Vista??!!

[Mazen]

What do u guys think about the new Vista? does anyone recomend upgrading from WinXP to Vista? i tried the beta on my desktop a couple months back and i guess it went fine does the release have any problems and bugs?like driver stuff?

[Shay Stephens]

...does anyone recomend upgrading from WinXP to Vista?

No

[hopstah]

No

i agree. i personally think that vista is going to be a nightmare.

[Coelocanth]

Is it worth it? I can't say, but consider this:

*bigger footprint. Vista requires a whopping 15 GBs of hard disk space. That's a pretty significant chunk of your drive's real estate.

*RAM issues. I've read reports that Vista uses at least 512 MB of RAM, and even seen some that suggest the more RAM you have, the more it will utilize.

*tighter EULA. By the looks of things, if you're the type to mod your rig (change components, reinstall your OS relatively often), you may be in for some headaches. Vista is supposedly only going to allow you to install on a different machine once. Too many hardware upgrades and the system decides it's on a new machine.

*tighter MS security. Not for you, for MS. Vista will have a 'phone home' feature which will revalidate your authentication on a periodic basis. If your validation fails... you lose access to everything except your web browser, and that is only available for an hour at a time. Granted, this validation will only occur once in a while, and there shouldn't be any problems with it, but still... kind of Big Brotherish.

*cost. I don't know what the retail cost is going to be, but it's probably not cheap. As well, you may need to upgrade your hardware to run it.

All that being said, you get some nice eye candy, and there are some good features being introduced, as well as (supposedly) a more secure platform. It looks (at least at first glance) to be a pretty nice platform, all things considered. However, I'll personally stick with Linux and keep a small XP partition for my Windows needs (if any).

[MedivhX]

Vista is how would i say... Hardware uncompatible... You need a hell of a computer to run it... Plus it's too expensive...

[steven8]

From Microsoft Vista Site:

PCs that meet the minimum supported system requirements will be able to run the core features of Windows Vista with the basic user experience.

Windows Vista Minimum Supported System Requirements
Processor 800 MHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor1
System Memory 512 MB
GPU SVGA (800x600)
Graphics Memory -
HDD 20 GB
HDD Free Space 15 GB
Optical Drive CD-ROM drive2
Audio -
Internet -

You need 15 GB's FREE SPACE. Whoa. 512 mb's ram just to get the 'basic' user experience. I meet these requirements, but DANG, is that a lot of space for an OS.

[cunawarit]

It really depends what you want to do with it, personally I will be upgrading. I keep on saying it; I am very excited about Vista.

Reasons to upgrade? Well there are many, here are a few:

1) Security: The Vista security model is much tighter than that of XP. The biggest change is that finally Windows will have a *nix like security model where the user is not expected to be root all the time.

2) Parental Controls: This is a great feature! And more than enough for many families to opt for Vista over anything else.

3) Aero: OK, it is eye candy, but there is no denying it looks very nice.

4) IE7: I personally rate IE7 very highly, Firefox is still my main browser but I think that IE7 is so good that Firefox’s market share might not keep on increasing at the current rate, and it may even be reduced. You may say that IE7 runs on XP, true, but it runs better on Vista where it looks like a native app and uses the more protected mode.

5) IIS7: We have had IIS6 on Windows Server 2003 for ages, yet it is impossible to run it on XP because it is an integral part of the system. IIS7 is a big improvement over IIS6, let alone IIS5.1, which XP gets. If you want the latest version of IIS, you need Vista.

6) PowerShell: OK, this runs on XP too, however, PowerShell is cool and it should be mentioned. It finally gives Windows the sort of power *nix admins have with BASH, and it is .NET based. I think it rocks.

7) Games: Right now there has been talk of games being slower on XP, but no doubt at some point you will need Vista to play the latest games.

8 ) I am sure there are many others but that’s all I can think off the top of my head...


Reasons not to upgrade:

1) Money: Vista doesn’t come cheap, not only do you need to buy the OS but if your computer isn’t an all singing all dancing monster you will need to upgrade that too.

