Re: Windows Vista at One Year (Dark Side Report)

On Sun, 03 Feb 2008 00:18:42 GMT, jimstevens
<jimstevens@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

[Default] On Sat, 02 Feb 2008 11:31:34 -0800, El Castor
<No_One@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Sat, 02 Feb 2008 15:54:38 GMT, jimstevens
<jimstevens@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

[Default] On Sat, 02 Feb 2008 00:44:37 -0800, El Castor
<No_One@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Sat, 02 Feb 2008 00:23:45 GMT, jimstevens
<jimstevens@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

[Default] On Fri, 1 Feb 2008 14:24:50 -0800 (PST), California Poppy
<GoldenStatePoppy@xxxxxxx> wrote:

On Feb 1, 5:25?am, Jim Higgins <gordian...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
A computer shop's sales pitch: 'We remove Vista'http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/130626.asp?sour...

fter reading today's story about Windows Vista's first year, reader
Bruce Finlayson of Seattle sent along this photo that he snapped in
October outside a computer store in Milford, N.H. ...

I made some calls to computer stores in Milford (pop. 15,000) and
confirmed that the sign appeared in the window of A&D Computer, across
the street from the town square. Shop manager Aaron Kaplan said they
were prompted to put it up because so many people were having problems
with Windows Vista, including compatibility issues with older software
and trouble adjusting to the interface.

"A lot of people didn't like using Vista, and a lot of the manufacturers
forced people to go up to Vista," he said.

What was the demand for the service? "We had a lot of people coming in
and asking about it," Kaplan said. "Of all the signs we put up there the
last two years, at least, we probably got the most response out of that
one. A lot of people coming in."

Kaplan said they've since replaced it with a different message, but
they're thinking about putting the Vista removal message back up.

========================================================================

Windows upgrade fuels revenue and frustrationshttp://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/349265_msftvista30.html

Microsoft released Windows Vista to the world one year ago with ads
likening the new PC operating system to such awe-inspiring moments as
the first American spaceflight and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Charles Walling just wants it to work with his printer.

The retired Seattle warehouseman has spent hours on the Dell tech
support line, installed all the drivers and, yes, double-checked all the
cords and plugs. No luck. The cause of the problem isn't clear, but
Walling knows one thing: The same printer worked with Windows Vista's
predecessor, Windows XP.

"You can see the frustration," Walling said this week, sitting at his
desk after Windows Vista displayed an error message in response to an
attempt to print.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates recently called Windows Vista the "best
new product of the year." The company says more than 100 million copies
of the operating system have been licensed since it became available.
Outside experts say Windows Vista is a major advance in security, and
some users say their experience has been smooth.

But a year after its glitzy retail launch, Windows Vista has developed a
reputation as a source of frustration for others.

The effects of that reputation are apparent in the habits of PC buyers.
At the computer store Quidnunc in West Seattle, for example, owner Bill
Hibler estimates that 40 percent of people ordering computers through
his shop still ask for Windows XP.

"I'm still stocking almost as much XP as I am Vista," Hibler said. Based
on his experience, the only other time people have been so reluctant to
choose a new Microsoft operating system was when the company released
the widely panned Windows ME.

One of Vista's challenges is the explosion of hardware, software,
devices and networks that the operating system has to work with
nowadays, said Ed Bott, co-author of the book "Windows Vista Inside
Out." Even if Microsoft offers a better rate of hardware and software
compatibility than in past Windows versions, chances are good that any
given user will encounter a problem, considering everything people ask
their computers to do.

However, Bott said that in his experience, the situation has improved
noticeably over the past year, as Microsoft has released a series of
online updates to boost reliability and compatibility.

"The state of improvement -- the continuous, incremental improvement --
has been impressive," Bott said of Windows Vista. "That's been different
from the way that it always was before."

But expectations for Windows Vista were particularly high upon launch --
in part because it had been more than five years since the Redmond
company's last major Windows release.

One PC user who expected more was Yvonne Genovese, a Gartner Inc.
analyst who got a chance to describe her Windows Vista struggles
directly to Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer on stage during a
Gartner symposium in Orlando, Fla., last year.

She explained to Ballmer that her 13-year-old daughter had been
attracted by Vista's "gadgets" -- small, specialized programs -- and
persuaded her to upgrade. But two days later, Genovese had encountered
enough problems that she decided to go back to Windows XP. Among other
things, her upgraded computer bogged down, and the gadgets wouldn't work.

"It ended up being so many things that wouldn't work, that you get to
the point where you just say, this thing has failed," Genovese said last
week.

On stage last year, Ballmer acknowledged initial challenges with Vista's
device and application compatibility, but cited progress since the
release and said he was encouraged by the fact that Genovese's daughter
saw value in the new operating system.

Genovese, who has become known as the "Vista Mom" because of the
exchange, said her experience taught her several rules of thumb --
including the need to wait for a Windows version's first big "service
pack" update before adopting it, and to buy a new PC with the new
operating system, rather than upgrading an existing machine.

Vista's significant system requirements also have proved a challenge to
some people upgrading older machines.

One of Microsoft's big goals with Vista was to improve security,
including reducing the number and severity of software bugs that can be
exploited by online attackers. Microsoft says it has done well on that
front, and outside computer security experts generally agree.

