest came out. I've been buying new unused computers since ME was big and selling them to co-workers and friends but I never thought MS would screw so much. I've got a computer that I built with all the best including 4gig RAM, Nivida 512 meg card, 3.4 Intel and water cooled but I won't subject it to Vista. Not even for a test. By the way, those of you that need systems for your office I can get you systems with XP Pro less than 500.00 per system including a fully register version of Office 2000. WOW

Stephen
on February 21, 2007

Just in case it didn't work with my post here's the website. www.apcforyoutoo.net

Peter
on February 22, 2007

"Wow", it's unbelievable how much flames I can see rising up to the sky in a pro-Microsoft technology forum. And it confirms that you should wait for at least a few Vista service packs - or simply ignore it! Maybe we should call it 'MS Hasta La Vista alpha 0.0.0001a pre-development nightly-build 8497912'.

Anyway, I probably made the best decision for years and bought my first Apple computer, a neat MacBook Pro 15" Core 2 Duo, 2GB. This made me really say "WOW", "WOW" and again "WOW" !!!! :-))

Not to mention I got quite a history with several *nixes (Linux, HP-UX, AIX, Solaris), Win3.1, 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, 2003, DOS, Commodore 64.

If you consider yourself a geek, install Linux (Ubuntu) or get a Mac. If you just wanna get work done or are not so geekish, get a Mac. If you still really need that vista-crap, you can use some virtual machine (VMware, Boot Camp, Parallels) and play with it :-)

Cheers
Peter

Sven
on February 22, 2007

I installed Vista on my HP computer (2GB RAM, AMD, latest greatest NVidia card, all new stuff) and it is constantly crashing my computer. I am less than impressed - the network drivers are only working after every other reboot, the "great" Aero interface is very slow (and I have a video card with 512MB !!!). Many of the applications are broken and IE7 is the biggest joke- such a clumsy interface, impossible to use. Even I have 2GB RAM, Vista is constantly doing something with the hard drive, even if there are no apps running.

So, going back to Windows XP tonight. I need the computer to work and not to be a Microsoft testbed. Maybe Vista will be usable once SP7 is out.

CJDavidson
on February 22, 2007

For several hours, I have been climbing the Vista learning curve--from base camp XP. It has not been fun. In fact, if BestBuy had the honor to take back this beta-released-as-ready piece of crap without spanking me with a restocking fee, I would bring it back tomorrow and find a used XP to work on until the REAL Vista was finally released. For a few years, I have been defending Microsoft against all the Sucks crowd. Now, I can not with a clear conscience (as far as Vista goes; XP was so stable I could smile). Vista-beta Sucks!

I want my money back!!!!!!

CodeDog
on February 22, 2007

All I have to say is "Oh my god Vista sucks!"
I'm a software Engineer at a mortgage company and we have in house software built with MS Visual Studio, MS Office, ASP.Net, C#, VB and C++. All in All about 50,000 lines of code all built with Microsoft development tool to run on Microsoft operating systems and connect to Microsoft Servers. We are about as full on Microsoft fan boys as we can get.

Our latest batch of new Pcs showed up with Vista installed on them. They ran so slow I thought we had bought the wrong computers. I even opened one of the cases to look at the CPU thinking there had been some kind of mix up.

None of our existing software will run on Vista. The off the shelf commercial software just fails to start. Our in house software starts but the COM controls that USED to be part of the OS are missing. There also seems to be dozens of API functions that are missing also.

So here are my choices.
Rewrite 50,000 lines of code and recreate missing COM controls from scratch or return all the new computers. Guess which one we did. Yep, we just returned 50 brand new computers. Dell is replacing them with windows XP computers.

If you just got a new Vista pc just call up and return it. Vista is so bad that they don’t even ask why you want to return the computer; as soon as you say it has Vista on it they process the return with no further questions.


There is one guy in our office that uses a MAC and if he walks past my office laughing one more time I’m going to show him where he can stick his fire wire.

VistaMan
on February 22, 2007

Okay, count me too. In general, I love Microsoft products - primarily because I'm a developer and nothing else comes close to VS2005. I can bang out ASP.NET 2.0 sites like nothing - I love it. I was ready to hug Balmer.

I was frothing at the mouth for Vista. I REALLY wanted to like it. Like so many others, I spent thousands of dollars, and WAY TOO MUCH TIME!

I echo all of the comments above. I'm amazed they totally disregarded backward compatibility? People need to be productive more than ever and they give us EYE CANDY?

Who cares? There is not a single compelling reason to upgrade. There is nothing worthwhile in VISTA that you can't already do in XP. LET ME SAY THAT AGAIN. THERE IS NOTHING IN VISTA YOU CAN'T ALREADY DO IN XP. The visuals aren't worth the pain.

VISTA IS DEAD.

stark
on February 23, 2007

WAHH WAHH WAHH,

Honestly the last 20 comments sound like they were posted by Apple as a new propaganda marketing campaign. The RTM is exactly that, Release to Manufacture. You all complain that your drivers are buggy, well give it some time. You honestly can't expect the hardware companies to pre-emptively make drivers. It's because of morons like you guys who are so eager to upgrade that Microsoft was pressured into releasing Vista so quickly. Yes I’m using Vista right now. No I haven't had any problems. If you don't want to waist so many resources why don’t you turn off the glass effects?

Return to your Apple Blog / Linux fanatic forums to cry more in my opinion.

Brian
on February 23, 2007

Why should we expect a product that costs $400+ to kinda sorta work out of the box? You're so right! Why should a company with an enormous market share, loads of talented programmers, and more money than some countries actually make a product that impresses users after promising us that the "WOW starts now"?

Stark, you're absolutely right. We should just sit there and wait for a service pack or perhaps several service packs. What a great idea.

Don't blame Apple for this. It’s because of people like YOU who have low expectations of their purchases, people like you who just sit back and take crap for $400 and call it "patience", people like you who wouldn't know quality if it, well, if it was installed as an OS on your computer that Microsoft can continue to feel fine about putting out an albatross like Vista.

You could have kept it civil and said, my vista experience is fine, maybe you guys should turn off the glass effects. No, you went and called people who know when something sucks "morons".

Are people "morons" because they notice security gaps?

Are people "morons" because they have to constantly reboot to stay on their own network?

Are people "morons" because they buy a machine that says "vista ready" and expect at least a few things to go right?

And hey, Stark, if you haven't noticed, most of these people are just trying Vista, after which they are quickly reverting to XP. They are not whining. They are providing the kind of feedback necessary for Microsoft to get its act together in the next service pack. But don't call anyone who shells out $400 (or whatever it costs with the MSDN thing) and expects at the very least a pleasant experience as promised a MORON.

By the way, it's "waste", not "waist".

Hellhound
on February 24, 2007

My old computer was just over 5 years old and starting to show it's age with the newer software so I decided it was time for a new one. I waited for the Vista release so the new machine would have an up to date operating system. (That tactic worked great when XP was released). I bought a new Dell XPS 410 with Vista pre installed. The machine has a 2.1 GHZ coreduo processor, 2 GB of ram and a 256MB video card. The new Dell is slower than my five year old IBM Netvista with the first pentium 4 processor and windows XP pro. The Dell constantly locks up and freezes. I can't even play music with media player because the audio drops out. I always played music while doing other things with the IBM and never had audio problems, it's a good thing I didn't donate the IBM because I have to keep going back to it to get anything done! Something is running in the background on the Dell that constantly writes to the hard drive, I can't figure out what it is and stop it. How long before it kills the hard drive? I have gotten real good at using 'system restore' on this machine because every attempted install of any of my XP software has been a disaster. Why in the hell didn't microsoft make vista backward compatable with older software? XP can run win 95 software. My old printer and scanner won't work, no drivers for vista. Installed the Kodak software for my digital camera and screwed up the system so bad I had to use system restore. The Roxio DVD burning software did an automatic update and downloaded a file that caused errors and I had to use system restore to get rid of the problem that caused and turn off the Roxio auto update to prevent it from happenning again. IMHO Vista is a slow, buggy, bloated operating system. It's a polished turd! I can't believe microsoft took five years and many billions of dollars to develop this piece of crap and inflict it on a unsuspecting public. ...And what the hell is wrong with the hardware manufacturers and software writers? They knew vista was coming for 5 damn years and they don't have drivers and software available that will work with it? ... I have been attempting to use this thing for three weeks now and have given up on Vista. In order to make this new Dell a useful machine, I just ordered a copy of win XP media center edition 2005 to replace vista.

Copierguy
on February 24, 2007

I have not personally tested or used Vista. but let me offer a different viewpoint. I work for a major copier manufacturer in their hardware support division.

I field technical problems comming from both end users and MIS staff where our devices are deployed and I have spoken with factory reps from HP, Ricoh and Toshiba. all report that making their products work with Vista is a monsterous uphill battle.

Most printer/copier/MFP companies have not released ANY Vista specific drivers, They have "tested" their XP drivers and some are fortunate enough to have some features work. I literally have reams of release notes from our software engineers documenting inop features that range from "everything works just fine" to "can't even get a Windows test page out of it".

Word to the wise: check with your hardware manufacturer about YOUR SPECIFIC HARDWARE before you upgrade to Vista.

john d
on February 25, 2007

When it comes to hardware, there's a rule I follow that has made me a happy man. It goes: Never buy version one. If my experience with Vista has had any positive outcome, it is to show me that I need to apply the same rule to OSes. Fortunately I got my software for free via the MS Academic Alliance, but I'm really feeling for all of the people (represented by these posts) who paid retail (who paid at all, for that matter) price for this travesty of an operating system.

I'm a die-hard Microsoft fan, but I have to admit that they haven't dropped the ball this badly since Windows Me. I tried installing Microsoft Money last night... of course it's not compatible. One of my definitions for "dropping the ball" is when your own software isn't compatible with your OS. If I wanted an OS that didn't run any of my software I'd have bought a Mac, at least it runs its own software.

I echo what most others have said, stick with XP. I've got my XP cd out and am planning to repent as soon as I finish this post. For those considering an upgrade, give Vista a year (six months at least) to mature-- especially if you're paying for it. If you're not paying for it, and have a day and a half to waste, and have a copy of XP handy for when you can't take it anymore (and that point WILL come)-- then sure, give it a spin.

Final advice for those who do decide to brave these waters: keep one hand on the mouse, and the other on the reset button.

Ivan Thomson
on February 25, 2007

Hasta La Vista Baby! The Frown Starts Here!

Well, all I can say is time to buy a new Macintosh and don't look back...

Mark B
on February 25, 2007

We have had Vista for about a month now on a month old Gateway 1.6ghz 1.5G of RAM and this thing is just about unusable as a PC. The MS software is current and when I try to install new ATI drivers I get a "unauthorized download". My WEI is 2.3 because of graphics and the rest are in the high 3's to mid 4's. Installed the printer drivers and it totally killed the little speed I did have so we had to uninstall it.

Given a choice I'd rather run OS2 Warp on a PC Jr. It would be fatster. I'll be installing XP shortly.

Don
on February 25, 2007

Just bought a new quad core with Vista ultimate... what a mistake! Didn't they anywhere along the line have an ordinary person try it out while they watched? It is the most frustrating, time-consuming, poorly constructed, obtrusive, over-priced, non-functional piece of software junk I've ever had the misfortune to get involved with. MS should be ashamed of themselves for foisting this on an unsuspecting public... I honestly think this is the Lincoln Continental of Microsoft. Just as the American car companies started their downward slide to irrelevance when they started producing bloated pieces of junk, Microsoft will, with Vista, be viewed as unresponsive to their customers, and begin a long descent, unless they wake up.

Kevin
on February 25, 2007

Vista, what a POS. I upgraded my 2 gig, dual core 6600, Ati 1950 machine and within the first hour I crashed it by right mouse clicking an application icon on the bar to stop it. Repeated it several times. Microsoft is famous for giving tests to new employees asking things like "why are manhole covers round?" I believe they need to give entrence exams to the senior managers. I'm hoping that this is the beginning of the end for Gates/Balmer regime. How a company can develop software using the spaghetti method is beyond me (throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks). I agree that this os is not release candidate material. Why are consumers responsible for testing? Why did it take so long to release but yet continues to crash? Why are basic OS design principles ignored? OSs should not crash when an application fails--ever. I have to design software using SQL Server 2005 & VS 2005. I want to play games too. But good god, this software sucks. My recommendation is to get rid of the entire OS development team down to the janitor and rebuild that organization.