2) DRM, Spying, Genuine Advantage, etc... In a bid to fight the pirates (and World domination) Microsoft has introduces a number of intrusive features to Windows. It is up to you to decide if you are willing to put up with this or not.

3) You aren’t excited by any of the reasons to upgrade I stated above.

4) I am sure there are many others but that’s all I can think off the top of my head...



Basically, it is up to you. Just look at the features Vista offers, count your pennies and make a choice....

[3rdalbum]

When you consider that Compiz runs on an Ubuntu machine containing 256 megs of RAM, with part of that being stolen by an integrated graphics card, Windows Vista just seems too bloated. There are still new computers being sold today with only 256 megs of RAM.

[cunawarit]

When you consider that Compiz runs on an Ubuntu machine containing 256 megs of RAM, with part of that being stolen by an integrated graphics card, Windows Vista just seems too bloated. There are still new computers being sold today with only 256 megs of RAM.

Too bloated today, but when we consider the lifespan of the average Microsoft OS, it is OK. Back when XP was introduced there were still machines with 64MB and everyone said XP was too bloated. Now XP compares favourably with some Linux distros.

[3rdalbum]

1) Security: The Vista security model is much tighter than that of XP. The biggest change is that finally Windows will have a *nix like security model where the user is not expected to be root all the time.

This bit that you mention is actually present in Windows XP. You can use a normal user account, and the things which require administration access can be run by right-clicking the program and selecting "Run As...".

Windows people don't use limited accounts; they "run as root" all the time. One of the reasons why they do this is because it's too easy to create an administration account.

In Windows Vista, it is too easy to turn off the User Account Protection which provides the "*nix-like security model". Now even Windows Vista users can run as root.

Plus, of course, my understanding is that Vista still determines file types by extensions.

[cunawarit]

This bit that you mention is actually present in Windows XP. You can use a normal user account, and the things which require administration access can be run by right-clicking the program and selecting "Run As...".

That's right, however, XP defaults to this setting. As afr as I know, Vista doesn't.

[hobieone]

i wouldn't recomend upgrading your os it backwards compatibility is horrendus and its compatibility miode doesn't work very wel when i test the most recent release cannidate. in fact wasn't able to run or instal several new games on it. it basically doesn't play nice with direct x 9. funny thing is i think cedega get along better with direct x 9 than vista does.:rolleyes:

i keeping my win xp rpo partition for thing i need for now and run primarily ubuntu.

basically vista just looks pretty. in my opinion

[drFUNK]

In Windows Vista, it is too easy to turn off the User Account Protection which provides the "*nix-like security model". Now even Windows Vista users can run as root.
Something that really suprised me about User Account Protection is that all you have to do is click "continue." No password or anything. Eventually it will become second nature to customers to click continue without reading the prompt. People would be a bit annoyed to type in their password, but it would give them more of a chance to think, "Does this really need to happen?" I do hope, but do not expect, this to evolve into a better system by SP1 or 2. At one point I was pretty excited about vista, but the fact that my one year old notebook computer will have issues with Vista really turned me off of the product. I simply cannot understand why I, a non-gamer, need a high-end graphics card just to run an operating system.](*,) Unfortunately I do not live in a *nix only world, so eventually I will be forced to upgrade to keep up with the IT world. It's just a shame that I will have to wait until my next system (most likely hand-build next summer) to install it.

[Zimmer]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/29/microsoft_vista_eula_analysis/

An interesting read, particularly for those Linux users who run a Windows instance in VM .

Be prepared to be more patient with more and more Windows defectors in the not too distant future :) as they try loading a real operating system from scratch for the first time.

Nov 3rd....

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/03/ms_vista_climb-down/

hmmm....

[cunawarit]

a real operating system

Is Windows fake? I've heard of pirated copies of Windows, but never a completely faked Windows!!! Not even Linspire could be accused of being a fake Windows.