Windows Vista "has raised the bar for security," said Morey Haber, vice
president of product management at eEye Digital Security. "Compared to
Windows XP or any of the predecessors, there are a lot less operating
system vulnerabilities in Windows Vista than previous releases."

However, he noted, some of the new security measures have resulted in
trade-offs in the user experience -- intruding with pop-up dialogues and
other prompts, for example, when PC users try to complete common tasks.

Security changes under the hood of Windows Vista also have contributed
to the problems with application and device compatibility, said Barry
Goffe, director of product management in Microsoft's Windows group.

"Because we made this conscious choice, to make architectural changes to
improve security, we knew that there were going to be some things that
broke," Goffe acknowledged. "We tried to fix many of those things before
we shipped Windows Vista. But the way ecosystems work, we weren't able
to fix everything, and our partners weren't able to fix everything."

Goffe cited "tremendous" improvements on that front in the year since
the release.

But problems remain. At Kent-based Puget Systems, a builder of high-end
custom computers, the big challenge has been getting computers running
Windows Vista to reliably enter and exit standby mode -- a low-power
state that keeps the system ready to reactivate quickly -- said Jon
Bach, the company's president. In some cases, he said, Windows Vista
systems in standby mode don't respond to efforts to resume full
operation, requiring a reboot.

At one point, Puget Systems had a prominent statement on its Web site,
warning customers about the Windows Vista standby problems. The
situation has improved as Microsoft has made updates, Bach said. But as
recently as last week, one Puget Systems customer was forced to have
Windows Vista replaced with Windows XP on his computer because of
standby problems.

"It has been frustrating, and I think it has been more rocky than in the
past, just from the standpoint of Microsoft and what they're putting
out," Bach said. He said he hopes that the first big service pack update
for Windows Vista, due out this quarter, will fix the standby problem.

Despite those kinds of lingering issues, Microsoft's earnings in recent
quarters have been fueled by Windows Vista's sales, demonstrating
Microsoft's dominant position in the market.

"We're really pleased at what we're seeing," said Neil Charney, a
general manager in the company's PC Windows division. "We know that it's
an ongoing effort to make sure that our customers are happy and
satisfied and enjoying that experience."

He cited improvements in Vista's support for hardware products -- more
than 40,000 products supported, compared with about 23,000 upon launch
-- and noted that compatibility issues are a common challenge with any
new operating system release.

Walling, the retired Seattle warehouseman, moved to Windows Vista when
he bought a new PC last fall. Despite the problems he has experienced,
he's sticking with the operating system, figuring it would be too much
hassle to go back at this point. He still hopes to fix his printer
compatibility problems.

In the meantime, how does he print out his documents?

"I don't," he said.

--
Civis Romanus Sum

The printer compatibility is simply fixed. Just go to the web site of
the printer manufacturer and download a driver for Vista.

That may work and it may not. I had a relatively new Canon printer
when I bought this current computer with XP. There was no update for
XP for the printer and I got that from searching all over and also
directly from Canon tech support. It is a crap shoot.

Some drivers don't work with Vista because Microsoft has dealt with
vulnerabilities in previous versions of the OS, like XP, that allowed
drivers access to features of the OS that created vulnerabilities
which could be exploited by viruses and spyware. The intricacies of
Ring Zero versus Ring Three are a little beyond my pay grade, but what
it boils down to is the fact that if Microsoft was going to produce a
more secure OS they had to enforce some rules. If those rules existed
a long time ago, no one would be complaining, but they didn't, so now
is the time.
I am with you on beyond my paygrade.

It was incredibly frustrating to have a reasonably new printer

Actually, not that new. (-8

It was about 10 months old when I upgraded to XP.

that
would not work. I rummaged all over the internet looking. Made some
calls to possible sources. Nothing.

It seems a 'feature' that sometimes things are just useless with new
technology. ;)

Just did a check on the printer in groups and could not find where
anyone ever got a good driver. It was a Canon Multipass C530. I even
ran into a few of my old posts looking for solutions.

I just poked around Canon's web site. Your problem, as I guess you
know, is that Canon doesn't make a Vista driver.

Oh this is not Vista driver. I am confusing you. The problem was
when I upgraded TO XP. I had the printer from Win 98 system and it
did not work in XP.

That was a conscious
decision on Canon's part to drop support of an older printer to save
the bucks it would cost them to write a new driver.

I have an old email from Canon that they had not made drivers for the
Multipass printer and did not anticipate doing so - with no
explaination.

The fact that
their decision screwed thousands of customers doesn't seem to bother
them much. Here's a link that explains how you might get some limited
printing functionality out of it, as well as contact info where they
say ...

Yes, the copier and fax functions may work. I still have printer and
use for copier.

"If this option does not meet your requirements, please contact us at
either 1-800-OK-CANON or by sending us an email to discuss possible
upgrade to a new Windows Vista fully compatible multifunction printer
at a reduced cost."
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&tabact=DownloadDetailTabAct&fcategoryid=334&modelid=7997#SupportDetailAct

Hmmm. That printer does work with XP, but has a problem with Service
Pack 2 in combination with some anti-virus programs. Here's a Canon
work around.
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=OSCompatibilitySupportAct&keycode=windr&fcategoryid=238&modelid=7997
.

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