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Poll

Have you tried a beta version of Vista?

I've tried Vista Beta RC1 or newer.
[ 53 ] (29.3%)
I've tried an older beta of Vista or Longhorn.
[ 10 ] (5.5%)
I havn't tried a beta of Vista yet, but I want to.
[ 32 ] (17.7%)
I don't care about Windows Vista.
[ 86 ] (47.5%)

Total Members Voted: 214

Topic: Windows Vista Poll and Discussion (Read 65804 times) previous topic - next topic
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Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

I want to know what you think of vista.  Please post what you like or don't like.
My votes:
1: Tried RC1 Beta.
2: Neutral opinion of it right now.  Looks pretty and I like Vista's visual theme (I didn't like winXP's theme at all).  However, it sucks too many system resources for my liking (12Gb on HD and 500+ Mb of RAM in Aero) when WindowBlinds or Aston or such can give a nice-looking UI for very little system resources.  Media Player 11 also suffers from horrid load times.
3: I might upgrade in a year or two, but right now I'm happy with Win2K, WinXP, and Fedora Core Linux.
It's due for a good DEGAUSSIN'

Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #1
I'm positive that my next laptop will have windows vista preloaded, but other than that winxp is as far as microsoft will go for me.

Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #2
I tried every build so far (including MSDN releases only) excluding RC 1 and like it somwhat. The builds I had had some annoying bugs or features and was looking forward to seing some changes. Unfortunately, I cannot install Vista on an external HDD to see how RC 1 looks like and I am tired of repartitioning my HDD.

Also, I will probably get it after the first SP was released.

Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #3
The whole 'needs your permission' thing is annoying.  If I click on Device Manager as Aministrator, it should just go into Device Manager, not give me a stupid yes/no dialog box every time I want to do somthing.  Does any one know if it can be turned off?
It's due for a good DEGAUSSIN'

Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #4
Have any of you tried the audio effects in the audio control panel? Things like the room correction, loudness EQ...
-----
J. D. (jj) Johnston

Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #5
eww.  gross.
a windows-free, linux user since 1/31/06.

Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #6
I want to try out the beta, but with all this trusted computing shit, I'm not upgrading after if I can help it. Too satisfied with my current setup to muck around with my system right now.
err... i'm not using windows any more ;)

Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #7
Trusted computing is just some fancy word for DRM and its not like we currently dont have it on our computers.
Besides I look forward to the new windows architecture and DirectX10 (some applications and games will be vista only so upgrading to it is almost inevitable for some people).
I dont really like its resource hogging UI but Ill just flip on the windows classic and install blackbox.

Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #8
1: Tried.
2: I didn't like.
3: Will never install or upgrade on my home PC, but I may be forced to use at work (hope not).

There are better choices than Vista around
Vital papers will demonstrate their vitality by spontaneously moving from where you left them to where you can't find them.



Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #11
Ah sure Linux but IMO in a world dominated by windows and the gates an alternative OS isnt an option for some people

Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #12
When I first installed it it seemed like it had virtually no advantage over XP. But there are a number of things that it does nicely - wireless networking and audio being the biggest plusses. Yes, the whole screen darkening ominously every time you try and do anything is hideously annoying, but presumably that's going to be improved on by release. If not, it'll be hideously insecure because everyone will switch it off completely. The whole signing of drivers is a bit off since it'll make a lot of hardware incompatible. Still I'm sure I'll get a machine running it at some point, but since I only have one cheap laptop and it's treble booting as it is I doubt it'll be any time soon.

Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #13
Hm, looks like I'm in the same boat as over half the other responders. I'd switch to Ubuntu or OS X before switching to Vista. Vista looks like Microsoft's next Win ME: slow, buggy, insecure. This time though, Microsoft is aiming for security. In real-world language, after you get past the marketroids, it will end up instead as: more restrictions piled on the user. XP's level of restrictiveness bugs me already; I only use it because it's the defacto standard. The next switch I do should be to some other architecture that breaks some compatibility, like from 98 to XP to avoid ME. It will probably be to Ubuntu, with Windows in VMWare for legacy apps.

Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #14
When I first installed it it seemed like it had virtually no advantage over XP. But there are a number of things that it does nicely - wireless networking and audio being the biggest plusses.


I'm continually astounded at the state of wireless drivers on Windows XP/2K today.  Why does every board maker have to include a super-bloated suite of applications related to their wireless chip?  Linksys, D-link, SMC, hawking, killme...

And don't get me started on the one on my Thinkpads either.  It's even worse on my X40, where the IBM app to reconnect to a WPA wireless access point has to be running in a user context continuously...which plays havok on lost wireless connections when you are using multiple console accounts (e.g. my girlfriend is working on a project).

I suppose that's the secure way of doing things, but it's still super killing me that I have to switch to my user account, quit the app, switch back to hers and start it again.

I guess it's "good" that Microsoft got that right with Vista, but how it ever got this unright in the first place is a mystery.

/rant off

-brendan

Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #15
Its not that unright, find the drivers and .ini file on a cd or in temp folders and avoid the dreaded setup.exe, then use windows SP2's own untility for searching for AP's.

Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #16
I want to try out the beta, but with all this trusted computing shit, I'm not upgrading after if I can help it. Too satisfied with my current setup to muck around with my system right now.

Trusted Computing is something to watch out for, but it is mostly a hardware thing.
Link

...The whole signing of drivers is a bit off since it'll make a lot of hardware incompatible...

Another thing I haven't liked since XP.  I have a Promise TX2 IDE controller and when I installed XP, I could see the drives in my computer, but there were no folders in them.  I stuck the floppy in that I got with the card and it whined that it had an unsigned driver and I said to use it anyway and the drives worked fine after that.  IMO: the driver signing thing is just a way to get hardware companies to pay for the 'designed for Windows' logo.

Also IMO: Windows 98SE and 2Kpro were the most stable and user-friendly versions of Windows ever, depending on what you use your computer for.
It's due for a good DEGAUSSIN'

Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #17
I too have an IDE controller that only works with unsigned drivers. There are signed ones available, but they cause audio interruptions and general glitchiness.

Go Microsoft!


Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #19


There are better choices than Vista around


Like?

Mac OS X. Even Windows 2000 or XP.


Since you both have made statements that imply you have made a full, responsible comparison, may I ask exactly what build of Vista each of you has downloaded and tried? Surely that would be an easy thing for you to tell me.
-----
J. D. (jj) Johnston

Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #20
Since you both have made statements that imply you have made a full, responsible comparison, may I ask exactly what build of Vista each of you has downloaded and tried? Surely that would be an easy thing for you to tell me.


I'm going to have to agree here.  It is easy to say that X is better or worse than Y based on stereotyped or hear-say opinions without actually doing the research for yourself, and Microsoft has a lot of stereotyped opinions floating around about it's products.  If you havent tried Vista, the download is free from Microsoft or bittorrent, and you will improve your credibility having actually tried it.  If you have tried Vista, more power to you to bomb or promote it.
It's due for a good DEGAUSSIN'

Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #21
I've tried numerous builds from pre-beta1 to RC2 now, And I'm pretty impressed with Microsoft. Vista is a solid Operation Sytem and a worth-awhile upgrade to any older windows.

Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #22
1. I don't care about Windows Vista.
2. I have not tried Vista.
3. I don't use Windows and I will not get Vista.


Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #23
Personally if I ever move OS it will be to either Windows 2000 Pro or Windows 2003 Server-converted-to-workstation, as their stability and security appeals to me. If I manage to get a decent modem that works with non-windows OSes, I'll get FreeBSD on here.
err... i'm not using windows any more ;)

Windows Vista Poll and Discussion

Reply #24
Since you both have made statements that imply you have made a full, responsible comparison, may I ask exactly what build of Vista each of you has downloaded and tried? Surely that would be an easy thing for you to tell me.

I work at a very big company. We have access to all Vista Releases. We have many testing machines. We test our products against it. I don't install it myself, and i don't care about the build number, but i assure you its the latest version.