Windows Vista

[foha80]

I was well warned,but I had to get a new computer and it came with Vista installed.My printer and scanner won't work with it,and the manufacturers don't look as if they have any intention of updating the drivers.Vista has real problems with Dual Monitors and the program itself is very buggy and ridiculously security concious.I know it will settle down after a few service packs but that could be a couple of years away.Anyone else made the change from XP to Vista.



Terry

[DB7]

No, as you say it's best waiting for the SP2 build and increased driver support. If you still have XP you might want to install dual booting.

How to dual-boot Vista with XP - step-by-step guide with screenshots | APC Magazine

[foha80]

name='DB7']No, as you say it's best waiting for the SP2 build and increased driver support. If you still have XP you might want to install dual booting.

How to dual-boot Vista with XP - step-by-step guide with screenshots | APC Magazine

Thanks Steve,looks like a project for the weekend.



Terry

[DB7]

Never tried it myself but if you have scanners etc that Vista wont pick up it might be a passable interim measure.

[ChristineCB]

We're avoiding mass migrations because the hardware that allows all of Vista's so-called features is still months from being delivered, even as bleeding-edge lemmings-over-the-cliff kind of offerings. Even Steve Jobs won't offer money back to someone foolish enough to buy that stuff.



If you haven't found



TweakVista.com - Tweaks and Tips for Windows Vista™



or it's excellent predecessor, TweakXP.com - Windows XP Tweaks, Tips, Hacks, Visual Styles, Support, and Software, those have worthy forum communities to join.



If you were given a Restore Disc so you can return to Vista at some later date, and if you've got a WinXP Disc so you can do a clean installation - NOT AN UPGRADE - you will probably find your new machine loves XP until Vista and additional hardware ("can I have more memory, Sir?") becomes available. Those are two big "If's", by the way.

[JohnB_Toronto]

name='foha80']I was well warned,but I had to get a new computer and it came with Vista installed.My printer and scanner won't work with it,and the manufacturers don't look as if they have any intention of updating the drivers.Vista has real problems with Dual Monitors and the program itself is very buggy and ridiculously security concious.I know it will settle down after a few service packs but that could be a couple of years away.Anyone else made the change from XP to Vista.



Terry

I use both Adobe Premier and Adobe Audition, both high end, expensive software packages, and also MPEG Video Wizard ... all have problems running with Vista. MVW's latest version contains a Vista fix but last time I looked, Adobe was yet to recommend use of their software with Vista. I'm happy to stay with XP. I'd as soon let Windows get itself sorted out rather than trying keep track of all the patches, upgrades and driver updates for the dozens of other programmes I use. A Vista re-format and reinstall of everything could be a nightmare if it all has to be patched. Vista appears to work well with new and current software editions that have been freshly designed for it but everyone I know who has it seems to find very limited compatibility with older software versions. Not only frustrating but very expensive. I couldn't agree more - take a pass on Vista until it settles down and be sure to check with your favourite software's manufacturer to see what's available by way of upgraded versions or new builds designed to suit Vista. Nice if they offer a patch or a free upgrade but you may find you have to pay all over again for a Vista version of something that already suits you perfectly well. I'd also be hesitant to take the software maker's claims at face value. Look in their forums and see what other users think of the fixes that are being offered.

[eric7885]

I just bought a new computer with the windows vista programme,most of my gadgets will not work with vista,microsoft did send the drivers to get my zire 71 pda to work,other than that,microsoft is not too intersted in sending the drivers or information on how to get my mp3 player or other gadgets to work.

[ChristineCB]

Could you list Make & Model for these gadgets?



HP has a long history of creating scanners that don't work from one OS version to another, or requiring months before the drivers are finished and then requiring users to mail off for new CDs. Grrr - absolutely horrific. I love their printers, but hate the company's vicious tactics labeled "support". Keelhauling could be called "support", too.



Microsoft, by the way, blames all the vendors for not having drivers ready, but they generally modify the Release Version of the OS slightly from all previous Beta Versions that have been tested with drivers. This midnite-hour change has been occurring "forever", I'm told, but I've never understood why Microsoft would ever want to injure hardware manufacturers' drivers - except to help them sell only new equipment. Kickback, I suppose.

[Chris B]

Hi, I fell into the same trap, ordered a new purpose built computer with Vista, BIG MISTAKE, printer etc wouldn't work, not being the most patient of people I immediately bought an XP disc and reformatted the hard drive and reinstalled XP, everything works O.K. Wouldn't touch Vista with a barge pole until they get it sorted out, Microsoft should have been prosecuted under the sale description act for selling a duff operating system.

Regards Chrisb

[dogstar]

Yep - same here. Have yet to find anyone who actually likes Vista. A friend who works in IT says it was a badly-thought out attempt to clone the best bit of the Mac and bung it out as quick as possible.

[Wolfgang]

I do not think Vista is badly thought out so much as rather just slightly ahead of its time in trying to pave transition to 64 bit computing. Unless you have 64 bit processor though there is no point in buying it (you may as well stick with XP than go with their 32 bit version of Vista), and even if you have have 64 bit processor you are best off holding back until hardware and software properly supports it.