The only good thing about this is, as an government employee, I get to put VISTA on the do not buy list. Revenge is sweet.

Ken
on February 26, 2007

I am an IT pro and have been using and installing Microsoft products since 1992.

I also found this page by searching Vista Sucks. I wonder why that happened...maybe because Vista does suck?

I have been trying to get it working properly for 3 days and have now officially given up and are switching back to XP MCE 2005 for AT LEAST a year and I may possibly never go back to Vista.

The upgrade from 98 to XP was ok, and it WAS faster in some ways. It had real improveements. The ONLY so called improvements are visual with Vista and its not worth it!!

Regretting a wasted weekend working on Vista,
Ken

ButtFuzz
on February 26, 2007

I have had a PC since they came out. MS Vista has broken the large majority of the applications I like to run and slowed my machine down to a level that can best be described as "just faster than a herd of turtles."

The final straw was the "0×800705AD" error when copying large files across my home network. See this (not mine) blog for details / humor:

http://buckwheats.wordpress.com/2006/12/12/vista%E2%80%A6-don%E2%80%99t-try-to-copy-and-paste-o/

What MS doesn't reveal regarding the above error is that in addition to erroring out on the vista machine without a human-readable explanation is that it will also chew up resources on the remote (non-vista) machine such that whomever is logged onto the remote machine cannot get applications (including task manager, start...shutdown, etc.) to launch. NEAT STUFF.

I am in no laughing mood after one upgrade from XP and one clean install. Even with disabling all non-essential eye candy and services, Vista runs like a pig. Machines are almost identical Dells with 2.8 GHz processors, 2 GB RAM and adequate Video Cards. Not the fastest things on the market, but certainly not ancient technology by any stretch. I have one XP re-install in progress and the "clean" machine is going back to XP tomorrow.

Beware!

Joel Rankin
on February 26, 2007

I’ve worked for Microsoft, and I am severely disappointed with Vista thus far.

I did a clean install the business edition. I found the user experience to be counter-productive. If you have ANY previous experience on a Windows operating system whatsoever, you may become irritated by the countless menus, guides, and wizards. Most tasks seemed to require more effort than it did in Windows XP. I was very dissatisfied with performance. I saw no real benefit, even though resources were devoured in order to run Vista.

Most of all, I am perpetually insulted by the Mickey Mouse feel and philosophy behind the Vista platform. After installing the business edition (the key word being “business”), I logged into a screen with a two inch by two inch avatar of a puppy staring at me…

There was nothing “business” about my whole experience.

I don’t use Linux in any way, but I think Vista will drive customers away. It’s a resource hog that delivers almost no value when compared to Windows XP. I want an OS that is streamlined, and requires as little space as possible to do the job. Useless bells and whistles make me angry, and I hate having to configure every OS so that it doesn’t give me countless, useless menus, reminders, and help balloons. It’s the gurus in I.T. (not the boss’s secretary) who will be making purchasing decisions, and it would be a cold day in Hell before I would roll this product out in an enterprise environment.

When the licensing nightmares are figured in with this mediocre product, one realizes that Microsoft just released the software version of the Ford Edsel.

Mark E
on February 26, 2007

Wow. Michael S. comments are way on the money. I too am a .Net developer and I regret installing Vista. I am very dissapointed with screen refreshing (I have flickering, even though I have a workhorse machine and video card). All my drivers are up to date.

I shut down a process crss.exe because I thought it may have been a trojan. I not only received the blue screen of death, but rather than recover gracefully, I had to do a restore! The User access stuff is horrible. I have no clue how non-techies (especially those who run with User permissions) will get some software to run on their machine without having to accept a freakin' dialogue box ever time it starts up.

Instead of providing errors, I had a difficult time determining where an XP driver incompatibility was when Vista would hang instead of shutting down.


Try this one on for size...Auto-hide your taskbar and try dragging an icon to the Quick Launch bar. You can't. The Task bar won't show. I have to un-auto-hide the task bar to drag links to the taskbar.

How could Microsoft release this abomination called Vista???

I am adamently telling people NOT to upgrade to vista until there is better drive support and Microsoft works out the kinks.

XP worked great.

Michael S. Comments
I have purchased and installed Vista Ultimate RTM, and it is the stupidist thing ever.

I am sorry but after several years of development, this is Microsoft's breakthrough??? I am really disappointed. I have been a professional .NET developer for 6 years now and have always loved the platform and I was hoping Microsoft would do just as good a job on Vista. Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 work on Vista, but with SEVERAL ISSUES. At first, SQL Server 2005 wouldn't even start up, it would just disappear. After 3 hours of research, I found out that it did not have the necessary permisssions to run. Whatever happened to user-friendly warning messages, at the least????

Breakthrough OS? What a joke!!! If I did not need Visual Studio and SQL Server, I would install one of the Linux distributions. I know they have Mono (.NET for Linux) and all, but nothing that comes close to Visual Studio and SQL Server.

I will be installing Windows XP Pro again. What a waste of my money.

Paul
on February 26, 2007

I think they've already released Vista SP1... it comes labelled as Windows XP, though. Let's just say that I upgraded to XP, and it solved all of the problems I was having with Vista. My hardware works again and everything.

For those of you switching back (who are also tired of the same old XP wallpapers), don't forget to grab all the refreshingly new wallpapers that installed with Vista, to use on your new XP installation.

You can even google "windows aero glass" and get some wallpaper to simulate the aero glass effect. It won't be functional, of course, but you'd hardly be any worse off than you were with Vista in that respect.

Rick
on February 26, 2007

WOW! is right, i have a computer repair business and have started getting calls from people wanting me to take vista off of their new machines and install XP. This is definitely the biggest botched operating system since windows ME. I am also getting ready to start replacing hard drives too because with all the freeze ups this system does it will be killing hard drives like crazy.

chris
on February 27, 2007

i started a vista blog months ago in anticipation of being the guy with the answers. lol@me. got suckered in by the nice gui and the segui font.
ive put this crap on just about every configuration you can imagine at one point or another. tried to make it a media sharing machine, tried to make it a business desktop, tried to make it a gaming rig, all with high end hardware.
blah, microsuk can keep this junk. blue screens, incompatable soft, freezing, cpu spikes, blah...

so am i the guy with the answers? no, im the guy who stopped caring about 6 entries into my blog. you want answers, go to msdn, you want an o/s, go elsewhere.

Tony
on February 27, 2007

I had downloaded Vista Business through the MSDNAA and I was so unimpressed by it that I have since downgraded back to XP Pro. At least that is an operating system that actually works. I had so much trouble getting normal programs to run and especially since they are programs that come with my HP notebook, you think they could install, but nooooooo. I couldn't get one single damn program to install. Vista did not like any of them.

Second, all that eye candy that Vista uses doesn't do a damn thing for me except slow things down.

Third is Windows ReadyBoost. You mean to tell me that Vista can't efficiently manage the memory that is already on the machine. Nooooo, we have to plug in a flash drive for that. How ridiculous.

Fourth, I really hate the User Account Control. Yes I know you can turn it off but at a risk of harming the system, oh no. *sarcasm* It's good in theory but that's about it. The damn thing keeps popping up on programs YOU ARE ACTUALLY TRYING TO INSTALL, that is if you can get programs to run on Vista.

Vista also chews up my battery life more than XP ever did. I would be lucky to get more than an hour and a half out of my laptop.

They might as well have called this the second coming of ME, or in simpler terms, ME 2.0. Thank God that all it cost me was 5 blank CDs.

chris
on February 27, 2007

Does anyone want my ferrari laptop's peripherals?

He didn't make it out of his upgrade surgery alive.

Oh brother. The apple ads are spot on.

David in Bishop
on February 27, 2007

Vista sucks big time! It wouldn't surprise me if it becomes as badly regarded as Millenium Edition.

Here are my peeves:

* Over all slower performance than XP.
* Continuous requests for "permission" to do common tasks.
* Incompatibility with Quickbooks 2006 (had to buy 2007), Adobe Acrobat 6, Sonic CD burning software, etc.
* A lousy backup program that doesn't permit selective file backup (but at least permits an image backup of the whole hard drive.)
* A highly-overated "aero" interface.
* Numerous and completely new ways in which to interact with Windows, without any noticeable improvement. Happy hunting.
* Inability to save settings of common programs because of Vista's tighter lock on the Registry.
* Inability to save from Quickbooks to my external hard drive, because I don't have "permission" to do so (even as an administrator).

I could go on and on...

Sure, installation was relatively easy. No problem there. I have a Gigabyte 965-family MB with 2GB of RAM, 320GB HD, etc, etc. It's the operating system itself which is so irritating.

I'm a computer consultant and I have to keep-up with the latest and greatest offerings from Microsoft. If I didn't, I would uninstall Vista in a heart beat.

The only other thing that irritates almost as much, is the new Office 2007. Yeah, let's redesign the entire user interface with the "ribbon of confusion." Ugh. Another non-starter in my book.

Buyer beware.

Regards,
David H.

Ken
on February 28, 2007

Well,

The wow starts here, wow, does this suck.

I have been watching the recent vista commercials, and what the hell does running up a mountain have to do with using your computer?

Ill tell you :), using vista feels exactly like running up a mountain, its tiresome, slow, and in the end, when you get to the top, i.e. vista is installed, you begin the decent into craporama!. Everything is downhill from here.

I was forced to purchase vista on some new "brand new" dell laptops and what I found was very frustrating.

The customer wanted to do somthing that apparently microsoft thinks is too advanced. They wanted to use remote access with a PC card modem, hmm XP has supported this simple feature for years, but Vista, nope, NOT 1 Vendor, Not Verizon, Not Sprint, Not Cingular, not anybody has a compatible solution, we tried, egad we tried to find an answer but nobody will even try it.

Then there are the printers, or rather the lack of them.

When windows XP was released, tons of hardware worked with it, I remember being thrilled with the fact that I could install stuff from day one, but with vista, NOTHING WORKS, I have BRAND New HP Color laser printers that have NO drivers, I cant even use the basic drivers that are inside of vista because they wont properly connect via the Network. Add to that the problem of Adobe software, the brand new Acrobat 8.0 Pro, is a NO GO on vista, and it was only released in november! It wont even install without performing hack work. Once installed, try to print!, CLUNK soorry no printing or documents or PDF's for you my friend.

The AeroGlass interface is bloated, and requires too much hardware to make it look reasonable, and why do we need floaty windows, dammit just let me install my program without having to "authorize" it 3 times, ugh.

Add to that, security, there is no security, perhaps the folks at microsoft should have thought about what that word really means.

Hmm, maybe they were thinking this way.

Hey, if we make an operating system that wont run anything, and makes it difficult to actually install software, perhaps all the hackers and security people wont try to use it, then the operating system will be secure from actual use by actual people!.

Operating systems that dont work, are rarely unsecure, they simply dont fail because they are never used..

WOW...Why Own Windows
WOW...I dont know why?
Bill..Are you listening?
Wow..Vista..what do you want to do today?..oh Sorry, you cant do that today..

But we will be happy to tell you what you can do..

WAIT, thats right WAIT

Gerald Ripley
on February 28, 2007

Because of a crashed laptop, I had to buy a new one. There is not an option to buy a new XP machine. I had to buy a Vista machine.
I obviously don't know all the tricks and work arounds that I knew for XP/2000/98/ME/97/3.1/2,0/1.0 but in my considered opinion Vista is the worst of the bunch.

So slow on the internet that I thought my new machine was locking up. Solved that by downloading and using Firefox.

My biggest complaint is that it will not recognize my Office XP discs. So I am using Windows Mail and it will not read any of my Outlook backup or transfer files. I can not find a open source software that will. I tried Thunderbird. It appears that I am going to have to type in 20 years of Contacts.

