#1 canuck fan Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 (edited) This review is based on over 3 months of testing the Vista RC2 trialMicrosoft has improved many things with its operating system. The first thing many people notice is its sleek, modern look. You have the option of using either the normal vista or vista aero. Vista aero features a glassy, transparent look. The only major drawback is that many computers run too slow while using aero. A negative aspect of vista is that surround speakers will only play sound from 2 speakers instead of all 5 in the 5.1 surround sound configuration or all 7 in the 7 speaker configuration. There is no way of bypassing this unless you have media with dolby digital surround sound.A very good aspect of vista is its search functions. It allows you to quickly retrieve files that you use often from indexed locations. Compared to windows xp, vista is much more secure giving you a sense of security when using your computer. Many times you have to confirm a operation twice in order to avoid problems such as accidentaly deleting important files, etc.After 3 months or running vista on my computer, I have come to the conclusion that windows vista isdefinetly worth upgrading to. Ps has any one tried vista Edited July 8, 2007 by Fone_bone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pandora Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Vista, 5 times faster? You'd have to say slower. Until they come with some decent service pack Vista is pretty much crap. They drastically need to change some stuff. Ow and yes, I'm really going to spend a few hundred EUR on a OS that just has a cool taskbar. ATM XP wins. Though I do hope MS is going to make some serious modifications to Vista. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherman Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 -cooler taskbar Pure opinion -windows side bar where you can put the weather,stocks,etc Kind of cool, but could be done without. I wouldn't use it. -when you talk it types These systems are a bit flawed unless you have it heavily trained. ie. you say something, it thinks you said something else. -5x faster I havn't used it, but 5 times? Doubtful. Maybe 2. But, honestly, I can't see a newer OS being faster than than fully developed older one. I'd say it depends on computer speed more than anything. I've got XP, it's insanely fast right now. I can't see faster making much of a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pandora Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 It's slower. MUCH slower. How the hell did you get the idea that it's faster anyway? And especially how could you even imagine a newer think being 5 times faster when we're talking about software? Compared to windows xp, vista is much more secure giving you a sense of security when using your computer. Many times you have to confirm a operation twice in order to avoid problems such as accidentaly deleting important files, etc.After 3 months or running vista on my computer, I have come to the conclusion that windows vista isdefinetly worth upgrading to. The security is one of the main reasons NOT to get Vista. It's stil better then a Mac, but the security of Vista is just annoying. Clicking 5 times just to start is game is highly un-needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerard Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Topic reopened, bad posts deleted. Please continue to discuss, but not argue. On pain of death. Vista is good in many ways - it is more secure than XP, it has significantly more hardware compatibility, there are quite a few UI improvements and most would say it looks a bit better too. However, these things are what you would expect from a small step-up - there is nothing really innovative or mind-blowing at all. Vista also has many flaws, such as imperfect security, compatibility and various bugs - but again these are to be expected in any new OS. There are no big problems with Vista that we didn't have back in XP. My verdict is that whilst it has many necessary improvements, and it certainly hasn't got worse, it probably has a few too many annoying problems that we'd managed to get sorted out in XP. Many people waited until SP1 came out before migrating from 98/2000 to XP, and that is what is happening with Vista. Give it a chance, and we'll all get used to it eventually. Yes I've tried Vista, I've been using it for the past month. However I switched back to XP yesterday, as a few of my programs wouldn't work properly (including GGMM!) Best feature in Vista = new start menu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris82 Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 The first thing many people notice is its sleek, modern look. You have the option of using either the normal vista or vista aero. Vista aero features a glassy, transparent look. Wow, you totally can't do that on Windows XP. The only major drawback is that many computers run too slow while using aero. A negative aspect of vista is that surround speakers will only play sound from 2 speakers instead of all 5 in the 5.1 surround sound configuration or all 7 in the 7 speaker configuration. There is no way of bypassing this unless you have media with dolby digital surround sound. GG, Microsoft. I got Windows XP when it first came out, and it didn't have nearly as many problems. Vista is a failure, and stuff like this is proof. Increased hardware compatibility? But it doesn't work with 5.1 speakers? A very good aspect of vista is its search functions. It allows you to quickly retrieve files that you use often from indexed locations. Wow, you totally can't do that on Windows XP. Compared to windows xp, vista is much more secure giving you a sense of security when using your computer. Wow, you totally can't make Windows just as secure as Visa, including viruses and adware/spyware. Many times you have to confirm a operation twice in order to avoid problems such as accidentaly deleting important files, etc. That's not security, that's just annoyance. That's at least one thing OS X does right. Not that anyone writes viruses for Macs because so few people use them, but OS X would probably do a better job at fighting viruses because it actually knows which operations are "dangerous," and doesn't bug you with pop-ups about every fucking little thing. Vista is good in many ways - it is more secure than XP, it has significantly more hardware compatibility, there are quite a few UI improvements and most would say it looks a bit better too. More secure, yeah, which is why Symantec, Macafee, and CNET say it's unsecure. More hardware