[Steve Crook]

name='dogstar']Yep - same here. Have yet to find anyone who actually likes Vista. A friend who works in IT says it was a badly-thought out attempt to clone the best bit of the Mac and bung it out as quick as possible.

You mean like Windows® was a badly-thought out attempt to clone the best bit of other windows based systems like the Mac and various others and bung it out as quick as possible? Micro$oft did not invent windows based operating systems. And unless you go to something like Windoze NT, they aren't really multi-tasking operating systems either. Not in the true sense of the phrase.



Anyone would think that you are implying that Micro$oft are more interested in making a profit than in making a good product



Maybe that's why their support services are as good as they are



Remember that although he knows a little bit about technology, Bill Gates is primarily a businessman



Steve

[dogstar]

Heaven forbid any such thought! :-)

[ChristineCB]

I thought Gates was one of the originating geeks, winning all of those one-on-one programming challenges well into the '90s?



One thing that's interesting to see is an apparently lessening of interest in 64-bit application production and the ramping up of dual-cores for 32-bit addressing. Evidently, this may be the "Two Cores Are Better Than One Double-the-Bit-Size-Language One" example.



To say nothing of the Quads. I wonder if this is indeed going to be the recognized scaling back of 64-bit applications and focus more on improving 32-bit apps? I guess tha would mean we're not going to see 128-bit VBasic.

[Steve Crook]

name='ChristineCB']I thought Gates was one of the originating geeks, winning all of those one-on-one programming challenges well into the '90s?

He probably bought off all the reasonable competition like he buys off any competitors or people who do something useful for Micro$oft users

One thing that's interesting to see is an apparently lessening of interest in 64-bit application production and the ramping up of dual-cores for 32-bit addressing. Evidently, this may be the "Two Cores Are Better Than One Double-the-Bit-Size-Language One" example.



To say nothing of the Quads. I wonder if this is indeed going to be the recognized scaling back of 64-bit applications and focus more on improving 32-bit apps? I guess tha would mean we're not going to see 128-bit VBasic.

They only need to make such a fuss about 32, 64 or even 128 bit applications because Windoze & VBasic were so bad in the first place. All decen languages and systems address (pun intended) such issues properly from the beginning and can be expanded as the hardware allows



Steve

[ChristineCB]

Addressed as hardware expands, aye. After all, there aren't too many delivered motherboard chipsets that have 16Gb RAM addressing yet, and they're still babystepping us on HD capacity recognition. I wish they'd deliver chipsets that handled something like 999tb RAM and HD space.

[Wolfgang]

name='ChristineCB']

One thing that's interesting to see is an apparently lessening of interest in 64-bit application production and the ramping up of dual-cores for 32-bit addressing. Evidently, this may be the "Two Cores Are Better Than One Double-the-Bit-Size-Language One" example.

It is more logical - anything that only requires 32 bit processing is not going to be done any faster using 64 bit registers while anything that can benefit from 64 bit processing can be split in half and processed by two processors in two 32 bit registers. Didn't 64 bit processors only come about anyway because AMD tried getting one over on Intel?

[Steve Crook]

name='Wolfgang']It is more logical - anything that only requires 32 bit processing is not going to be done any faster using 64 bit registers while anything that can benefit from 64 bit processing can be split in half and processed by two processors in two 32 bit registers. Didn't 64 bit processors only come about anyway because AMD tried getting one over on Intel?

Yes, but Micro$oft are very good at building in limits and restrictions that don't need to be there. They tend to think small - in technology. They think big enough in terms of business, advertising and acquisitions, trying to take over the world. Other systems will deal with things like 32 and 64 bit processing automatically as required.



Have you tried entering mobile phone numbers into an Excel spreadsheet?

It either strips the leading zero or thinks that they would be better displayed (and exported as CSV) in exponential format. Have you tried calling 4.47956E+11 as a mobile number? It doesn't get through



Steve

[Fellwanderer]

name='Steve Crook']Yes, but Micro$oft are very good at building in limits and restrictions that don't need to be there. They tend to think small - in technology. They think big enough in terms of business, advertising and acquisitions, trying to take over the world. Other systems will deal with things like 32 and 64 bit processing automatically as required.



Have you tried entering mobile phone numbers into an Excel spreadsheet?

It either strips the leading zero or thinks that they would be better displayed (and exported as CSV) in exponential format. Have you tried calling 4.47956E+11 as a mobile number? It doesn't get through



Steve

I thought it quite funny that a friend of mine bought a new pc with vista and then found he couldn't read excel spreadsheets. You'd really think they'd have that sorted first - though given it is Micky$oft, perhaps not

[ChristineCB]

Oh yes, Office kepts its document-format for 2 versions ("XP" and "2003" but they've changed yet again with "2007", and still haven't fulfilled Gates' 1995 commitment to use the "OpenDocuments" format. They do, however, supply some free readers! If you can find them. And if you're using the right browser, they allow you download them and install them. Changing a 56k spreadsheet into 55k is SO efficient. Yeah. Right.