Can't get Windows Mobile Manager to sync with my six month old Dell PDA, says it doesn't recognize it.

I am seriously considering flattening this and loading XP.

MasterCraft
on February 28, 2007

I have had much trouble since i installed Windows Vista Ultimate x64 on my computer. I believe i meet the system reqruitments (Asus A8N SLI Deluxe, Xfx 7600GT 256mb GDDR3 PCI-E 2048mb kingston value 400mhz ram AMD Athlon 3700+ 2,2ghz 64bit) The biggest trouble at the moment is that I am unable to innstall any of the drivers on my motherboard driver cd, because "It's not running the same operative system as it's made for". The most anoying thing with Vista is that you have to be an admin to do everything, and you have to press;
Allow, I trust this software" for each time you open a program. And for those of you who wonder buying Vista Ultimate, don't do it, you pay 299$ 3D flip, and some fancy looking Aero graphics.

Don't upgrade to windows, it's missing drivers, and you will find your pc much slower!

Jonas
on February 28, 2007

"WoW" I've already broken 2 keyboards in frustration! I've wasted 300$ on this crap! And do you know what I've payed for?! This stupid areo thing, who decided to not work on my pc, even though I meet all the system reqruitments!

Vista is pure frustration, and waste of money! Stick to Xp Pro x64!

AmokVrS
on February 28, 2007

I have had it with Vista and Dell so called support.. here is a message i left on their board... please be aware this is ridiculous, noone should ever have to experience such nonsense...

I received my new pc not even two weeks ago. During the purchase I was told that there will be no compatibility issues with software that I use. I use my PC to write music and edit sound.
As soon as I plugged the pc in and started, i received numerous error messages. so after installing all the patches, they disappeared - fine. BUT, my sound is choppy, the speed of the pc slowed down to a crawl. I used a Compaq way back when a 233 with 32Mb or ram and it worked better than this one (DIM E520, Intel Pentium D
Processor 915 with Dual Core
Technology(2.8GHz, 800FSB))

So after trying to instal any of my software, I realize that none of it is compatible with Vista. I contacted technical support and after 4hrs of trying, was told that i have to simply reinstall vista format my drive and all my problems will go away... so I did.. lost 150 gigs worth of work, which now i have to dump back onto my pc again! Nothing changed, I was promised a call back, never happened.

Today I called back. I want a copy of XP sent to me. I think after spending that much money on a PC, I should be able to get a different OS if the one that came with it is not compatible with anything that I need it for. First guy told me that he will transfer me to technical support. He put me on hold for 80 minutes, just to find out that he transfered me to a wrong dept. Next "technician" told me that it will be no problem and yet again transfered me; After 40 min on hold a lady answered and when I asked to speak to a supervisor, she assured me that she can assist me with my issue. So yet again I explained my problem and was told in a joking manner ... and i quote "You know Bill Gates has plenty of good lawyers" (??) what the f*ck????!!! All I asked for was to escalate my call!!! I also work at a call center, for a serious international company! If I ever, I mean EVER would have said anything of that nature, I would have been escorted out of my work place and FIRED! Than she proceeded to tell me that - "If you are not satisfied, please send your machine back and we will issue you a refund"
ARE THEY SERIOUS?!?!?!?! I dont have time to sit here and wait for a refund, and than go and get a new PC... besides, this is NOT what I wanted!!! Not even close!!! At this point I am seriously debating sending this machine back. I did not spend this money to have a PC to go online with and check my email, I can do that just fine with the one Ive had. All I want is to downgrade to XP! I already paid for Vista that came installed on this machine.. it is not working, I was mislead to think that it would.. but IT DOESNT!!!

Now I know that eventualy most issues will be resolved... EVENTUALLY does not help me right NOW. If there was a way for me to test drive Vista and figure out if it is fully functional and compatible for what i needed for, it would be a different story, but all I can find on the net are conflicting lists of software that may or may not work with this OS. If it doesnt work.. why can't i get something that would!? I dont think that this is an unreasonable request. What I think IS unreasonable is hiring people to handle customer service, who have absolutely no idea what customer service is.

I am extremely frustrated, after 9 hours on the phone with various reps, I have had it. Believe me when I say that this experience will be well know.

Hope this serves as a warning to all those who are thinking about "upgrading" to Vista. Not for another year or so AT LEAST!

I dont know if anyone from Dell company actually reads these posts, probably not, and if they do than I hope that this gets to the right person. This is not how you treat customers who spend this much money on your products and services.
This is first and LAST time that I will EVER purchase anything from Dell. Not that it matters, I know, especially with all the money that they just saved outsourcing.

tino
on February 28, 2007

Vista seems to be running smooth ad quick on my new hp, But for days now I'm having trouble installing a local printer, Bill gates crew sucks and HP as no clue what to do. and its seems that my son cant connect his wireless camera to the new laptop. what the he-l were they thinking, instead of it being more user friendly they f@$* it up.

GARY
on March 1, 2007

WINDOWS VISTA IS A NIGHTMARE!

NEWER ISN'T ALWAYS BETTER!

TRUST ME WHEN I SAY I REALLY KNOW MY WAY AROUND A COMPUTER.

USING 2 OF THE EXACT SAME BRAND NEW GATEWAY LAPTOPS FOR MY BUSINESS - (BOTH WITH IDENTICAL SPECS) ONE WITH WINDOWS AND THE OTHER VISTA, THE VISTA HAS MAJOR UNACCEPTABLE SOUND ISSUES, COMPATIBILITY PROBLEMS AND MANY OTHER ISSUES THAT THE WINDOWS XP LATOP DIDN'T.

VISTA IS A MAJOR SYSTEM HOG USING WAY TOO MUCH MEMORY TO RUN IT.
MAKING IT SLOWER THAN THE XP RIGHT OFF THE BAT.

NO LIE IT TOOK ME 48 HOURS JUST TO "SCAN" A FILE WITH VISTA THAT TOOK WINDOWS XP ONLY 8 HOURS. KEEP IN MIND BOTH LAPTOPS HAVE 2 GIGS OF RAM.

VISTA IS VERY CONFUSING.

TO GET TO CONTROL PANEL ICONS IN VISTA, IT TAKES 3 TIMES AS LONG AS XP HAVING TO CLICK THROUGH SO MANY PAGES TO GET TO WHERE YOU WANT TO GO. IT IS VERY ANNOYING AND TIME CONSUMING.

EVERY PROGRAM I INSTALLED HAD TO BE MADE COMPATIBLE WITH WINDOWS XP.
(IT WAS NOT FUN AT ALL)

I GOT ENDLESS SECURITY AND OTHER WARNING POP UPS UNTIL I DISABLED UAC.

THERE ARE ALMOST NO SOUND OPTIONS AND CHOICES IN VISTA. (AND WHO KNOWS WHAT OTHER OPTIONS)

THERE ARE MANY OTHER BAD THINGS I COULD POST ABOUT VISTA BUT LONG POSTS DON'T GET READ.

I HAVE SEEN NO BENEFITS AT ALL FROM VISTA, ONLY HEADACHE AND A MAJOR WASTE OF TIME.

TRUST ME WHEN I SAY, THE WORLD IS NOT READY FOR VISTA AND VISTA IS NOT READY FOR THE WORLD.

NEXT TIME YOU BUY A BRAND NEW COMPUTER, INSIST IT HAS WINDOWS XP.
JUST DO NOT BUY IT WITH VISTA UNLESS YOU ARE GOING TO WIPE IT CLEAN AND USE WINDOWS XP, PROVIDING IT IS ABLE TO EVEN RUN XP.

LONG LIVE WINDOWS XP AND LONG LIVE THE COMPUTERS ABLE TO RUN IT!!!!

~GARY

CHRIS
on March 1, 2007

I used the vista advisor to see if my computer was compatible and all that showed up was a wireless card and 4 software titles. After I took my money and went and bought it, i tried to install it, it took 4 tries to get it installed. Also it wouldnt install over win xp, so I had to format my drive to get it on. After doing this I have so far found 34 software titles wont run on vista and the companies dont have updates. 13 drivers are not operational an cant update, one of which is MY BOARD DRIVER for the NFORCE2<---seems real important that if the board driver wont be updated ever, you would say hey might not wanna get Vista right now, but no, they said everything fine before i bought it and now they say basically screw you. Well what are my options, change everything i have on my system at a cost of like 400, or, sell my copy of vista on ebay and reinstall win XP<--way it looks now and as usual microsoft acts as if we are the bad guy and they can never make anything thats crappy. Ok im done venting, but ya know if we all trash our vista copy another company will do more with xp to curb microsofts inability to sell their vista<--why ya suckered into buying it in first place. Reminds me of WINDOWS MILLINEUM<--sucked too

Ben
on March 2, 2007

Why get vista? Save you money and install linux. I ran MS software since 3.1 and thought it was the best. Until I install Debian/xp dual boot on my notebook. 2 weeks later I deleted windows, and never looked back. Atleast before you try vista give a linux distro a shot, it's free. What do you have to lose? I haven't rebooted ever, and no crashes. I have been running this for almost 8 months.

Ben
on March 2, 2007

And it runs as fast as the day I installed it. It does not slow down. Guys, just give it a shot.

AmokVrS
on March 2, 2007

ok... so since my vista nightmare i have been considering linux, i have some questions regarding that OS if someone could email me, id very much appreciated.
thnx!

Ed
on March 2, 2007

I loathe Vista, but Linux is still the domain of serious geeks. I did try a Linux distro that ran off a CD...I looked at the screen, and thought, now what? No idea. My friends have reported the same experience.

Can Linux read my NTFS external hard drive that I use in XP? I don't know.

Can my old favorites, applications like Nero 6 and Quattro Pro 7 (which is way better than any subsequent versions), run on Linux? I don't know.

External hard drive issues notwithstanding, I'm not all that concerned about hardware issues with Linex, it's the software stuff that concerns me. Yeah, yeah, I've read up on WINE, but that hasn't settled things in my mind, since I understand that it allows some, but by no means all, XP software to run in Linux.

All I care about is getting my work done as efficiently as possible. I don't play games on my computer. I don't want cute bells and whistles like Microsoft's crappy bloatware. I just wanna do my work, and, thus far, XP has served me admirably. I'm ordering a new computer this month, and, thank goodness, the vendor still offers XP pre-loaded (and told me that many customers want XP and are avoiding Vista).

So, like many XP die-hards, I'm trying to think a few years ahead, towards the day when my XP machines are old, XP's holes go unpatched and unsupported, and, well, then what?

I'm pulling for Linux, big time, because that seems to be the only hope. But it will take more hours than I have to really set it up and try to run it with the hardware and software that I use.

Futhermore, much of the Linux community is juvenile and obnoxious, dateless, unwashed geeks who mess with computers for fun, because they have no other options. This alone turns many people off to Linux, sort of guilt by association.

For now, Linux on personal computers is an esoteric niche; although it is the only hope, it is still a very small hope.

James
on March 2, 2007

Not suitable for a business environment.
There are conflicts with UAC that mean Vista is simply not suitable to run within a domain. Base functionality such as printing to network printers requiring admininistrator privileges simply is a non starter. Most PDAs only a couple years old not syncing via WMDC. Significant issues with IPv6 / IPv4 and some routers. Users complaining of headaches with ClearType on LCDs we no longer seem to be able to tune. These are core OS issues and not 3rd party driver issues.

Joe
on March 2, 2007

I got here by Googling ASP.NET. Don't need it, and wondered if I could delete the account. Then I read the vents.

I also have Vista Premium on a new Dell, and was trying to find out why I get "rundll32' errors and what the h*** is COM surrogate and why does it quit running at random moments? As mentioned by a previous poster, Dell TS is useless. The last time I called it sounded like I was calling a carwash, and the info I received was just as understandable.

Don
on March 2, 2007

Well here's the latest WTF with Vista... just out of the blue a box pops up telling me my copy of Vista is invalid, and at the same time programs I had previously set as default are no longer so, but I can't re-set them, because I am no longer the administrator??? My Vista was pre-installed by the computer manufacturer and I have the licenses in hand. Good God what a p.o.c.!! Do not... I repeat do not buy Vista.

