Vista gonna be a contender?

[Acriku]

I don't know about you, but from what I've heard from my friends and people online and my feelings included, many people will not buy Vista. I tried looking at the EULA from the MS site but it seems to have vanished. Anyway, it's very restrictive (to combat piracy, no doubt), its pricing system is going to be expensive (or did they pull back on the monthly fee to have the OS?), its 'innovations' are seen on Mac os's already, etc.

Not that excited about it :(

[GhostHunter]

But everyone will switch. It's inevitable the same way the switch to XP was.

Take into consideration nothing could be worse than XP's debut. That OS was SO horrendous without SP1 and later SP2 that entire CORPORATIONS boycotted and refused to purchase it. Look at XP Professional now though -- the standard. Besides, Microsoft really did a good job in understanding the benefits of using extensive beta testing, but no doubt it'll still be awhile before it's truly stable.

[Phoenix]

Yeah indeed,

But think of the size of an OS... Its impossible to make an OS which is bug free.. unless you start now an introduce it over 10 years, but then you still have the fact that its actually got old, and the styles and stuff is completely different...

I think Vista will be a nice OS, but i wait a while purchasing it I think..

Just to read the comments and wait for some patches and updates which surely will be made whitin a half year after the release...

[Andrew]

Well, eventually people will switch. But I don't see any reason to switch from XP to pay $150 to upgrade to one of the 8(?) versions of Vista. I doubt anyone will manually pay. They will simply get Vista when it comes bundled with a new PC.

Apparently WinXP install is 2gb, while Vista is going to be 10gb. I wonder how the code got so big?

Vista will probably have more DRM crap too.

Anyone update to IE7? It has been windows update released. Is it slower? Screw up computer(settings) any?

The only reason I want to get it is because it is more secure than IE6.

[gryphon]

I don't know about you, but from what I've heard from my friends and people online and my feelings included, many people will not buy Vista. I tried looking at the EULA from the MS site but it seems to have vanished. Anyway, it's very restrictive (to combat piracy, no doubt), its pricing system is going to be expensive (or did they pull back on the monthly fee to have the OS?), its 'innovations' are seen on Mac os's already, etc.

Don't know about who your friends are but most of who I heard complaining didn't have much fair ground to support it. Although I always claimed I won't be using Vista I have been using it sind the first Beta's and are still using the latest build. The pricing is not that much more then previous versions (btw what do you pay monthly to use Windows ?), so is the EULA (partially enforced by DRM rules set by the [tt]o-so-great[/tt] Apple company :P)

Most Linux "innovations" have been arround in Windows for about 10 years now. Still people love it :P

Well, eventually people will switch. But I don't see any reason to switch from XP to pay $150 to upgrade to one of the 8(?) versions of Vista. I doubt anyone will manually pay. They will simply get Vista when it comes bundled with a new PC.

Anyone update to IE7? It has been windows update released. Is it slower? Screw up computer(settings) any?

The only reason I want to get it is because it is more secure than IE6.

You know a lot of people who bought any version of Windows seperate from a new computer ? No one will upgrade to Windows Vista, you just get it like all other versions with your computer and every one will take it  ....

I am using IE7, and to be hounest it's the only browser that handles SSL certificates in a correct way. Same for table views and some style stuff that now works like I was used to in opera for 3 years :P Didn't have any problems upgrading on any of my systems.

Microsoft has tightend up Windows a bit in Vista, and the hardware specs are hiddious for sure. But give them a break. "You asked we listened". Blame them for trying but give them the credit that they tried to adapt the OS to something new.

And don't get me started on the fact that it's the same as Windows 98. . OSX is still UNIX based and NeXT .. that's even older then your grandfather is....

[Andrew]

I just remembered that IE 7 screws up Miranda message sessions that use RTF.

So I don't want to change srmm plugin, so I probably shouldn't update to IE7 until the miranda devs make it compatible.

Miranda IM just got a spellchecker plugin that uses open office spellcheck :)

Most Linux "innovations" have been arround in Windows for about 10 years now. Still people love it

The same can be said for windows. Or at least IE, but that is obvious since they ignored it for 6 years, which turned out to be a good thing (competition).

I was astonished when I couldn't find a disk defragmenter for ubuntu, and I found out that ext3 doesn't fragment much at all. I thought fragmentation was normal for every system. I have to defragment windows at least once every two weeks. And that is without me installing/uninstalling/downloading crap (my friends laptop was like 70% fragmented because he didn't defrag it for years). Not to mention I have 2 antispyware software installed, one antivirus software, a firewall and ccleaner to get rid of crap. Oddly I don't need any of that (except simple built in firewall which I havn't even seen/noticed yet) in Ubuntu.

Of course I still primarily use windows over my dual boot ubuntu which is more for testing and getting used to.

I'm kinda wondering if I should by a laptop before windows vista is released, since winxp isn't a resource hog and would probably be cheaper than a vista laptop. (will get one as soon as a good deal appears or by Christmas/boxing day at latest, don't think vista will be released by then, unless it does get shipped on PCs, just not in a box on store shelves).

PS: I liked win98 :) Very lightweight (200 mb install or was it 1 gb?)

You have to admit that since winxp was released and you compare linux distros from 2001, they are a lot better to use nowadays than at that time. Not that I ever seen/used one back then but from what I see in screenshots they were a lot different, and more software now.

[gryphon]

The same can be said for windows. Or at least IE, but that is obvious since they ignored it for 6 years, which turned out to be a good thing (competition).

Exactly my point. If you look for the right thing to support your claim you can demolish any OS. Stupid EULA's can apply to any company as certain lack of features in an OS or supporting products / services can be used to ridicule to OS.

I also liked Linux a lot better when the basic install was just about 80Mb by default and it didn't check for RAM dependancies during install.. . but hey, times change and that's all part of the game I guess.

I agree that most, no all Linux distro's are better for home-desktop use then they have been 6 years ago. But comparing Windows strength (Network environments) from back then to what it is now, and compare that to the progress Linux made on that part and you'll notice Linux hasn't gotten much further then a well known name and a solid base in the Server OS marked.

An OS does more then just be aninterface for home users and your personall stuff. Yet most reviews only look to those aspects and then deside if the whole OS platform is good or not. Not really fair if you know Microsoft makes it's money from business rather then consumer Windows installations. :)

[veK]

I think I'll have to get vista to use dx10 for crysis & co  :(

I installed the last beta... the look is nice but I don't really care that much about it. I'm just excited if vista works finde when it's released or if it takes months till it is really worth bein installed (like xp which I tried several times but always switched back to 2000 because it was just so crappy till the first sp)...

[SpiceGuid]

Just respect the rules:

1. don't install if not preinstalled (hardware may be low-powered and/or not fully supported)

2. don't be an early adopter (wait Service Pack 1)

Then you will probably be happy with Vista.

If you will not then you are probably already happy with Linux or OSX.

In my opinion the problem do not lies in Vista not being exciting, the problem lies in nothing being any more exciting in the OS department, today computing is just too much about media content, OS are no more a hot topic.

[Andrew]

So if I wait for Vista on a laptop, would the laptop be more expensive because of vista (I'm guessing it would run slower than same hardware with winxp)?

Would laptops with winXP be cheaper since the computer manufacturers and dealers will be wanting to get rid of them to replace with vista?

Just wondering as I find it interesting that I can get a laptop that is twice as fast as my current tower.

I heard getting a dual core processor is better mhz/$.

Thinking DDR2 would be required since DDR is kinda outdated (Think my tower has SDRAM).

I heard Toshiba laptops are supposed to be good.

[gryphon]

I prefer a HP laptop over a Toshiba... Asus isn't bad either but that has something to do that they come from the same factory.

About Vista.. . I think laptop's running Vista will be more expensive and slightly slower. But then if Vista's hardware acceleration is working like it should they should be faster.

[Phoenix]

I wait for vista SP1 to be released before buying my own copy...

20 G required install well that SP would be a whole dvd...

I'll just sit and wait...

[Andrew]

Ballmer Says Linux "Infringes Our Intellectual Property"

So basically MS wants linux distros to pay them to be safe and legal.

MS bitch and complain about patent infringments, yet doesn't give any exact details about exactly what is being infringed upon so linux distros can get rid of it.

If you know anyone running SUSE, please tell them to abandon it and switch distros :P

[gryphon]

To be hounest I don't really see what's the fuss about. Novell has always been a "Windows" company. When purchasing SuSe they put foot in a portion of the Linux community. Now Novell finally has Microsoft at the point where they say "we are going to make Windows compatible with Linux"

Isn't that every nerd's dream .. Microsoft accepting Linux as a partner ?

If you ask my opinion this is the best change Office 2007 documents will be compatible with OpenOffice :P ;) Maybe Microsoft again learns something from Novell like they have in the begin 90's. I for one sure arn't going to say goodby to Novell products for this. For Vista I still don't have much use on the other hand.

[Andrew]

I also liked Linux a lot better when the basic install was just about 80Mb by default and it didn't check for RAM dependancies during install.. . but hey, times change and that's all part of the game I guess.

Just thought I'd say that I'm making this post from Damn Small Linux 3.1 RC4, and firefox browser.

Only a 50mb OS, and I currently have it loaded (from the bootable cd) into my ram so it is damn fast :P

Been a while since I tested DSL.

Here's an image of what it looks like now:

http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/dsl-3.1RC4.jpg

Sadly my ISP has ubuntu updates blocked for some wierd reason (cant connect to the update server, but web browsing works fine).