compatibility? Ok, so, tell me a piece of hardware that's compatible with Vista but not XP. As previously mentioned, all Vista UI improvements can be emulated at improved speed in XP. EDIT: Oh yeah, and Fone, I haven't been in this topic before now, but did you say Vista was faster at all? Because it's, leik, 20% slower in games!!!!1111 and it consumes 4x more physical memory than Windows XP for some shitty maximize/minimize animations they stole from somewhere else and some even shittier transparent window borders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pandora Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I can imagne Vista being pretty secure with all security on, but then you'll just be bashing your head against a wall cause it won't open any program that's not made by MS them selves. It's secure for a OS, but it blocks virus protection apps to work, what kinda sucks.. They over did the security a bit and just made it annoying and Live one-care just sucks, that's a fact. All other programs beat it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerard Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Vista is good in many ways - it is more secure than XP, it has significantly more hardware compatibility, there are quite a few UI improvements and most would say it looks a bit better too. More secure, yeah, which is why Symantec, Macafee, and CNET say it's unsecure. You misunderstand. It IS definitely a lot more secure than XP - I think they said it was immune to all known viruses at the time of release, which of course XP is susceptible to. However, it is not as secure as it could or should be for a brand new OS. The big quote on that link is "There is no doubt that Vista will be Microsoft's most secure operating system. However, most secure is not equivalent to secure." That agrees that it is more secure than XP, but still not totally secure (which would mean immune to pretty much all attacks). When McAffee said it would be less secure than previous versions, that means eventually. When XP came out, it was secure, but then exploits were found and it became insecure. That is what will happen to Vista eventually - all the cracks and holes will be found and exploited. Although "hacking" isn't really that fashionable anymore, certainly not as much as it used to be. One other thing about Security (bearing in mind I am studying for a masters in this...) is that the basic elements of security involve not running suspicious EXEs and being careful about where you type your passwords. As soon as you do either of these wrongly, then you have completely opened the door on viruses and things. Vista and IE7 help facilitate this by asking you every time an app tries to do something potentially damaging, and warning you if you're typing your password into an insecure or known false site - but it is still your choice to follow through with that or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pandora Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Can't you tell Vista to not give any warns for a specific program anymore? XP gives you that option for all those messages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbanoutlaw Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 A lot of this just looks like a re-hash of what was said when XP came out. Now here we are years later, & it finally seems to work, just on time to get rid of it & throw a bunch of money at MS's next bright idea. The only reason I even have XP is for games that wouldn't support 98SE. When I was running 98, I didn't have 1/10 the software problems I had w/ XP. All my games worked, It didn't fight w/ non MS software (like Norton) & my system never got fubared by viruses. So far the best one to take down my machine was "F***MEDUDE", it embedded itself (I think in the Windows Pre-Loader(?)) & wiped my video drivers & profile settings. I had to do a complete wipe & re-load to fix it. I've done this a lot since I "upgraded" to XP. Now MS wants me to do it all over again so they can sell Vista. Meanwhile, the people I know running Macs are just smiling. I know the whole point of MS is to make money, but DAMN! They're just being greedy & that's why I give MS as a whole one big fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pandora Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Meanwhile, the people I know running Macs are just smiling. It's just to hide how f#cked up their OS is. Really, I hate macs. Name 3 good things about Macs. There, that'll keep you busy (: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris82 Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Who? The two people using Macs? If I was forced to use one, I sure as hell wouldn't be smiling. This argument isn't even about Macs. It's about Windows. Look, Macs don't have viruses because nobody uses them. If OS X had the userbase that Windows does, you'd see a lot of viruses for it as well. Even so, I got Windows XP when it first came out and never had any of these problems. Windows XP didn't have all of these compatibility issues. It did have some, but at least it worked with the basics. The first computer I put Windows XP on was a 450 MHz Celeron with an 8GB hard drive and 64mb of RAM. It ran fine. I say Vista is unsecure because of its incompatibility with so many AV programs. Sure, all the popup and warning messages are fine, but when the average person ignores them and gets infected, a pop-up warning won't do jack shit when Kaspersky doesn't function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 LOL Who the hell brought Mac's into this discussion, leave them out as OS X is a completely different OS to XP and Vista. I've seen this argument so many times on so many forums that I can't even be bothered to have an opinion on the matter. I'm building my new PC this coming week though, so I actually have the decision of what OS to put on it - XP or Vista. Now I actually thought about it, and taking into account certain incompatibilities faced by Vista, opted for XP. However, in the future I may well want to take advantage of Vista's superior media features, so what I've actually done is acquired Windows XP MCE 2005, and will be using that now. Exactly the same as XP but with the added media center you see in Vista. Basically a win-win situation, for my needs anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red_91 Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Vista doesn't offer the 'Full Package' to PCS which say Vista Capable, thats actually quite misleading because it doesn't support all of Vista's capabilities. ATM I think XP is better but maybe in a year or