Michael Schrengohst
on March 2, 2007

Wow, thanks for the heads up everyone...
I am saying to myself now "Don't worry about Vista"
I would love to see the new spots Apple comes up with!!

regis
on March 2, 2007

"Linux community is juvenile and obnoxious, dateless, unwashed geeks who mess with computers for fun"

I'll remember to mention that to all the Fortune 500 company IT Data Center Managers, in charge of Billions $$ worth of information, all cranking through Linux & Apache Servers.

p.s. The rest of the Planet (you know, that stuff on the Globe that is not the USA) - well, they have decided that they will not donate 30% of their GNP to Microsoft.

Microsoft has about 3 years left.
Ubuntu Media Center Edition will basically duplicate the Macintosh OS X experience - but for free (as in beer and as in speech).

www.puppylinux.org can get your whole system running on a SanDisk flash drive. I have a disk less laptop that has very long battery life thanks to Puppy Linux.

Linux is developed by people who were programming while most Microsoft 'developers developers developers developers' were still wetting their diapers.

Real programmers writing real time, embedded, operating systems, written in assembler. None of this bloat ware junk.

Remember people developed whole operating systems, GUIs, and disk file systems working in 8-bit computers?

Why is it that a GEOS based computer, more than 10 years old, is faster than the latest Intel Core Duo with Windows Vista? meh.

Windows Vista is Digital Abuse, degrading your hardware system and slowing down the doubled CPU performance. My 32bit WinXP out paced the hardware store's New Core Duo Vista machines - what a joke.

I even thought, hey - Maybe I should get Vista to 'stay with the curve' - learn all it's problems ahead of time. But I said forget it, after having used it on a top of the line laptop for a few hours.

NOTHING has marketed Linux better than the Incredible G-force suckage power of Vista.

Microsoft prospers because most people don't understand software, and really don't care to learn computers.
After all if they can email, browse, write, print, play music and look at pictures and video, that is good enough for most people.

Charles Darwin described evolution, not as survival of the fittest, but really survival of the fit enough - 6 Billion people on earth, not everybody looks like a NFL cheerleader and Pro Sports player. Far from it. People come in all shapes and sizes.

Windows is the same - It isn't the best Monopoly out there - it is the Only Monopoly out there.

Windows is Big, it's slow, and it is cumbersome. Like a Dinosaur.

But Linux keeps evolving. Hundreds of distros, and growing every day. In every shape and size imaginable.
Full customization for almost any application. From cell phones, laptops, desktops, servers, robots, video rendering farms, genetic engineering clusters, to multi-billion dollar data centers.

Everyday Linux gets stronger.

Everyday Windows gets weaker.

regis
on March 2, 2007

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=672

Tiger Direct can fix your VISTA problems - replace it with Windows XP PRO SP2.

At least that platform has been developed, your programs, camera, printer, scanner, etc all will work.


If you want BETTER than windows:

www.apple.com - OS X - it is just more fun, no problems, hardware just works.

www.ubuntu.com - popular growing Linux, super easy to use Linux.

www.puppylinux.com - Go ahead and Keep Windows - Use Linux when you want to, just boot up a USB Memory Stick flash drive. Keep a whole computer on your keychain.


I like my AMD flash drive based linux laptop:
AVERATEC - cheap laptop 512MB RAM
PC Card 1GB Flash card - (swap file, this is optional).
SanDisk cruzer micro flash drive.
Puppy Linux 2.14

www.puppylinux.org

1. download the Puppy Linux Live CD .iso file.
2. Burn the .iso file to a CD-ROM
3. Reboot PC - set BIOS to boot from CD.
4. Boot from CD, go to Start, Setup, Puppy Universal Installer.
5. Follow on-screen directions to setup your very own System-on-a-stick USB Flash Drive computer!

Puppy Linux runs the whole OS in RAM, with the operating system and
all standard applications in LESS THAN 90 MB!
(email, web, chat, graphics, calc, documents, music, video).

If I need to run a Windows only program, I just reboot without the USB stick - Windows XP is still there - untouched. (though Puppy Linux is about twice as fast as Windows XP.)

When you see what Linux developers CAN DO, and what Windows can not even get right given 4GB of RAM, well - you have to wonder why??

Mike
on March 3, 2007

Vista Blows. All the early posts propping it up are obviously the work of Microsoft employees. I am a long time windows power user and web developer. This O.S. is half baked at best. There is absolutly nothing revolutionary about it. It isn't even as good as an early version of OSX launched 4 years ago. I have experienced unexpected and unexplained shut downs. It sometimes likes my network driver, sometimes does not and forces me to reinstall it. It didn't like any of my very standard graphics cards. Anyone not running their box on $400 worth of brand new graphics card(s) do not get the aero interface. Many applications are having problems or just don't work. The file system is cryptic. The os baby sits every thing you do with pop up screens seeking approval. People will quickly disable this "mommy" feature leaving the computer even less secure. I wouldn't even recommend jumping into this lame piece of software even after the first service pack. I'm thinking Apple at this point for the first time since 1985.

fred
on March 3, 2007

I've tried running a linux dual-boot with Fedora 6 and also with ubuntu. My laptop wireless card ran just fine on ubuntu but no luck on fedora 6. It recognized it but not as a wireless device. Anyway, linux is pretty geeky and installing plugins and ware is a major pain in my opinion. I did like ubuntu better (obviously my card worked). There are things that I even like better about my look around experience but it is a learning curve as well as a major switiching cost, although from reading this posts it sounds like microsoft is stupid enough to impose pretty high switching costs on their own products--unreal!!!

Vidyasakaran
on March 4, 2007

Vista sucks big time!
God! I bought a new laptop and I'm done for!

dan d
on March 4, 2007

I bought Vista Home Premium a week ago. Guess what I got installed on my brand new dual core computer? That's right - XP pro.

Vista runs as slow as XP on my OLD computer. And now, XP runs really fast. I got 3 blue screens in just a few days with Vista.
I hate the UAC bugging me all the time. I can't mount drivecrypt DVD's because vista can't mount ntfs volumes read-only, whereas Xp could (and can). I hate this circle 'Loading' mouse cursor animation you get all the time for no reason, making you wait until it's gone so you could PUSH A ***** button.

I spend about $150 and I'm gonna call the store I bought my new computer from and ask for a refund, which I'm sure they'll refuse.

What a sad OS.

Reg
on March 4, 2007

Microsoft Reverse Logic:

1. Release Code Vomit, call it Vista.
2. Every new Laptop & Desktop Sucks now.
3. Thousands of people scramble to buy Windows XP,
paying the full retail price of Windows XP.
4. Users are happy to have Win XP again!
5. PROFITS! PROFITS! PROFITS! PROFITS!

Damn, Microsoft makes me proud to be American.

Microsoft will have record breaking profits because:
all the hardware sales people are forced to buy Vista Vomit.
and all the users who want to use their computer for windows applications will have to run out an Buy XP at top dollar.

Sweet, Sweet Money!

David
on March 4, 2007

I came here as a Linux user to see if all the fuss about 'if vista sucks' was true and it would apear so from many negative comments from windows users. I have worked with MS systems as a programmer and tech support since dos 3.3 but made a switch to Fedora a few years back and I never regret it. I dual boot into XP just to run a few windows specific music production apps. I'm not a MS hater but they are no longer inovative or produce great stable software. Best to stick with XP/Linux for now and wait at least a year plus for a few service packs and fixes.

fred
on March 4, 2007

Oh, on more thing. I've made an effort at this point to switch to linux. But linux ain't no paradise either. Fedora Core 6 install crashes when attempting to establish a network connection. I'll keep trying...

lkafd
on March 4, 2007

I hate Vista. Period.

nat
on March 4, 2007

Vista simply sucks! I hate it, and I wish, when I was ordering my new Dell notebook, that I had an option to choose XP, instead of choosing only among different flavors of Vista. F-ck you Microsoft, again and again, you greedy, sloppy bastards.

fred
on March 4, 2007

I left two posts before about difficulty of switching to linux but after messing around with partiotions, different distributions and doing quite a bit of reading and playing around I am now leaving this post browsing with firefox on a fresh dual-boot installation of ubuntu, connecting through my laptop's wireless card to my neighbour's network. Moreover codeweaver has a program called crossover office which allows you to run programs like photoshop, i-tunes, and MS office on linux. I tried it. It works...

I was unreasonably giddy when instead of having to reboot after the itunes installation, the system hit me with this message "simulating windows reboot..." and opened up itunes.

weirdbiz
on March 5, 2007

I'm hating vista so far. NONE OF MY PROGRAMS WORK WITH IT. vista came pre-installed on my new computer. Now I'm just trying to figure out how to go back to XP ...

Vitaliy
on March 5, 2007

VISTA SUCKS. To my dissapointments all the advanced features of previous OS's were removed to make it all "easier" Well, now you can't access administrative groups unless you have a "business or ultimate" version.
Disk defragmenter: one button "Defragment" no map, no options, nothing, just "Defragment" It's a serious joke and I don't appreciate it.
Programs, now some of them need compatibility mode to run as "administrator."
This is a good one. My video card (Nvidia 7900 GS) is constantly in a "performance 3d cooling mode" so fan is spinning at a speed of sound (too much sound) All the visual effects do that (no more silent computing) I tried to use Ntune to slow down the fan, but I get high GPU temp.
User Acount Control F*** it. I can't disable it, every time you open an application that Vista doesn't recognize, it asks if I want to run it. "That's not too bad?" try unzipping 40 different files you will understand. When I try to disable it, it says that configuration files like secpol.msc and others are not available in Home Premium version. So, guess what, MICROSOFT WANTS US TO UPGRADE TO ULTIMATE VERSION FOR $149 BUCKS TO USE CONFIG UTILITIES... HOW DO YOU LIKE IT NOW?
And it's easy to upgrade, just go to Control Panel and click on "Windows Anytime Upgrade" FREAKING JOKE. Why? Why place easy upgrade into control panel??????
This memory eating crappy system is constantly throwing me off. I don't care about all "Mac-like" elements and visuals, as far as I see, it's just a poor attempt to make more money on an average user that doesn't know what to expect from OS. WORSE THAN ME.
I REALLY HOPE SOMEONE LIKE MAC BREAKS THROUGH THE ICE AND OUTRUNS MICROSOFT OPERATING SYSTEMS. IT BECAME NOTHING BUT MONEY COLLECTING ATTEMPTS.

Vitaliy
on March 5, 2007

Hey GUYS check out the next link that comes up when you type "Vista Sucks" into google: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiG7KFDYkLI LOVE IT!!!

Trey
on March 5, 2007

Hello...long time microsoft hater first time caller. Ive been using windows and delevoping with their product for a long time. Im now thinking its time to give my love to someone else...possibly linux or mac platform...dont know yet. FYI, Novell pulled together a reasonably priced linux bundle. So for those who are considering using linux, but are scared...lol...like me. Novell is, in my opinion, still one of the top developers of secure and functional software.

Trey
on March 5, 2007

One more thing...all that is missing to get rid of Microsoft is for a company to create development tools that give even BASIC features comparable to VS. God please!

Keith
on March 5, 2007

Ok, i also got here from google typing in "vista sucks" to see if it really is bad. i stoped reading comments about after half way down there are so many.

I have a BRAND NEW dell E1505 with XP media center. love it, and JUST GOT my vista upgrade DVDs today, they are sitting right next to me untouched, and after reading that many negative comments on a site like this, those DVDs are going to the back of a desk drawer or something.

why the F*CK would i upgrade from a problem free operating system(well kinda) to a pos like vista? microsoft has there heads up there @$$'s is whats going on

Vitaliy
on March 6, 2007

Updating my windows Pissta experience:

Today, computer took 5 minutes to load with IE crashing right after loading.

The reset key was pressed for the 3rd time since upgrade, this time because BF 2142 completely froze.

Can't even play the game anymore... Core 2 Duo @ 2.4 ghz, 2 GB 800mhz Corsair memory, NVidia 7900 GS video card. On XP the game ran smoothly with all video and audio options set to high (@ 1600x1200 resolution) Windows Pissta? extreme lagging. I had to turn OFF all visual options to get the game to run without skipping, but lagging still ocurred (keep in mind that it ran VERY SMOOTHLY on XP)

Audio? No Creative X-Fi driver available to unveil all of the features of my audio card.

Defragmentation (this is a good one...) took me 11 hours (no joke) to defragment the drive. And throughout the time drive was really busy making lot's of seeking noise.

My FTP server... Can't stop it... :) it just keeps on running, and when I try to stop it I get a Not adequate NT administrative privilages to stop the process (or something like that) I am the admin, I set the program to "Admin compatibility mode" yet I am still not the admin... How do you become the admin anyway??? weird.

To Microsoft: You are all a bunch of greedy ****** trying to make money on the end-user. As my friend asked, what does Bill do with all that money, I mean, it's understood that his toilet paper roll consists of uncut 100 dollar bills, but why else does he need to make so much money that he releases a completely retarded and unfinished operating system leaving us without a choice but to use it.

Now I am really hoping MAC makes it through. There has to be a company on earth that can do better than Pissta...

Vitaliy
on March 6, 2007

Oh, one more...

I got charged twice for shipment of this crap... Gotta call Dell to take care of this.

Farewell

Jeffgn
on March 6, 2007

I agree with most everyone else. I bought a brand new gateway dual core laptop with Vista on it. Great computer, horrible OS. My old crappy laptop runs way way better with XP than my new high powered vista machine. Not to mention my software compatibility has been horrible. Things as simple as clip art programs are causing me grief. If there was a way to downgrade without reinstalling all my applications I would in a heart beat.

I can understand some driver issues. I don't really like the applications not working. Considering most have been out for years. I've had issues all over the board.

Oh I searched on Vista Sucks too. I wanted validation that other folks felt the same way.

jhajny
on March 6, 2007

I have a brand new Gateway GT5228 AMD64 X2 with 4GB RAM. Windows XP Pro x64, SuSE 10.2 x64, Fedora 6 x64, and Kubuntu AMD64 all read and boot fine with 4 GB RAM in this machine, whereas Vista (x64) freezes after POST. I think I'll stick with my dual-boot of XP Pro x64 and SuSE 10.2 x64 Linux.

VistaSucks
on March 7, 2007

Dell may offer Linux as alternative to Windows

BOSTON (Reuters) - Dell Inc. (Nasdaq:DELL - news) is considering offering the Linux operating system as an alternative to Microsoft Corp.'s (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) Windows on its personal computers, a Dell spokesman said on Tuesday.

[The rest deleted]

Milan Negovan
on March 7, 2007

Guys, I appreciate your input, but I don't want to turn this into a Linux vs Windows vs Mac OS discussion. SlashDot is a better place for that. Please stay on the topic, or I will delete comments like the one above.

Thanks!

Btw, I sent Steve Ballmer a link to this post. Predictably enough, he hasn't responded. I hope to see him face to face some time soon, and I will remind him he's got some explaning to do.

Dan
on March 7, 2007

I have been working with Vista since RC1. My feelings are mixed. It is pretty, and as usual, MS did a fantastic job with polishing the product to make that all important OOBE (Out Of the Box Experience) all it can be. (clap clap clap clap)

BUT. I just don't see anything there worth the price of admission. It is just way too damned fat. Yes, it's pretty. I can skin pretty. I want functionality. I want security in another form other than they system nagging me if I really want to do something or not. From a business perspective, regardless of my server OS (MS, AD, Linux, Novell, etc) there is nothing there worth upgrading the desktops for. Much like the Zune, where is the innovation and development to make MY life easier as a sysadmin and MY network better, faster, and more productive? I really could give 2 sh*ts about the multimedia capabilities and the 3d desktop switcher etc. etc. Make my network hum and we'll talk.

Apps and drivers are a non-issue as far as I am concerned, as was the case with 2000 and XP, give it 6 months and a service pack and all will be fine.

If your a home user, but a new PC with Vista, be patient and you will be happy as heck. For my Business, I will stick with my 2000\XP boxes thank you very much.

Dan
on March 7, 2007

as an afterthought, I loaded a clean build of Vista and Office 2007 on a Dell OPX520, Intel dual core, 2 Gig of Mem and an Intel video. Not one glitch, not one burp. Runs great. Takes well over 1/2 of the system resources to just idle, but still runs well. That is as far as it is going to make it in my network.

Jason
on March 7, 2007

let's see here. just bought 7 new laptops for department with vista business preinstalled. i'm scared to death to unleash these worthless bricks on our developers...

our wireless network does not broadcast an ssid but is otherwise unencrypted. no problem, i'll do what i do in xp and just add a network with the correct name and settings - should magically connect next time it searches for networks. not in vista. it refused to even try to connect with my connection profile. i had to let it connect to the unnamed network and have it prompt me for the ssid. minor bump in the road so far.

first time IE7 starts up it asks whether or not i want to enable the phishing filter. it froze before i could click a radio button, much less hit ok. end tasked tried again. 2nd time is the charm apparently.

joined to the domain, no major issue there. tried adding a domain user to the local admin group and it hangs "searching" for the user even though i gave it the domain\accountname directly. i let it sit long enough for it to put itself into standby. (tried this several times and it refuses to "find" the user.

battery life is crap compared to an exact duplicate laptop running xp sp2.

i haven't even installed the development tools my group needs to do their work and i'm already regretting picking the "vista" option in the configurations...

Mike
on March 7, 2007

I feel violated by my Vista upgrade I purchased at Best Buy. After upgrading my Dell XPS (gen 2) with Vista. NONE of my hardware or software was compatible with the new OS and most of the drivers would not be available for 6 months. Without any functional hardware it was easy for me to decide to revert back to XP. However, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Vista had blown away my controller drivers for XP and the return was long and difficult. Still do not have it running. I'm thinking I might buy a mac for my next computer. Microsoft's not using KY jelly when they mounted me has left me a little raw. Think I'm done with them.

James Wilton
on March 7, 2007

Vista taught me that I should've gotten a Mac.

And so I have. You should, too. It's amazing.

I weep for all the time I've wasted with Windows.

- Former 12-year Windows Vet

AJ
on March 7, 2007

the worst ever after milennium. simply colorful.not ready and not srong enough. i beat tested an my report said that it was not ready. got a brand new laptop installed in it(it was a cheap dela ) with Dual Core2 processor. it creashes non stop.it does not have proper drivers and it is slow and it needs tons of service packs and RAM!! You need 4GB RAM to run this OS.I am not kidding. i will get a mac sometimes and i am done with windows . sell this one ebay since the store will not take it back with their stupid policies. ity is slower than hell...

Wayne
on March 7, 2007

I was a developer in Microsoft Office for just over five years. I left shortly after "Office 12" got underway. I simply couldn't stomach the place anymore. (And no, it wasn't because of the move from the wonderful 16-17-18 cluster to that poorly-designed wreck of a building known as #36.)

Truth be told, Microsoft is rotting from the inside. It is not a place where hard work and dedication is rewarded. Instead, it is a place where performance reviews are about who you know rather than what you do.

I believe this philosophy is beginning to show in the company's products. Vista is shockingly bad... No doubt the ME of this decade. And the final design of Office 2007 is so far out-of-touch with what customer's were asking us for that I'm glad I didn't stick around to see it through.

Furthermore, I came to realize Microsoft's sleezy reputation was well-deserved. While I'm sure the concept of "winning at any cost" runs rabid in most large corporations, Microsoft takes it to a whole new level. They EXPECT to win by default! They know they have 90% of the computing world by the neck, and they seem to believe that creating endless opportunities for additional lock-in will somehow get them that last few percentage points and turn them into nothing more than a tax collector.

But where in all this is the drive to make great products? Where is the drive to innovate? That last word, "innovate," is one Microsoft loves to throw around at trade shows and company meetings. But I don't see it in anything they do. Instead, Microsoft almost always allows others do the hard work of developing new ideas. Then they try come to market - late - with poorly conceived copies of someone else's great product. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

Since leaving Microsoft, I've made a pretty decent living as a .Net consultant, but I plan on making a move into a new market by the end of the year. To that end, I recently walked into an Apple store and walked out with a Mac Pro. All I can say is, "Apple gets it!"

Kay C
on March 8, 2007

Hello,

I was so excited....I purchased a new PC w/Vista on it for myself, and gave my old one (lil over year old....with Windows XP) to kiddos. Personally, I haven't been happy since I took it out of the box and switched the pc's out. It's incredibly slowwwwwwwww. I cant access certain sites, view cams, chats, etc like I could up til I switched out pc's. If I could....I'd take the PC w/Vista back and get my money back. A newer PC.... thats supposed to be faster, and have more memory shouldn't be running slower than an older PC w/ less speed/ memory, and XP. I'm just an average consumer...I bought a product expecting to enjoy it, and I've found exactly the opposite. I'm looking for answers/solutions....but reading previous entries, and other comments online....I'm thinking I'll be switching out the pc's and giving my kiddos this new crap. Although...hate to pass it on to them...would even feel little guilty passing it on to my enemy. Although they'd be more deserving of it.

VERY UNSATISFIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nelson
on March 8, 2007

Guys - I feel your pain. Get a Mac and Parallels, and run your XP and Vista and Ubuntu copies when you need to, in nice protected sandboxes with almost instant restores in case of virus/etc. Virtualization really does work well - I use it daily.

I sit here with 2 macs, a linux box and an XP machine under my desk, and 50 linux boxen down the hall. Get an Intel Mac and you're set.

Mark Solomon
on March 8, 2007

Having read a lot of this thread, it would appear that Microsoft has finally managed to achieve the near impossible and created an operating system that creates a situation where it is easier and probably cheaper to migrate to a competitive product (Mac OS + Boot Camp/VMWare + OEM Windows XP) then it is to migrate from Windows XP to Vista.

What is truly amazing is that there are apologists posting here who want to deflect the blame from Microsoft and onto ISVs and peripheral manufacturers, stating that people (i.e. customers who have paid anywhere between a couple of hundred dollars to several thousand) should just be patient and wait.

This is, to be frank, errant madness: this operating system was in development for the best part of a decade and Microsoft's "partners" in the hardware industry should not have been put in a position where they were blindsided by the developments in Redmond.

Let's be more realistic - this torrent of woe has been caused by trying to Microsoft trying to satisfy the needs of too many conflicting interests; its own shareholders (who have been a victim to a market capitalisation that has been becalmed for several years now), its major hardware OEMs (whose businesses were crying out for the shot in the arm that Vista should have been) and corporate customers (who had been effectively been the victim of Microsoft's Software Assurance confidence trick).

In all of this, Microsoft forgot that personal customers (John and Joan Public) should be priority #1 without exception: these customers have no access to experienced support without paying for it and (even worse) have no access to unbiased counsel who would prevent them from being bilked in the first place.

Vista should not have been released until the third-party hardware manufacturers and ISVs said that they had achieved a critical mass of support for legacy components and software and the fact that Microsoft jumped the gun to meet an arbitrary self-imposed deadline rather than do what was right for their enormous base of personal customers tends to imply a certain degree of contempt for that community.

Greg
on March 8, 2007

Sorry so many of you are having issues with Vista. I installed the 64bit Ultimate on a newly built machine three months ago and everything is working perfect. Not one ounce of problems.
Firefox: it can't remember who logged in last if you are utilizing profiles). But other than that it's very usable. I'm sure the next few releases of FF will solve any current issues.

Other 32bit apps: I've not seen any issues with the ones I use.

If you have an older PC, I would not recommend installing Vista as you may have the problems people on this blog are experiencing. I've seen a few Linux soldiers expressing their feelings. I like Linux and I usually have it installed as a dual boot. But, I've yet to see a Linux distro which worked as well as Windows XP on my hardware. There is always something which won't work and/or doesn't have an available driver. As I said, Linux is nice, but it isn't always the better alternative.

