Re: Vista? No thanks!

"Banana" <banana6864@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:cvqdnexrtv1OT3TYRVnytgA@xxxxxxxxx
"pmj" <post@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:7_cGh.11898$I46.320@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<snip>
I really can't see it as being as much of an improvement as WinXP
was (is!), over previous Versions.

There must be some improvement besides the visual appeal. It's taken
a fair few years to write VISTA.

Yep, but what I was trying to say that the improvements (such as there
are) can't possibly be *as much* of an improvement as WinXP was (is)
over w9x!

Having had XP Pro for a few years now, I can confidently say that
/it is/ an improvement over Win98 SE (which is what I had before),
besides the obvious better visual appeal but I don't think I would
have stuck my neck out then and stated that 'it can't be much of an
improvement over previous versions of Windows',

No.
You couldn't (& shouldn't & wouldn't) have stuck your neck out &
said that WinXP wasn't a big improvement over the previous Versions...

Cos it (WinXP) *was* (is) a huge improvement over the previous Versions!
:-)

... without at least having used it for a few months (maybe you have?
I don't know).

No I haven't used Vista very much.
I have been closely following the Beta Testing Programme & the Tests
& Reviews of it in the various Magazines & on the various Websites

& (like I said & I'll repeat it again), I can't see it being
*as much of* an (in other words "as great an") improvement over WinXP,
as WinXP was over w9x...

& from all the indications & reports that I have read & heard that is
the case.

That said, my /basic/ pc spec is:
Mobo: MSI MS-7058

Mine is an MSI MS-7091
(& I dunno what - Foxconn, I think, in the Apple MacBook)

Pentium 4, 3.6GHz

Mine is a Pentium 4 HT 3.4 GHz
So both our Systems are (reasonably) similar on that score.

& an Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GHz in the Apple MacBook

GeForce 7950 GX2 'Superclocked' (SLI, 1GB GDDR3 Video RAM)

Sheesh!!!
1GB of Video RAM?
The nVidia GeForce 6610 XL Graphics Card in this PC actually only
has 128 MB of Video RAM, which I know is a pretty small amount, these
days - it's about 2 & 1/2 Years old.

It's plenty good enough for what I use it for though.
& I don't play the fancy 3D "Shoot'em up" type Games on it.

& the Apple MacBook has Intel GMA 950 (Graphics Media Accelerator)
in it.

Audigy 2ZS Sound Card

The 7.1 C-Media Intel HDA (High Definition Audio) CMudax/Azalia Sound
thingy (on the Motherboard) is fine for me as well.
& the Apple MacBook has some sort of Sound thingy, but I haven't yet
sussed out what it is - though I *have* found out that it doesn't
actually have a *Microphone* Input Socket! - only a Line Level Input!
:-(
(& a built-in Microphone & Camera)

To use a separate Microphone, I need to use a USB thingy for it.

1GB RAM

I have 2.5 GB (2,560 MB) of Sheep in the PC
& 1.5 GB (at the mo, soon to be 2 GB) in the Apple MacBook

2xSONY DVD R/W

I have one (Pioneer) Dual Layer DVD CD R/W Drive (Burner)
& one DVD CD ROM Drive (Player)

& just one Dual Layer DVD CD R/W in the Apple MacBook.

BT Voyager 105 USB ADSL Modem (used on a 2Mbps connection and due
for replacement!)

I have a Motorola (GI - General Instruments) SB4100 Ethernet/USB
Cable Modem (on a 4Mbps Cable Internet Connection) & various WiFi/
Ethernet Routers to Connect it to the PC & Laptop etc.

...and other than free disk space, the upgrade advisor:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradeadvisor.mspx
once installed and run, tells me that there should be no problems with
CPU, System Memory, DVD Drive or Video Card.

Wrong!

I have VISTA RC1 (Release Candidate (pretty much what they have
launched, but will expire)) on a partition on my hard drive and
the video card and modem will not install properly.

Doh!!!
But maybe that's cos it's a fairly new (recent?) Graphics Card?
Can you get some Vista-compatible Drivers for it from the Manufacturer's
Site?

Oh...
<snip stuff about lack of Drivers etc.>

... err... where was I? Oh, yes. but all of that aside, there must
be some significant jump in the VISTA operating system technology
over XP?

Nope...
Actually there *isn't*
It's not a "significant jump" in OS Technology!!!
Not anywhere near as significant (or as large) as the jump from w9x
to WinXP.

& they *removed* (due to lack of time for development), several of
the bits in Vista that *were* actually going to be a "significant jump"
in OS Technology.

Then again, maybe you are right. Maybe XP gave us what we
wanted/needed then,

Yep, for the vast majority of people, for most of the time, under most
circumstances, doing most of the things they want to do, WinXP *is*
plenty good enough!!!

& when it's *properly* Set up it's also secure enough, though
using 3rd Security party stuff does help with various "Vulnerabilities"
that it has.

... and maybe we don't really have any significant demands from an
operating system now,

Yep.
I think you're right.

... other than a shiny new look?

& do we (or anybody?0 actually *need* that?

What *is* needed is a complete rethink over the way the (micro$oft)
Operating System *Security* (or lack of it) is handled.
& not the bodge/kludge that Vista has introduced.

I think we should wait a while though before we dismiss VISTA as
maybe not being as big a change as Win98 was to XP.

Nope.
I don't.
I'm not saying we won't (most of us - including me!) prolly end up
using it though...

What I *am* saying (& will stand by what I said) is that it really
*isn't* a huge great, significant improvement over WinXP.
& whatever the improvements of it are (over WinXP), they aren't as big
(or as significant) as the improvements WinXP had/has over w9x

Banana :)

Thanks for the comments & the discussion! (& comparison of stuff)
:-)

--
pmj


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Nil - Vista
    ... operating system in the second half of 2009, ... I think its Ta-ta Vista, ... This computer has Win2K and will continue to run on it until the ... My computer at work runs WinXP ...
    (alt.guitar)
  • Re: Puzzling Problems -- Pulling Hair
    ... WinXP testbed (a small partition where I try out things before ... three weeks ago I began to get an error message at WinXP shutdown. ... But when Vista loaded, my beautiful Dreamscene ... found the Aero scheme wasn't available to load. ...
    (alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt)
  • Re: XP Pro-DELL XPS - setup blue screens at hard drive selection
    ... First and foremost, if the specific computer model in question was designed specifically for Vista, there may well be no WinXP-specific device drivers available to make the computer's diverse components work properly. ... After backing up any data you wish to transfer to the new OS installation, simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. ... there is a small FAT16 utility partition marked ... I used the partitioning to create the logical drives from a single C). ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • Puzzling Problems -- Pulling Hair
    ... WinXP testbed (a small partition where I try out things before ... But when Vista loaded, my beautiful Dreamscene ... But I had a backup of the Vista partition, ... So I disconnected all four of my hard drives, ...
    (alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus)
  • Re: Puzzling Problems -- Pulling Hair
    ... WinXP testbed (a small partition where I try out things before ... But when Vista loaded, my beautiful Dreamscene ... But I had a backup of the Vista partition, ... So I disconnected all four of my hard drives, ...
    (alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt)