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Vista

Having had to test Vista exhaustively for work ( I am a Network Administrator) I will say this:

We won't be upgrading to Vista anytime soon. Not because of any Vista shortcomings, but because none of our proprietary accounting or project management software works with it. The Vista compatibility mode does not work with DB applications.

So, in closing, check software compatibility for what you are going to use your computer for, if the software is Vista compatible then by all means get it.
 
My own computer is in a state of disrepair, and I'm typing this from what will (hopefully) end up being my sister's new laptop. Both laptops have 1 MEG of memory, mine is a 2.0Ghz single core, this is a 1.6 Ghz dual core. This one has Vista, mine has XP.

Mine is waaaaaay faster. Maybe it's the 2.0 Ghz processor. Maybe not. I guess I'm spoiled, but this is driving me crazy.
 
ChristineR said:
My own computer is in a state of disrepair, and I'm typing this from what will (hopefully) end up being my sister's new laptop. Both laptops have 1 MEG of memory, mine is a 2.0Ghz single core, this is a 1.6 Ghz dual core. This one has Vista, mine has XP.

Mine is waaaaaay faster. Maybe it's the 2.0 Ghz processor. Maybe not. I guess I'm spoiled, but this is driving me crazy.
Click to expand...
I've found your problem. ;)
 
As a software developer, I had to upgrade to vista to make sure my software is vista compatible.

VISTA has a lot of quirks, the inability to completely disable ClearType Font Anti-Aliasing (it doesn't look good on CRT monitors). Obvious bugs like the start menu in classic mode forgetting the shortcut order each time you reboot, etc...

With regards to speed, If you disable all the excess services, background-running applications and Aero, VISTA should be as fast as XP, possibly even faster. But it will take more ram, so if you don't have at least 1gb, VISTA will be slower than XP.

Other issues I encountered:
1. My Pentax Camera drivers bug-out under VISTA (no access to the SD flash card).
2. The NVIDIA drivers are really really buggy when it comes to displaying video, outputting an analog TV signal and general driver configuration (can't comment about game issues as I don't play games anymore).

As for trillian... works just great for me, no idea why it wouldn't work for you. One thing I did do when installing trillian is that I didn't install it, I just copied it over from my previous development system.
 
have you tried your camera without installing any drivers? Typically on the Mac your best bet is to try to connect something without installing the drivers. 8/10 times it'll just work. I think Vista ships with a lot of drivers pre-installed and installing from the CD or web site will actually put old drivers on the machine (this was true on XP for about 3 months, then it was better to use the one from the manufacturer web site.)

NVIDIA seems to be dumping out driver updates pretty frequently, might try those from their web site.
 
kevin:
Yeah, I did, I have an older-generation Pentax Optio S camera... In recent years the cameras no longer require any drivers, but older cameras still do.

As for NVIDIA, I'm using their latest beta driver (101.41), their latest official driver (100.65) is seriously damaged (it forgets certain settings on reboot and has an even worse video quality than the beta driver).
 
A few questions from a semi-computer-illiterate person:

If all I want to do with my computer is run MS Office 2000, go on the internet, and play games, is upgrading to Vista worth it? And should I buy Basic or Premium?
I´m running Windows 98 right now, and almost no game being published lately runs on ´98. I was planning to upgrade to XP, but suddenly Vista came along and now I can´t find XP in the stores any more.

I´ve seen a few people mentioning "dual boot" - I assume this means having two different OS on the same machine. How does that work?
 
Chaos said:
A few questions from a semi-computer-illiterate person:

If all I want to do with my computer is run MS Office 2000, go on the internet, and play games, is upgrading to Vista worth it? And should I buy Basic or Premium?
I´m running Windows 98 right now, and almost no game being published lately runs on ´98. I was planning to upgrade to XP, but suddenly Vista came along and now I can´t find XP in the stores any more.

I´ve seen a few people mentioning "dual boot" - I assume this means having two different OS on the same machine. How does that work?
Click to expand...



I would not upgrade any PC that came with win98 to Vista, I would say it's time to upgrade the PC itself. Vista needs lots of memory, at least a Gig, 2 is better. I seriously doubt you have that much in a 98 box
 
ob986s said:
I would not upgrade any PC that came with win98 to Vista, I would say it's time to upgrade the PC itself. Vista needs lots of memory, at least a Gig, 2 is better. I seriously doubt you have that much in a 98 box
Click to expand...

The PC is all right. It was last upgraded to then-almost-cutting-edge level in ´04. The ´98 is from the PC before that one, or the one before that; I just decided not to upgrade while ´98 was still good enough.
The processor is an Athlon-something-3000, and it has 1 GB memory.
 
If you've not done so, I suggest using the Vista Upgrade Advisor to see how your existing PC will run with Vista:

Go here: (Do a search for the Vista Upgrade Advisor as I can't post links yet.)


I installed Vista on my wife's PC after upgrading the AGP Video Card and Ram (2GB). It has a Athlon XP Barton 3200 and A7N8X-Deluxe mobo (Nforce2 Chipset) and while Vista runs ok with this set up it's limited and Nvidia is no longer supporting the NF2 Chipset Drivers. It's certainly acceptable for Office Apps, Internet surfing/Email, but it's no gaming rig.
 
If you've not done so, I suggest using the Vista Upgrade Advisor to see how your existing PC will run with Vista:

Go here: (Do a search for the Vista Upgrade Advisor as I can't post links yet.)


I installed Vista on my wife's PC after upgrading the AGP Video Card and Ram (2GB). It has a Athlon XP Barton 3200 and A7N8X-Deluxe mobo (Nforce2 Chipset) and while Vista runs ok with this set up it's limited and Nvidia is no longer supporting the NF2 Chipset Drivers. It's certainly acceptable for Office Apps, Internet surfing/Email, but it's no gaming rig.
 
OK I give up; I'm not hearing exactly rave reviews for Vista, yet people are going "if you get a new PC get it." Why?
 
bigred said:
OK I give up; I'm not hearing exactly rave reviews for Vista, yet people are going "if you get a new PC get it." Why?
Click to expand...

1) It's getting harder to find XP PCs. If it hit the shelves after January 31 it probably has Vista.

2) Microsoft will eventually phase out XP and you will have to buy Vista anyhow.

3) Another excuse to get more memory.
 
But people are saying "get Vista" - ie not just take whatever the PC comes with.

(Re. no. 2: beyond a general single-finger salute to MS, if I really wanted to I could still be running Win2000...heck Win98....for most things I want/need; sadly, I know many people wouldn't because MS has them brain-washed into keeping up w/the Joneses)
 
I'd still be running Windows 95 if it were an option. It was the first Windows not to wrap DOS, and in my opinion the later systems have added nothing, except for the ability to read files off a network without some absurd maneuvering...which I guess is actually worth something. :p
 
Bigred- I asked much the same question in an earlier thread here and learned no reason to "up" grade- (what a weasel word that is). There seems to be no killer app associated. It's prettier and that's about it.
Because of the huge UK price markup it seems to be selling slowly here as a standalone OS, but is - just like XP- establishing a user base because it is bundled with all new PCs after January 31st.

I have no plans to move, but I expect to acquire Vista when I replace one or other computer- which , barring accidents, won't be this year.
 
Exactly, ie it's all a "get it because it's the new one" mentality.

Pet peeve. :mad: Bite me, MS.
 
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