Default User
on March 8, 2007

I have been running Vista Ultimate for two weeks now.

My experiences are mixed at best. The bottom line from my perspective is that XP is still a more stable, robust, & efficient, operating system compared to Vista.

If you haven't migrated yet, I say wait till SP1...

Is Vista the harbinger for Longhorn? yikes!

Frank Sagevsal
on March 9, 2007

I've ran Windows servers& desktops for over a decade. I looked at linux in 2000 and setup an Apache web server for the office. It worked great as a server,but too complicated & non-app compatibility limited its role. Now with Vista I had a reason to look again, and I'm amazed at how much better Linux has gotten. At some point this year I'll need to add/replace laptops in my office and it will either be XP or Linux. I've worked with one Vista laptop so far and lackluster isn't real a big enough word to describe the underwhelming and frustrating experience. Ubuntu offers what Vista lacks, a soul. And that is with only a week of experience with it, I can't wait to wade in a little deeper, which is not a feeling I have for Vista any longer.

Jarhead
on March 9, 2007

Got a new HP Pavilion system with Vista, added a second HD for XP so I could dual boot.

For the last few weeks, I've been keeping it on Vista.
I've installed my 3rd party software (Graphics Development , CAD Programs, Software Development, National Instruments Drivers, FireFox, Ect) All with no problems

I've not seen 1 BSOD yet.

Upgraded the HP Built in Gfx Card with a Simple PCI-E Gfx Card so I could use Dual Monitor support, no probs there either.

Plugged in my old printer, and Vista saw it, and it worked right off the bat.

Installed VB.Net 2005 & haven't had any problems with it.

Before I got this system, I had in on an Older HP Laptop with 1Gig, the only problem with that was that HP didn't have any sound card drivers.

I'll soon be removing XP Pro from that HD to free up the space, and just using the Virtual PC Version of XP for when I need to test stuff.

cdz12250
on March 9, 2007

The previous coment mirrors my experience. I bought a copy of Xandros Pro, a Linux distro designed specifically to wean the user off Microsoft gradually. The installation was a snap and, much to my surprise, not only did the GUI look and feel like XP; it came with Crossover bundled with it. Crossover permits you to run Windows apps like Microsoft Office 2003 (except for Access) right in Linux -- no sandboxes or virtual machines like vmware necessary. Meaning that if you're running, say, a law office, you can give your users the exact same software they're running under Windows until you can migrate them to the native Linux apps that, generally, llok and feel the same and are data file compatible with the Windows apps. Look into Xandros; roll it out for a couple of users. You won't be sorry. With all the software you're likely to need, $149.

Paul G.
on March 9, 2007

I really feel sorry for all the folks who are having problems with Vista. It must be pretty annoying to shell out lots of money for a product that just doesn't work. And even more maddening is that all the hardware labeled "Vista Ready" isn't Vista ready at all!

The best advice for Windows XP users is to stay put - don't upgrade to Vista! Save yourself the aggrevation. If you *must* have it, at least wait a few months for a service pack.

But there is a much better upgrade path...

Here's my 2 cents : take a good look at Mac. OS X is an amazing operating system and you won't be disappointed. I recently purchased my first Mac after using Windows-only operating systems for years - from Windows 3.0 all the way up to XP. (I even used Windows ME, but I'd rather not talk about that fiasco.)

Go to your nearest Mac store and play around with the MacBooks or the iMacs. Ask questions. Do some research. I'm certain your experience will be much better than anything Vista has to offer.

Whatever you decide to do, be sure to *do your homework*! Make sure your OS and your hardware will be compatible. Check that the software you need is available. You don't want to get stuck spending money on a computer that doesn't work.

CameraMan
on March 10, 2007

WOW one of the worst things to ever come out of mexico... "be dump ching" just a little joke... but seriously

Ok, I write to this forum in hopes that others have tried this with success or can maybe point me in a better direction than this forum can provide. So Here Goes Nothing. I am a life long user of MS titles starting with 95 then on to 98 and XP in turn. I was not looking forward to the Vista because I did not feel as though I wanted to learn a new system right now. I truly enjoyed XP SP2 and was quite happy spending the next several years running smoothly. Disaster Struck! Due to circumstances beyond my control I had to get a new laptop and due to my employee purchase program, I was unable to get a laptop that still had windows XP preinstalled on it! I was not overly dismayed when it came to Vista as MS usually knows what they are doing. So I got the new machine and OH MY GOD- - - - - - - - - - - - The Bloody thing is slower than my 450 MHz P3 with 256Mbs of ram... What the (insert profanity here) is up with this (insert profanity here again). I am looking for a fast machine with a quick zippy operating system, not a 600lbs woman on a treadmill! ok so enough with the rant, back to the question at hand. I have been told by Dell that my NEW laptop will not support me uninstalling Vista and putting XP on it. I can't understand why. Has anyone tried this yet? Does anyone recommend this? Talk to me people. If nothing else, can someone at least tell me how to make this woman loose 500 lbs?
-CameraMan-

PS yes I too googled vista sucks... please help...

Toby
on March 10, 2007

I too appear to be one of the unlucky S.O.B's who got a laptop with Vista preinstalled on it. Although I did manage to get rid of it at one point and installed XP SP2, once I had managed to do that my laptops performance tripled, let alone I now had some degree of control over my new laptop, but like many other Computer manufacturers ASUS suck at giving you the drivers you need, for the driver recorvery disk I have only works with Vista. I managed to get most the drivers I needed but 'most' still not being adequate and alot of things still not working I had to revert back to Vista, sure I could now install all the necessary drivers, but its not like it matters, half the things I want to use either wont install or just wont work. Lots of the problems people are listing I'm not having, instead I'm having a million of my own unique problems with Vista, dont I feel special. Oh well, atleast knowing how many people have googled 'Vista Sucks' shows I'm not alone, not to mention its damn funny, I thought I was the only one to google crap like that.

ron sharp
on March 11, 2007

i just got vista today,
I HATE IT! nothing works. i make movies well i did, it does not see my camera (canon xl2) anymore. none of the programs work and i mean none. corel, vegas, muvo(creative),i did get firefox to work with the lastest build. just don't modify it in anyway or it starts to shake. if it shakes reset all the defaults. it won't record sound with out a mic.
i don't know if i can wait for the service pack to fix the SQL.
i may just go buy XP till it comes out.
if you can wait for it before yuo get vista.

Epaminondas
on March 11, 2007

XP vs. Vista End-of-Life:

For those who are concerned about getting a computer with XP vs. a computer with Vista in regard to possible obsolescence of the XP operating system vs. getting a new, buggy operating system - a hard call, perhaps - operating system "end-of-life" information may be helpful.

As per current official Microsoft doctrine (subject to change):

A. Windows XP end-of-life:

<< Windows XP Home, Pro and Media Center will receive 'mainstream support' until April 2009, including feature requests, security updates, and hot-fixes.

Extended support will end five years later. The latter five years is significant. Microsoft doesn't typically offer extended support for consumer products.

When the mainstream support period expires, all three products will enter the five-year 'extended support' period.

Security updates and paid support will be offered during the extended support period, along with a hot-fix support agreement that users can purchase.

Official support for all three versions of Windows XP will end in April, 2014, 13 years after the first versions of the operating system were shipped.>

B. Windows Vista end-of-life:

1. The consumer versions of Vista - Vista Home Basic and Vista Home Premium - are scheduled to have approximately five years of support from the date of introduction of Vista, with an end-of life-date currently targeted at April 10, 2012.

(2) Vista Business and Vista Enterprise and Vista Ultimate users are on the 5+5 plan - they will receive 5 years of mainstream support and 5 years of extended support. They will receive security updates into 2017.
__________________________________

To clarify - Microsoft's plan is to support XP Home and XP Media Center until April, 2014, but plans to support Vista Home Basic and Vista Home Premium only until April, 2012.

Our plan?

We have XP Media Center SP2 running fast and stable on our equipment. Dual core, 1 GB of RAM. All our peripherals work fine, thank you.

Fast and smooth. Not a headache in the world. If it ain't broke . . .

We plan to continue our present set-up until 2014.

As 2014 approaches, we will then consider buying a new machine vs. installing Linux on the current hardware and keeping our peripherals as-is. Linux does run fine on older hardware that would choke Windows - there is no need to update hardware simply for the sake of updating hardware.

But there's no hurry for us to worry about upgrading from XP. I mean - a lot can happen in the computer world in seven years. :-)


Best regards,

Epaminondas

Hellhound
on March 11, 2007

I performed an excorcism of vista and installed XP pro on my new Dell. All of the performance, stability and compatibility issues are no longer a problem (see post 69). The machine is now very fast and stable with XP. ...BTW only XP pro or XP media center 2005 should be installed on a system with a dual core processor. XP home edition was designed for single processor systems.

Epaminondas
on March 12, 2007

<< BTW only XP pro or XP media center 2005 should be installed on a system with a dual core processor. XP home edition was designed for single processor systems. >>

There is a lot of confusion out there on this particular issue. To clarify:

XP Home SP2 will support two separate cores on a single processor. However, XP Home SP2 will not support two physically separate processors on the same motherboard.

XP Pro and XP Media Edition will both support two physically separate processors on the same motherboard. This includes two dual core processors, for a total of four cores.


If you just want to run XP Home on your personal single processor / dual core machine, XP Home will run fine.

If you are in a business situation and need XP Pro's features - remote access, etc. - get XP Pro, instead:

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_home_pro.asp


Notes:

(1) XP will continue to be available on the retail level for one year after the date of introduction of Vista.

(2) XP will continue to be available to system builders for a total of two years after the date of introduction of Vista.

(3) End-of-Life for all XP products (end of the line for security upgrades) is currently scheduled to be April, 2014.

(4) XP Service Pack 3 has been widely expected to be available in 2008, though I do not believe that there has been an official announcement. Whether or not SP3 will actually occur is anybody's guess.


Best regards,

Epaminondas

Sales & Marketing
on March 12, 2007

I received new DELL Latitude D820 - top of the line (2 processors, massive memory, etc) - with Vista. I have tried (REALLY) to make this work, as I wanted to be the one in our company to have empathy with the customer. At every turn, the machine has been annoying, slow, or just freezes. I really cannot tell if it's the Dell hardware interaction with Microsoft Vista, or the OS. But I'm going to ship the whole thing back tomorrow and go back to my beat-up Toshiba laptop running XP.

A few examples of frustration.

(1) Doing a "Save as" and trying to change the directory to the Desktop (from the default "Documents"). Takes about 5 seconds before the pull-down works. What???

(2) Boot up and shut down time seems to take forever, even when not connected to network.

(3) The constant messages about "Do you want to do this" - I've tried to find the place via Forums etc, but still am getting complaints about file deletes in various places. There is way too much magic here - should be easy to turn this off.

(4) Print problems - get "Warning" every time I print ... but it works. I cannot turn this warning thing off.

I cannot believe that I'm the only one with these issues.

Microsoft and Dell (and other major vendors) need to resolve these issues and make a product that works. In the meantime, I'll wait a few years.

gordo
on March 13, 2007

Vista "Ultimate" on HP dv9000 laptop (2 gig mem, core 2 64 bit)

what a total junk OS this is. i had to actually experience this to beleive it, but this is junk. I boot and the thing uses over 700 megs of memory? i have tried to slim it down and stop services as much as possible while still being able to "use" the os. honestly, step back and look at this thing. i do a lot of .net development and this os is about as dorked up as the "post back", datasets and viewstate (which M$ pushed and now backs away from). i don't think it is fair to give M$ a free pass on this one. the performance alone makes this thing junk. not to mention the inability to reliably run M$ development tools on it? uhm, wtf comes to mind.

i would give it a 3 out of 10. on the bright side, at least it cost $400...

ray
on March 13, 2007

I feel for all of you. I have a test box here at work that I am testing vista and I haven't had as many issues as most of you, I have been totally irritated with this OS. I have issues with older software because the registry files appear to be different somehow. the interface doesn't seem to be as easy to use as XP(might change with more time on it) and like everyone else I had to find a way to turn off being asked if I was sure 3 times before doing anything. I personally recomend to all of you that unless you have to use Vista, don't use at this point in time. I hear a SP is coming out in the summer and hopefully they will fix these

ray
on March 13, 2007

oh yeah
I googled vista sux ... =)

Mike Kolb
on March 13, 2007

I am in my first week with a new pc that has Vista pre-installed. I KNEW all I had to do was google Vista sucks and I would find a site where 95% of the posters would like to burn MS to the ground. Firefox works okay with it, but I have had to replace my MS blue tooth mouse, MS Ergonomic wireless keyboard, and HP laser jet printer due to compatibility issues. MS has no workable solutions at their site for their products. If you have had the same problems as I have, let me suggest you go to logitech to replace your mouse and ergonomic keyboard because they plugged and played without a hitch. I might also add that I loaded Office 2007 and this installment of Word SUCKS! Start a document in Word 2007 and you get this really busy screen that doesn't even have a print button. My machine has SATA II hard drive and is Duo Core, but is double slow. Fuck you Bill Gates and the jackass you rode in on!