And now back to windows to do an assignment, use Miranda IM, winamp etc. Linux is fun to play with to get used to. Especially the different flavours. Maybe that is what Vista is trying to do with its 8 different versions (that has got me completely confused, as to what OS will be installed by default on new store bought computers, and why they have so many versions). ;)

[gryphon]

looks like afterstep is back again. :)

For some reason it remembers me of a Linux Thin Client boot I ones dit. Using a Windows terminal server and thin clients who booted Linux RDP clients from that Windows server to save some money on the client software and keep them more safe. Was about 8MB for a Windows manager, some client tools and FireFox (kiosk).

[Andrew]

Looks like Vista may be the last contender.

The Japanese government looks to go open source

Microsoft Says Free Software Violates 235 Patents

But once again they don't bother to point out what patents are violated so linux can either remove patent infringements or get lawyers to prove that nothing is being infringed upon. And of course they say that the end users will have to pay fees to license linux...

Norwegian Standards Council Recommends Mandatory use of ODF and PDF

No love for Microsoft's open standard?

And that was all in 24 hours on slashdot. I'm sure Microsoft will throw money at the problem (make windows cheap to keep people locked in, or buy off politicians). Probably use their acquired linux distro to somehow screw people over.

Hell MS is trying to patent their UAC which is similar to sudo for linux. Did Microsoft just patent sudo?

Granted, someone is trying to patent a Santa Clause hat along with lots of other stupid patents.

[erjin999]

Didnt someone else do something like claim linux infringed on their patents or stole code or something...BSD ?

Ah, it was SCO.

That was not a nice move but I never followed it to the end, if indeed the end has been reached for that.

[Andrew]

Playing music on Vista will cap bandwidth to 5-10% of total possible

omg I got to upgrade. This is such a great new feature! No one ever listens to music while downloading files!

[Andrew]

Reading around the net it seems that vista sucks so bad that people are switching to Apple computers (mostly laptops). I even had one of my neighbors say they were looking at buying a mac laptop for their daughter who is going to be a dentist. It also heps that the big box stores are also advertising macs. 3 years ago you would not see any macs advertised from them. Also judging from apples stock, it is doing very well (MSFT stock has done nothing, other than give out some dividends)

[gryphon]

For some strange reason I like what MS wanted to do in Vista, then on the other hand the new HP's which I've got this year pre-loaded with Vista have all (but one) been reinstalled with XP. :P

[Andrew]

Maybe it's the crap that comes preloaded that makes them very unstable. I know preinstalled crap makes XP unstable (my computer for instance, but a clean install from official xp installation works perfectly), I bet the crap installed on vista makes it even more unstable since the software was probably designed for winxp. I know after uninstalling crap from one laptop in vista the OS kept crashing (namely control panel) and it ran slower than a 7 year old laptop with clean install of winxp pro.

Are you saying those computers are for work or home use? I thought you used/switched to vista.

I think people are fed up with buying their new but cheap computers which run really slow and come installed with lots of crap they don't need, yet these users don't know enough about computers to uninstall the software that is constantly running in the background. Someone installed norton on a clean install of winxp (which ran fast, the person who installed it was a computer technician, mostly hardware I think, since he wasn't smart enough to install a hosts file since they were on dialup, also the fact that he installed norton as a trial basis...), but of course the subscription service ran out (it was a trial run), so I uninstalled that piece of crap software and installed AVG free. Why does it take 20 minutes to uninstall norton? Any of the other antivirus software only takes 30 seconds.

[Andrew]

Thought I'd make a new post since different topic, but Microsoft's WGA server went down and people had their computers fail to certify and were branded a criminal for not having a genuine windows when in fact they did.

Windows Genuine Advantage suffers worldwide outage, problems galore

So basically Microsoft can deactivate all computers that do not have WGA updated even though they legally purchased Windows.

So people had their aero interface disabled until MS got their WGA server working again. Great to know that MS controls our computers.

If you attempt a validation and it fails, your install may be marked as non-genuine, which could lead to several annoyances. First things first, do not reboot a Windows machine that has been marked as non-genuine. Once you do so, you will lose functionality and the Aero interface. It would be best to wait until this problem has been resolved.

Great. Another reason to switch to linux or mac.

I was lucky enough to buy a winxp computer before vista and do not have WGA installed (although I think it had to validate my computer when I first went to windows update). I know you don't have to do that with ubuntu, and I'm not sure with mac.

EDIT:

Microsoft responds to Vista network performance issue

“Please note that some of what we are seeing is expected behavior, and some of it is not.  In certain circumstances Windows Vista will trade off network performance in order to improve multimedia playback.  This is by design.”

Ouch, that sucks that in order to play music you have to be using less bandwidth. I wonder if this happens in linux or mac using same hardware.

[gryphon]

Are you saying those computers are for work or home use? I thought you used/switched to vista.

Both. All work related computers have been reinstalled with XP. Vista is not enterprise ready at this time. For home just one computer uses Vista right now.

And it's the other way around. my personall preference is not to switch to Vista, although I do like what MS tries to do in Vista. :)

[Andrew]

WARNING: device driver updates causing Vista to deactivate

That's nice. Update your drivers and get your OS deactivated.