I need to get a laptop for when I start school NEXT year, but lots of people are complaining about Vista, so I've been thinking of buying one now so I can have XP... they still sell a few with XP, right?

Anyways, maybe someone informed can convince me that Vista isn't so bad? I'm clueless... I've used 95, 98, and XP and to me they were all fine... no real problems. Windows has always been fine for me. So whats so bad about Vista?

I HATE VISTA WITH A BURNING PASSION!!!!!!!!

Installing that thing killed me inside.

That is all.

Microsoft stopped manufacturing copies of XP earlier this year. It won't be too difficult getting your hands on one.

I've heard really bad things about Vista. :( A number of disappointed buyers ended up reinstalling XP because they hated Vista so much.

I love Vista. <33

Been using it since the beta version came out. Got five legal copies of it lying around. Use it both on my main pc and my little laptop.
Unfortunately uni hasn’t seen the light yet. Then again I do hang out at the department of computer science, meaning it’s full of Linux geeks. :rolleyes:

Anyhoo, I’ve been into this discussion oh so many times over the last couple of years, so I got a little practice. ;)

Now let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages, shall we?

Disadvantages:

- Some old software and hardware won’t work anymore. Especially true if you use the 64-bit version.
But then again, the same thing can be said for XP. Heck, I’ve had software running on Vista that refused to run under XP…
Besides that, more often than enough, it’s because I use the 64-bit version on my main pc. If I use my laptop (running 32-bit) stuff usually works without any problems.

- UAC. It’s a pain in the bum. It’s annoying. It’s a bloody plague. And it must die.
But it’s easy to remove, so it’s a rather short lived problem. :P
As an admin I can see the use of it. It’s a great tool for hitting stupid users in the head when they are about to do something potentially dangerous.

- More ressource hungry.
Sure, it does require a faster pc to run smoothly. But it can run on older pcs just fine, just as long as you remove the Aero interface. But to be on the safe side, do get at a minimum 1 gig of ram, preferably 2. :)

- More confusing to use.
In a way, yes. What they’ve done is moved the functionality around, so it’s harder to find. And that takes some getting used to. But it’s just a matter of using it enough, and you’ll get used to it.

- More user friendly.
This can be a bad thing. It oh, so wants to help you. And it definitely knows how things are supposed to be done.
It’s all done in the best of meanings, but frankly it can be annoying. Especially if you actualy know what you’re doing.

Advantages:

- More user friendly.
This is both an advantage and a disadvantage. :)
Sure, as a ”power user” it can be bloody annoying. But for somebody who doesn’t know a thing about computers, it’s very helpful. It’s all a matter of who you are.

- More secure.
In theory it’s waaaay more secure. Simply because it’s sandboxed a lot of the important stuff. One little example: you cannot change a thing down in the Windows folder anymore. Even if you’ve logged in as an admin. It’s totally closed. Sure there are ways around it, but it’s not easy.
On the other hand, there are still holes. And it’s still not safe to go online without a virus scanner running in the background (if you do that you’re an idiot).
Oh yeah, more manageble firewall. Now I actually don’t need a third-party firewall anymore. Nice.

- More stable.
Meaning it’s less likely to give you a BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death, meaning it randomly shuts down). I think I’ve had two since in all the time I’ve used Vista. XP had a tendency to more often.

- Better compatability with new hardware.
It knows a lot more newer hardware than XP. Meaning you’ll likely have less problems with newer stuff than under XP. Of course, that doesn’t mean stuff will work perfectly out of the box. But at least Vista have a larger chance of actually figuring out what the heck you’re using than XP.

General stuff:

- It’s prettier looking.
And that’s because of the Aero interface. It’s purely cosmetic, and doesn’t mean a thing.

- Power consumption.
If you use a laptop, Vista do provide longer battery time. Simply because it’s got more built in options for controlling power consumption. I get some 20-ish minutes more out of my battery than with XP.