Buy a MAC people! It's too late for me. Somebody put a cap in my head. Please!

Jeff Filapose
on March 13, 2007

Just install about any version of Linux vs Vista and you'll be much better off! I put it on my new Dell laptop and I must say It's the worst
OS I have ever used. I thought Windows ME was bad untill I tried Vista. Dell sent me the (upgrade disk) Anyone want a copy of Vista for free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I work for company with around 190 pc's and there is no way I'm putting vista on them. I have already bought about 10 pc's since vista came out and had to load XP on them. Oh and did say how much fun it it is to find all the drivers to downgrade from vista to XP!

Ray
on March 14, 2007

Had more vista fun today. I write test code for my company and had to install some software that we wrote. Getting the software to install has gone ok for the most part, but the un-install process has sucked. Even though vista claims that the software un-installs correctly and that all the files have been removed, they all still appear. The registry files don't seem to be doing what they should and it's costing a bunch of time and money. Hopefully the public blows off this OS for a really long time so I can one less headache. I will in no way shape or form promote puting this OS on any other machines here than simple test boxes. Good thing we bought a bunch of PC's right before Vista was released. From what you guys have been saying, going back to XP with the new machines is also a pain.

oteotd
on March 14, 2007

I posted my dislike for this Vista os early on in this blog. I just wanted to add one more thing. I have since returned my Vista machine to the store and took a 15% hit in the cost of the machine to get rid of it but it was worth it.

However even with Vista long gone it is still causing me issues. I had downloaded some Vista drivers for my printer. Well now that I have an XP machine back in place it seems that sharing the printer when it was on the Vista machine has caused some Vista drivers to be left behind on my client XP machines. I have successfuly put the printer back on a clean x machine and it works but the client machines will not print to the printer. I spent about two hours trying to figure out what the heck drivers were left over in the XP Machines from the shared printer on Vista. Turns out that even the printer company will not give a list of driver files and I have no idea what the names are and when you reinstall the printer to the client XP machines the XP drivers being older will not overwrite the Vista drivers.

So in the end or until I can figure this out not only did I loose money on the Vista machine but I also had to purchase a new printer different model printer just to have my shared printer to work.

Vista has seen it's last days in my mind and I have already told everyone I know that they should not purchase it and if they do and have problems they want me to fix it is going to cost them dearly because I really don't want to figure out the Vista problems since I don't see this OS hanging around much longer.

If they do kill it looks like XP will get an extended support term while everyone waits for Vista's successor.

Ray
on March 15, 2007

I don't know if you do ghost backups or not but you should have tried bringing up images on those machines that wouldn't print before buying a new printer. (unless buying a new printer cost you less than the time it would take to do that to all machines which I understand). I have to do SW compatibility tests with Vista and I have multiple ghost backups of XP on every machine here. So far I have rolled back to XP on all but one machine.

dns
on March 16, 2007

It's sad that there is really no alternative Windows branch for those of us who are tied to Windows. And - let's face it - Microsoft did do some things right, like .NET for instance. It's a pity that they really don't deliver for everyone, especially for the average consumer who is not interested in upgrading his PC in order to have the latest operating system working as it should.

As I type this, I'm downloading a LiveCD ISO of Ubuntu. If I like it, it might trigger my eventual transition off Windows. :)

James
on March 18, 2007

Visa has an awful UI, from the start menu to the constant popups about security. Just turn off 'hide system files' and you get 2 wonderful desktop.ini files appear on your desktop, nice. Explorer crashed ones and I minimised the program, used taskmanager to restart it and I could open it from the taskbar, I could close it though.
Every useful possible option is buried in a myriad of confusing menu's which reminds me of early Mac OS X, where things aren't grouped properly.
Mac OS X is far far farrrr more usiable than this and the file manager on this system is like dirt, tried to set my view settings to list for every location, changed drive and lo and behold it at the old list of massive icons!! Win95/98 had a better looking file manager, XP was okay and this is a yuckky attempt to copy the OS X one.
IE7 believes I've turned off the Protected Mode, when it's on and have even restarted the computer.
I've had Vista installed for 4 hours and can't take it anymore, going to format it away....

Dragon
on March 18, 2007

Have Vista Premium and everything is running fine with Vista other than a architect program that I have, the raytracing doesn't work.

Trey
on March 19, 2007

Tried Vista at a local Best Buy. The only machines running it had 2GB of ram. I assume (based on what ive read) its because it doesnt work in anything less than that without major lag problems. I played around with the interface. Typical Microsoft strategy, change the desktop and they will come. I wasnt to impressed with what i would call a cluster f@#k of a desktop. Bought a mac mini for $599 to test it out at work. It really is a better product. With intel inside, you can VM a guest OS like XP and run any apps you cant migrate over to Mac. Think Im going to move. Sorry Microsoft, tired of you clobbering the desktop and costing me money in upgrades and training.

Scott
on March 19, 2007

I have had vista rc2 since october and , personally, I love vista. I have never experienced any of the problems that the writer of the blog experienced and I am not expecting any since vista has been very reliable. I have had no compatibility issues, no random freezing, simply nothing negative to the point of being pissed off. Vista is very close to perfect. My machine has a pentium 4 ht processor, and 512 of RAM yet it runs aero perfectly. Those who say vista is slow yet they have a good computer should not blame vista; the problem most likely lies not with vista or its design.

David
on March 19, 2007

Yea Scott.. sure. And let me guess, your e-mail address ends with @microsoft.com ?

Kpdisme
on March 19, 2007

Oh My GOD! VISTA, I hate you and I hate MICROSOFT for ever letting it out to the public. I've been around from the day's of DOS 1.0 and this is by far the worst release by MS ever. I'm now a MAC man, sell you stock suckers...........................................

Thomas
on March 20, 2007

Everyone complaining has to remember that device drivers are effectively part of any OS for the PC (or Mac, which is basically the same thing now) architecture. With Vista working very well for some and poorly for others, the obvious difference is device drivers, so you can thank your hardware vendor if you've got good drivers and it runs well, and blame them if you've got bad drivers and it runs poorly.

With something like Linux, a lot of the drivers are generic (written by Linux developers), rather than for specific hardware (written by hardware vendors), so tend to be more stable, but don't make use of all of the features. Drivers from hardware vendors that make full use of the hardware, like are usually used under Windows, can be a double-edged sword, since there's a potential for more features and better performance than you can get with generic drivers, but also for the opposite, with the risk of less stability.

I've seen huge differences in performance based on which drivers I'm using under Vista. Microsoft can only be blamed to the extent that they've changed the driver model for Vista, especially wrt graphics, but also with more options for user-mode drivers. At the same time, the changes are clear improvements, so it's a matter of trading short-term annoyances for significant long-term improvements.

Another possible problem with Vista, which I've run into myself, is that it uses the hardware more intensively, especially the memory. This means if you've got buggy or defective hardware (e.g. bad memory), you're likely to exercise it more often and more heavily under Vista. That means it's more likely to crash than systems which only lightly use the hardware (e.g. Linux can't use a lot of the power management features of my hardware, which means if they're broken, I'll never notice when running Linux).

I'm actually wrestling with Vista crashes on one system right now, and it looks like defective RAM. It was probably the cause of the problems (corruption, etc.) I occasionally had before I installed Vista, but now it's leading to crashes. The Vista memory test reports the memory is bad, and using the RAM intensively under other OSes, I can generate some random failures too. So, it looks like Vista has helpfully exposed my defective hardware. I'm not happy about having defective RAM, but it is under warranty, and I'd rather catch the problem than have it silently corrupting data in applications and such.

Mike M.
on March 20, 2007

blame yourselves, its people like you who keep buying crap that makes microsoft a turd factory, they gave you what you wanted and you bought it! there will always be suckers and there will be people who'll make money off them, dont blame microsoft, id actually be surprised if they made a quality OS, why would they when people keep on buying crap? why sell diamonds when you can sell sand for the same price? suckers

Sam
on March 21, 2007

Luckily I was not one to run out and upgrade but from what many people are saying I can see that Vista problems are two fold.
First What you can and cannot blame MS With. They should test their OS with other Browsers such as Firefox. As far as games, this is where the Companies like NVIDIA Should have been ready with drivers since they had such a long time to prepare. I Really feel bad for The people that are having problems with freezes, crashes and applications with vista, and my advice to them is to go back to XP.
I have had XP For years now running fine... with maybe one crash a year...having to reboot. "If it aint broke don't fix it"
Its hard enough getting current drivers / patches for windows and games setup correctly to only have to start all over again. It's not only crazy, but will force game developers now to focus on consoles primarily. Buying a $500.00 graphics card only to find out it does not work is a crime and should be a cause for concern for nvidia.
What the next few years has in store for the pc industry will be interesting to say the least. -SAM

phil
on March 22, 2007

Get a Mac, I did.

I tried vista on a friends new computer, was awful, slow and crashed a lot.

So I went and bought an Intel based iMac 20", never regreted it, a hell of a lot better, and now games are being produced at the same time as the PC for the mac due to the fact they just need to recompile the code, rather than rewrite it.

Earl
on March 22, 2007

Client bought a brand new Core-Duo sys with **4 gb of RAM** and Vista.

Client is raising hell because new expensive highly upgraded machine runs drastically slower than the 5 year old machine she gave up.

VISTA SUCKS.

Tom
on March 23, 2007

I've got a lot of experience with many OS's, but I've usually used Windows at home (basically because I could steal it... they gets NO DOUGH).

The day Microsoft released Vista, I reformatted my 6-month old laptop and put Ubuntu Linux on it. Not only am I pleasantly surprised at just how great of a home-user OS this is, I am quite finished with Microsoft. My desktop came shortly after.

I'd be willing to wager that in about 2 years or so Ubuntu is going to be causing a lot of problems for MS.

Anyone out there that thinks that they can't get the same use out of (FREE) Linux that they get out of ($$$$) Windows needs to look again. Don't trust me on this one, look for yourself.

SO, needless to say, I don't have a crappy install story to tell you guys about, only a succesful one... Linux.

Christine
on March 23, 2007

Vista does suck! I hate everything about it. I am stuck with it till I get a motherboard for my xp. Then my son can have this new tower with vista on it and destroy it.

Christine
on March 23, 2007

Vista My Experience.
Figured if I would write a vista sucks I should have put why.

My ABS with XP crashed my motherboard died. Well since they still had it in the shop. I had to get a new tower. I tried everywhere to have one built with XP Dell told me I am sorry mam but we don't carry XP anymore. Same with everyone else I called.

So we had to by a new tower. Bought a Gateway had Vista in it. I was already in tears due to my ABS being in the shop.

Sat down set it up. Put a disk in......it wanted to know if I wanted to install the program. Grrr Told the stupid computer if I didn't want to install the program I would have put the dang disk in the machine..... Next problem installing my added hardware. My printers kept saying not compatible......ok stupid computer says on my printer box compatible with vista....took awhile to do that. Then I found out that my dsl service is not compatible with vista yet. So I had to download firefox which I am sorry is just as crappy if not the same as IE which I never use. I use sbc and the browser and everything else that goes with it.

