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"Not worth it. Wait until the SP for vista comes out and make sure you have a powerhouse of a machine"
on by database.objectPros Not many. Eye candy if your hardware can handle it
Cons Unstable Beta drivers for a lot of hardware, IE7 is just unusable, "feels" slower than XP. Tries to "fix" itself too much for its own good.
Summary I have vista ultimate so basic is probably even less worth it. I had medium hopes for vista but even with low expectations, after using it for about 2 weeks now I am still disappointed. My machine is a P4 3.2Ghz, 1GB RAM and Radeon X800 128. One of the most basic things, the start menu is just terrible. When you click on "Programs" in XP, it pops up in an instant. In vista there is a very noticeable and annoying delay. When playing counterstrike the OS blue screens (yes, blue screens) on me and of course restarts. Sure, this is probably due to the beta ATI drivers but come on, why a complete OS crash?? Same thing when testing the webcam from my pinnacle video capture card (to be fair, also non-vista drivers). Vista has a "self-fixing" feature which tries to determine when a program has stopped responding and then tries to "find a solution" for this problem and, of course, never finds a solution for it and just kills the program. Most annoying is that it pops up an alert telling you it is trying to find a solution and my windows sidebar constantly has this problem and thus I constantly get popups. I'm not even gonna talk about IE. Just use firefox. I'm gonna stay on vista since slowly better drivers are coming out and I'm still hopeful it will improve. I understand that a lot of the problems are due to vendor drivers and MS is not fully responsible for that but the native vista features also just don't perform acceptably.
If you are buying a new computer, of course, get vista. All the hardware will likely work fine. If you are just looking to upgrade XP, hold off until you see a lot of good user reviews. You are not missing anything from vista. -
"Avoid this version"
on by Cobra_RPros DirectX 10
Cons stripped of just about everything that attracts Vista in the first place.
Summary Not even worth it. You miles well stick with Windows XP Home, because this version of Vista is stripped of just about everything that attracts Vista in the first place.
Vista Premium Edition is the best all the way around for the avg pc user. -
"Better than XP, But difficult to install"
on by supersandroPros Amazing interface, Secure, Sidebar and Gadgets, Windows media player 11, Windows Photo Gallery, new games and great search tools.
Cons Very Difficult to install, not all drivers are supported, Poor and expensive customer service.
Summary I would have given Home Basic a 8/10 if it wasn't so difficult to install. First it had given me several error messages. Then when I did a clean install with the upgrade disk (because thats one of the options) it would not activate. Microsoft did little to help me activate it. But I finally figured out the problem (I put the computer in safe mode and installed it. Hey it worked!). You have to update your audio driver when you are finished. But other than that, this OS looks AMAZING! The interface is sleek yet easy to use. The new interface makes it easier to use and search items. The search bar on your start menu is also handy. The Windows Media Player 11 works much better on Vista than on XP. The new Photo Gallery is also a handy tool. The games look great and are actually some-what more fun to play, but generally look better. The security is also good in Vista but can be a little annoying, but it is necessary and helpful. Overall its better than XP, but I just wish the Installation went smoother!
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"Window Vista or Windows Dictatorship"
on by spacepirate1Pros It's New(er)
Cons Few reasons to upgrade, big brother control mechanisms
Summary I won't get into the pros and cons of this new operating system in terms of the usual critique, because it's all been covered here. What I want all of you to be aware about are the technologies that Microsoft has implemented in order to control what you can or can not view or listen too. If you are not familiar with DRM, them please read about it. Microsoft has also implemented AACS within Vista, and this is also something you really need to inform yourselves about. I suggest you start on this website:
http://www.grc.com/SecurityNow.htm#76
Listen to episodes 73, 74 and 75. You might be shocked at what you will hear. If you're not that tech-savvy you'll probably have to listen to these shows a couple of times. -
"Little ado about nothing"
on by JEHPros Pretty pictures
Cons $200 cosmetic job
Summary I have long been a Windows fan ... but even an ardent fan knows when he is being scammed. There is NO reason the leave XP ... ever, as far as *I* see. No more than there was a reason to leave Office 2000 - which still has FAR more features than I would ever use!
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