[funkyade]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/29/microsoft_vista_eula_analysis/

An interesting read, particularly for those Linux users who run a Windows instance in VM

I'm one of those who run windows (2000 in my case - no activation crap) in a VM in my development machine. I was thinking of getting a copy of Vista, just to stay current for work purposes (testing, IE rendering etc...) but after reading the EULA there is NO FREAKING WAY I am going to spend $399 on it! Eye-candy is just that, candy... that's an expensive chocolate bar.

Why on earth would I want to spend $399 on an OS that actually makes it more difficult to do my job? An OS should be a transparent interface between the users applications, data, and the hardware it runs on. Vista is none of those things....

[cunawarit]

Why the anger? If you don’t want it, or think it is too expensive then don’t buy it. If enough people do that then Microsoft will relax their license and lower their prices.

I have to admit that after I read the bit about the license only being transferable once I am a bit less keen on buying Vista as soon as it comes out. I will personally stay with XP for a while as it does everything I want to do. When will I upgrade? Probably when I get a new machine. On thing is for certain, there is no point in buying Vista for a machine that barely makes the grade, as I will only be able to transfer it once after that...

[Zimmer]

Is Windows fake? I've heard of pirated copies of Windows, but never a completely faked Windows!!! Not even Linspire could be accused of being a fake Windows.

Sorry, poor choice of words on my part. But I enjoyed your response!

I was trying to emphasise the point that most people have never installed the Windows OS from scratch, and many now are denied that choice with pre loaded software and a restore partition and no disc (and, yes, I am aware there are ways in which they might obtain one :) ).

..and that they will require a lot of hand holding and helpful Ubuntu-like encouragement when they reach these forums seeking help...

[cunawarit]

Sorry, poor choice of words on my part. But I enjoyed your response!

:) glad you did, sorry about the retort. Is that I am getting used to far too many Windows put downs.

[entangled]

Being an all-day system building user of Windows 2003 and Xp at work and a home user of ubuntu I won't be attracted by Vista for home. I think Windows, both the OS and Office, passed the point of diminishing returns after Windows 2000, and upgrades are not *worth* anyones money. People will still use Vista but not for essential functionality, more for novelty, entertainment, and because it is widely publicised.

[funkyade]

Why the anger?

Until I read the EULA and then the analysis on The Register I was in the 'Not Bothered' camp. It was the EULA that made me angry - and believe me, I'm not an angry person! I then dug a little deeper, found the pricing structures, minimum specs etc...

Just dismayed, I could get all philosophical about how this reflects the values of western society and how this kind of thing leads to social polarization etc... etc... but this is not the place...

[entangled]

Indeed the EULA is a sad document. No way would I knowingly accept it.
It seems purely theoretical for most home users, if not enforced. Companies, however, employ lawyers, so they have to take notice, whether the EULA is enforced or not. In the end we all pay, when the companies pass on these licencing costs to the consumer.

[marc_th]

Personally, I'm not even interested in trying Windows Vista. If it were installed, I'd drag & drop it in the Recycle Bin. Now don't get me wrong, I've used every version of Windows since 3.1 up to XP as my sole OS, but given Vistas large footprint and nasty EULA, I've decided to switch OS's permanently. Knowing nothing of Linux, I can't say it wasn't painful, but I've managed to get Edgy, Beryl and a bunch of basic programs installed. Ubuntu's interface is extremely usable--I can't imagine Vista coming anywhere close; and with Beryl installed I think Vista's eye-candy is already obsolete. And don't get me wrong, this is less of an endorsement for Ubuntu, I would have gotten a Mac if I hadn't all the equipment, it's more that Windows Vista frightens me on some level (and I don't know why).

[skmpriya]

hi i need help in running this ubuntu . pls help me

[Martje_001]

hi i need help in running this ubuntu . pls help me
Please start a thread in the Absolute Beginner Talk - section.

[LaRoza]

hi i need help in running this ubuntu . pls help me

Make a thread here: http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=326

Remember to give a descriptive title and a good description of the problem.

If you need a beginners guide: http://psychocats.net/ubuntu/index.php

[articpenguin]

vista sucks period

[LaRoza]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/8060/necromancingsv7.jpg