Next problem. My printer cannot be used on my laptop cause it can
t be found and my vista tower won't find my laptop on the system..
So ok I will just call Gateway they will help me fix it.. Plus disable all this crap security messages. Annoy little messages that are not needed. So I call Gateway. They ask me a few questions....then he says I cannot help you you have to call microsoft...... ugh.....I say so they make a screw up program and not even tech support knows how to work it yet...figures. I said good ol microsoft ..any way to screw someone over...

Ok so I call microsoft.....tell him the problem he says well you have to call Gateway to help you. Told him did that They don't know how to work your crappy os. He says well I can help you but it will be $60 for the first problem you have and $60 for the second one on how to disable the settings..which miss I recommend that you don't do. I told him I just got this computer and you are going to charge me $120 to fix your stupid product. He says yes unless you call Gateway to help you. Told him to tell his boss Bill Gates to suck my.... and hung up.

Hubby calls at this point and says Hi Honey how do you like your new computer. I started crying and told him what is going on...he says people aren't supposed to cry when you get a new computer. I told him ok I will stop crying if you let me put it under the semi and you run it over.

Over the past few days I have more trouble with it. I have no idea what microsoft was thinking....if they were thinking. This OS sucks. Next time I will by a Mac.... which I would have bought but hmmm...funny thing they weren't being sold anywhere.

If this is the future of microsoft ....I would rather have a Mac..

vistasucks
on March 23, 2007

i tried vista at staples and i must say VISTA REALLY DOES SUCK! IT TOTALLY STINKS! instead of making things easier, they complicated the hell outta it. I call it bulkware. It's like the only thing they have to show for is their eye candy nonsense. So far ALL the mac ads against vista have been 100% true.

earache
on March 24, 2007

This is hilarious. I also did a search on "vista sucks" just to see if there was any new user experience comments on the Internet since its official release...and I'm astounded. I've been a Microsoft proponent for many years, actually, I have made my career as a Windows Systems Administrator for the past ten. Although, for the past five I have been converting myself and my personally owned computers to a least dual boot with Linux. Why? It has matured leaps and bounds over Microsoft as a viable, professional and user friendly desktop OS. Don't get me wrong, I still love XP Pro once it's tweaked and patched, and administration is a breeze on large networks. But in a sense of "working out of the box", there are several newer Linux distributions that leave any Windows release in the dust. Mepis, PCLinuxOS and Ubuntu come to mind. If you prefer a "Mac" feel go for Ubuntu, if you're more comfortable with a "Windows" feel, go for Mepis or PClinuxOS. I've tried all three and never had to install a single driver except for having to compile one for a wireless USB adapter I use. Want eye candy? Install PCLinuxOS that has the latest Beryl 3D desktop, it demolishes any visual effects you'll find in Vista, and it runs blazingly fast on older hardware. No need to buy a new PC!!

I tried the final release candidate of Vista doing a clean install on a Shuttle XPC -- AMD Athlon 2Ghz - 1Gb of DDR 400 RAM - ATI 9250 AGP 4X Graphics w/128MB RAM - 7200 RPM SATA Drive - And even AFTER I turned off all of the useless services and eye candy, my "Windows Vista Experience" clocked at a 2 out of 5. Not that I put all my faith in software benchmarks, but it ran S-L-O-W. To put this in perspective, imagine running Windows 2000 on a Pentium 233. That's about the level of responsiveness Vista had on the hardware listed above.

Nearly 75% of my colleagues or fellow IT professionals I've spoken with dread the future knowing we'll be wrestling with Vista and all it's bugs. Many have no intention of rolling out an upgrade until it's absolutely necessary due to the fact that new PC's will be shipping with it, and most will just re-image them with XP Pro.

Microsoft pulled a boner on this one for sure.

Roy
on March 25, 2007

I started using a Microsoft Operating with DOS 1.1. It ran on an IBM PC XT with a 10GB hard drive. Since then I have used and supported every operating system Microsoft has released. My feeling as both an MCSA & MCSE is that Vista is crap. So many bugs it hurts. I bought a new Dell which came with XP Home. So many driver problems I can't count the number of times I have power cycled this Dimension E520. I have 1.3TB of hard drive space, Dual Duo Core 2 2Ghz, ATI Graphics card with 1GB & 2GB of Registered ECC 667Mhz RAM. This system should fly but the OS runs like molasses. I have had files that I created in directories I have created with admin permissions that I have been unable to delete because I don't have permission? I have had files download and disappear. So I grab the permissions of the root of the drive & take them over as admin only to have the same thing happen on the next reboot logging into the exact same admin account. I copy 50GB of data and explorer freezes generating annoying errors which reminded me of cryptic Windows For Workgroup error messages. So many programs freezing. Add to this frustration the incompatibility of the majority of my software & I feel abused by a corporation which would use us as beta testers for the worst operating system I have ever encountered! I am calling Dell and demanding they provide me with a copy of XP for this system. Better yet I'll install unix on it and be done with all of this time wasting nonsense! In my final analysis I agree that Vista Sucks!

jimbo
on March 25, 2007

I thought they delayed vista so it wouldnt have problems. It by itself seems to run well. However almost every program I try to install has an issue. They are not all old programs. Easy Creator 8 isnt even conpatable. I will be waiting until they work out the conpatablity problems.

Greg
on March 25, 2007

I anxiously awaited for the VISTA release and bought a new Gateway with it pre-installed. Never have I been so frustrated with an OS, and my experience goes back to DOS 2.1, Win 3.1 etc. I've had conflicts with Acrobat writer, Outlook 2000, and drivers for my printers. The new message on my voice mail begins with VISTA Sucks.

carl
on March 25, 2007

not to beat a dead horse (well, by the vast majority of these reviews, i guess we're HOPING Vista is the equivelant to a dead horse), but i'm a Microsoft Partner...yeah...MCSE, blah blah blah. my latest Action Pack was delayed because...well, i'm not sure why. someone at M$ dropped the ball - quite possibly the same fool who approved releasing Vista to the public. anyhoo, i was so excited to get my copy of Vista Business and slap it on one of my boxes. first it went on my Dull D420 notebook, Core Solo with 1gb ram. the first thing i noticed was that is sucked up over 600mb of ram just sitting, desperately trying to look pretty. next i noticed it gobbled up more than 3 times the amount of hd space that xp pro does on a basic install.

wow.

not soon after that, i began noticing the real reason Vista Sux. BSOD's (which i haven't seen in forever, thanks to the improved stability of XP Pro), driver imcompats and, of course, the fact that my non-MS software no longer worked. Roxio, Acrobat, SAV.

wow.

i thought i'd give it one more chance on an Acer Desktop, 2.4 P4 HT with 2gb RAM. yeah, Vista brought it to its knees. give me a flippin' break, MS. do you really expect people to WANT this? to say they NEED this? and to encourage vendors to pimp this pile of crap out while you oh-so-quietly let XP Pro fade away? who wants to piss away this kind of cash on an OS that is a disgusting resource hog, forces you to spend a lot of money upgrading or outright replacing your favorite software and then...and THEN...forces you to spend even more money upgrading the hardware (or just buying a $4k machine that's likely to still run Vista like crap). i feel the warm glow of Mac and Linux users smiling all around the world.

roll to any Best Buy, Office Max/Depot or other system vendor and try to find an XP Pro system...heck, even an XP Home system (gag)...nope, no can do (oh sure, Dull will give XP to you for an extra $99 - but it's money WELL spent). all we have before us is Vista...5 variations on the same flavor of crap. Bill, Steve...i thought you guys had reasons to be embarassed before, but no...NOW you truly do. please bow your heads in shame, turn, walk away and reimburse people who have spent their hard earned money on this crap. most people didn't know better...hell, i got mine as part of the Action Pack, and i still feel ripped off.

wow.

Geoff
on March 27, 2007

I'm surprised so many people have moved to vista already. an ms os in infancy, is this a wise decision? think of all the "2nd edition" versions of windows stemming back over 10 years ago! why would vista be any different? so not only do you have incompatible software, beta drivers or drivers that just don't work but a buggy os - great combo! it seems a lot of people are ms-bashing for their unwise decisions of doing a premature upgrade with a premature os.

this is purely my opinion, but surely an os should just be the interface between your hardware and software? vista goes beyond the call of duty when it comes to providing unecessary features turning the os into bloatware. what's wrong with just designing a simple and safe os?

2+ years ago, the biggest marketing feature of vista was winfs. what happened to it? it failed in development. This os is based on initial failure. microsoft needed to keep that money wheel rolling though, hence a premature release of a crap os.

now the os is more secure because of uac and some other lame features...what a joke; not in what it does, but the way in which ms used it to warrant a "new" os. surely uac, or locking the os down to a limited account holder while running certain things as root doesn't doesn't require the spending of $$$ but rather a patch? uac/root - something unix based os' have been doing for years.

I never had any real problems running vista other than the fact it was just sluggish on a high powered machine. visually it's very pretty, but even the prettiness gets boring when the average task takes 4 - 5x longer than what they would take running on xp2. Also, if you enjoy the occassional game, don't expect a decent FPS rate from vista ;-)

if this is the direction in which ms windows is heading, i will be making a perm switch to linux.

Brian
on March 27, 2007

I have Vista running on a new dual core Toshiba. I have read the comments thus far and I would have to say that those who enjoy fixing problems are the people who like it and those who just want a working laptop or PC don't. I am a don't like it person. I don't like it at all. It is far too cumbersome. It's a little like George Bush. Please stop trying to make things easier for us. It aint working and we don't need your help.

Vista's long goodbye
on March 28, 2007

[quote]Deleting files can take forever

By Dan Goodin in San Francisco
Published Monday 26th March 2007 23:57 GMT
Receive the days biggest stories by email

Windows Vista suffers from a bug that causes many machines to stall while deleting, copying and moving files, a flaw that has provoked consternation in online forums.
[/quote][quote]......According to a thread on Microsoft's TechNet site, Microsoft has issued a hotfix for the problem, but it has failed to quell the outrage. For one thing, [color=red][b]individual users must get Microsoft's approval before the fix can be downloaded[/b][/color], according to our tipster. And for another, hotfixes are more of a pain to install than patches. [more][/quote]Unreal!!


[url]http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/26/vista_copying_bug[/url]

Ray
on March 28, 2007

It seems this site is still going strong. What does that tell you? go to mac! you want something that works, get a mac.

Trey
on March 28, 2007

Seriously guys, do yourself a favor and get a mac. I bought one to test (base mac mini) and everyday I'm discovering why Microsoft is copying them. It is an outstanding product. It even has a built in coding environment, Xcode, for object oriented coding. I cant tell you how impressed I am with the machine. Its also Unix based so for geeky types you can get to the kernel through the shell. Mac machines are now intel based, so for $80 you can run parallels for those old windows apps and they run SMOOTH. I had little to no trouble setting it up and Windows XP actually runs BETTER in my VM.

Ive always used windows, but my latest experience with Microsoft Fista left me upset. So I went Mac shopping. You should to...you wont regret it.

Sorry Microsoft, Im done with second best and tired of eating anything you crap out. Good luck to those who stay MS!

jimboisdumb
on March 29, 2007

#175, jimbo conpatable, that's funny... well, sad really...

Dream
on March 29, 2007

Yup, 'Vista Sucks' got me here too... ;) I had dual-booted for a while with XP and a few different flav's of Linux. Order 2x new Vista systems, completely sucked, so I sent them back.

Vista finished off my Windows experience. As a developer, I want freedom to innovate - not to be restricted by any single vendor. The future is certainly not suckiness.

And hey, as a home user, Linux is just soooooo darn fast on a box designed for Vista, lol. Now you can play Windows games with Cedega (I know..)/Wine (or Photoshop etc) on Linux, hell - even your kids think Vista sucks.

So, get a Mac or get a PC. Put Linux on either if you care to (or call Dell and ask them for a Linux system)... or use another OS. Just...

..Don't get Vista...

It really, really sucks.

d. ;)