two's times Vista will be more better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#1 canuck fan Posted July 8, 2007 Author Share Posted July 8, 2007 (edited) the only reason i have a vista cuz my old comp was crap edit: edit: why is it that when ms comes out with a new os its older one was better Windows 3.1 was better win 95 win 95 was better than win 98 Edited July 8, 2007 by Fone_bone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbanoutlaw Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 3 good things about Mac... It's not MS, that alone should count as 3. They never sold me a defective product (before you say anything, two words - Service Pack) If software is sold as Mac, it works w/ Mac. Too many times, I've had to hunt down updated drivers to run a piece of windows software. I've had games that worked w/ 98 & won't w/ XP. I've never wanted to set fire to a Mac & throw it out my window. Mac wasn't the point of my previous post, my point was that in the near future, we'll probably have no choice but to start running Vista. You can't tell me you like that prospect (chris82). And if you "Never" had a problem w/ XP, congratulations, you're in an exclusive club. Funny cartoon BTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#1 canuck fan Posted July 8, 2007 Author Share Posted July 8, 2007 (edited) you have a mac? wow.wow I edited the thing chris 82 Edited July 8, 2007 by Fone_bone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerard Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 the only reason i have a vista cuz my old comp was crap edit: edit: why is it that when ms comes out with a new os its older one was better Windows 3.1 was better win 95 win 95 was better than win 98 So you're telling me Windows 3.11 is the best OS ever and that's what you run at home? Of course not - all the new OSs are better, but they always have teething problems at the start. Some people just think that Vista's teething problems are more fundamental than the ones from, say, XP - so its harder to get rid of them (I don't agree). A lot of what you are saying is what you have heard/read - how many of you that say Vista is crap have actually used it and experienced these problems with compatibility or security? I've used it constantly for the past month, and it beat XP on both of those things except that a couple of programs don't work in their current version (they weren't intended to work with Vista). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#1 canuck fan Posted July 8, 2007 Author Share Posted July 8, 2007 Im going back to xp! yay sending in my comp tommorrow yay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I have a Mac too btw, in case anyone was wondering. Unlike some of you who are blindly throwing around arguments without ever having used one - which again, is not the point of this discussion - XP vs Vista guys, leave OS X out of it. I reckon when SP1 is released for Vista to patch up numerous security holes and improve features and such, it should, at least hopefully be a fairly solid OS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris82 Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 3 good things about Mac...It's not MS, that alone should count as 3. That right there is grounds for not continuing the argument. You have a prejudice towards the company. I don't have a prejudice towards any company. I am willing to try any product. For example, Microsoft. Windows XP is good. Windows Vista is bad. Xbox 360 is good. Internet Explorer is bad. Same thing with Apple. iPhone is bad. iPod is good. OS X is bad. Don't pre-judge a company. It's the products that make a company. Vista just happens to be one of those bad products. I reckon when SP1 is released for Vista to patch up numerous security holes and improve features and such, it should, at least hopefully be a fairly solid OS. We can only hope. The thing that bothers me is that it's THIS many months since the release of Vista and we still don't have video drivers that will supposedly solve the performance problems. When that happens, Vista MAY start taking off. But we have yet to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbanoutlaw Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 We can only hope. The thing that bothers me is that it's THIS many months since the release of Vista and we still don't have video drivers that will supposedly solve the performance problems. When that happens, Vista MAY start taking off. But we have yet to see. That is the root of my problem w/ MS. Are you aware I've been using computers since DOS 3.3 was new? There's a history behind my dislike of MS. I think we've tied this up enough. I also hope they get Vista sorted before we have to "upgrade". Back to topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaz The Great Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 A lot of what you are saying is what you have heard/read - how many of you that say Vista is crap have actually used it and experienced these problems with compatibility or security? I've used it constantly for the past month, and it beat XP on both of those things except that a couple of programs don't work in their current version (they weren't intended to work with Vista). My mom's new PC is running Vista. I hate it. With a flaming passion. One GB of RAM isn't enough to push Vista. I'm sorry, but that's rather bothersome. I've tried everything I could find/think of to speed up her PC and it just doesn't work. To top that off, I have my option of running AOL or IE to use the internet. I tried IE, and I can't even type in a website because Yahoo Messenger wants to open so I have to allow or deny it. It wouldn't bother me if I could just deny it be done. No, no, of course not. It asks me three seconds later if I want to allow or deny. The only way I get past it is by allowing, and then the PC runs even SLOWER. So I opt for using AOL. Well, AOL + Vista = Slowfromhell. But atleast I have my buddylist and IMing right? I can't use AIM because I'm afraid to put it on there, and I can't use Firefox because I'm afraid to put it on there. Yeah. Two words. Screw Vista. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Righty Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I just put vista on my laptop. Not having that much of a problem with it yet. I have 1gb of RAM. But I'm going to try the USB memory feature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbanoutlaw Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Keep us posted & good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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