- Easier install.
It’s way easier to install. Just point it at the harddrive you want it to install on, enter you license number, choose a language, and it does everything else. No option for installing obscure optional programs or anything.
On the other hand it does mean it fill more on the harddrive. Installed mine yesterday, and it’s using some 15 gig…
Of course there are programs to deal with this (not really for the casual user).

My option: You have to try it before you can judge it...

My desktop had Vista installed when we bought it... I guess i can live with it, there are a few things about it that annoy the hell out of me, but nothing really major... so when i bought my new laptop a few weeks ago I knew what to expect and I've had some fun playing around with different things, since it's MY laptop and IF I crash it, it's my own fault and I will not have lost anyone else's stuff but my own.

All in all I can live with it.

My laptop came with Vista and it didn't take long till I switched back to XP. To me an OS doesn't have to look pretty but has to be functional. (I also can't stand the Fisher-Price layout on XP and hate Office 2007 with a passion!)

the day i switch to Vista is the day i can afford to buy a Mac XDDD

Now why would you buy a very expensive door stopper?

thanks, xit!! that was helpful.

but you don't like macs? their out of my price range, but I always thought they were good computers?

Macs are not good computers... they just look trendy but what's inside them is crap

Just to let you guys know, starting in 2009 (not sure of what month) all computers will have to have Vista or higher just to run any new programs.
So even if you don't want to you will have to upgrade.

Another thing is that Mac's are good for a lot of things, but mainly graphics, music, and art stuff. With programs they are ok, but can tend to run things a little slow.

They're, as a computer teacher called them, MacinTRASH. :lol:

In protest over vista

And we use them for graphics in Uni, because the Windows computers are crap at supporting all the art program packages

when i was in high school, they couldn't get funding for macs for the whole class so all the digital art classes were canceled. i was bummed cos i really wanted to use a mac :( everyone acts like apples the shit... i always thought their computers were boss. but i guess if you guys say they suck, then they must.

It used to be true (like about 10-15 years ago) that Macs were better for graphic design. It's not the case now if you have a good PC running on Windows XP (NOT VISTA). Photoshop and 3DS Max run perfectly well on the PC Sid build (which didn't cost much compared to a Mac).

People are into Mac mostly cause they look trendy... but when you need a good computer you shouldn't go for the looks but for the hardware.

Same thing goes of IPods. You can get a great MP3 player for less than half the price that will actually work better than an IPod without having to convert all your files in another format and without having to install ITunes (which is just bloatware)

/rant

Our uni ones are latest though.... theyre set up for graphics use

Sid: If they're new... it's the same hardware I have in my desktop, same graphic card, same chipset etc... (but more expensive)

Why?
Just being curious here.

Actually some 10-15 years ago, I’d say the Amiga was better at graphics. :P
Besides that Vista works fine with graphics software. Personally I dabble in 3D Max, Poser, Anim8tor, Paint Shop Pro (can’t stand Photoshop, although it has it uses, mainly when dealing with jpeg2000), and pure OpenGL and DirectX programming.

Besides that I agree with you, people only buy Macs and iPods because they are trendy.

I dont like how newer versions of windows makes the user interface easy to deal with, yet when you have a serious problem and you need to access system files etc, you have to send your computer off to be fixed!

We have 3 laptops in our house and 2 desktops. 2 of the laptops are buggered. 1 of the desktops is really temperamental. If i didn't work hard at keeping my laptop in shape it would probably go the same way as those others.

What the heck have you done to warrant any pc to be sent of to be fixed? :blink:

Only thing I can think of is hardware failure.

viruses, maybe?

they ate up my old computer, but then it was really effed up because my mom installed a firewall too late in the game, and the firewall would detect the virus that was already on the computer and it would shut off all the internet so we had to restart the computer.

lol, i'm not computer-smart at all so that might sound really stupid XD

XDDDD

One of them has Norton go back on it......



I'll say no more....