Vista

[mkjuk]

Will it be any good?

[Mattk]

Should be but i would never buy an OS at release as they are usually very buggy.allow several months for updates and such like to straighten out the majority of problems.

[fo3nix]

Define 'good'.

Will it be more secure than XP? Yes, but not that much. Exploits have already been found, and it hasn't even been released to customers yet.

Will it slow your computer down more than XP, thus requiring a higher-specification computer? Yes.

Does it contain some flashy visuals that require a decent graphics card? Yes.

Does it have a confusing number of versions, so people will end up buying the wrong one? Yes.

Really you're best off using XP at mattk says, until you really need to upgrade.

[Llamatron]

Microsoft seem to have really lost the plot with Vista.
Vista requires a monster of a PC to run. They've forgotten that the OS is a means to an end and not the end itself.

Most company PCs have low spec integrated graphics and a bit of RAM, these will ALL need upgrading to be able to run Vista. Vista itself is no real upgrade from XP, it looks prettier and provides a couple of extra management features but certainly nothing that makes it worth upgrading thousands of PCs across your network. We'll certainly be avoiding it for quite some time.

The OS is full of copy protection gubbins to appease the Music and Movies lobbies. As if music and movies were the only point of a computer.

DirectX 10 will be Vista only forcing gamers to migrate to Vista along with the RAM increases (in the very least) required to run it.

Because Vista requires a beefier machine to run it hardware vendors, particularly memory makers, are rubbing their hands with glee.

Somebody is going to be making a lot of money next year and it's a sure bet that we the consumer will be the ones getting screwed for it while not actually getting anything we didn't already have.

[Potatoman]

I am 100% with Mattk - im not getting it till after its been out for at least a few months. Look at the problems people were having with hardware and software compatibility when MS released Service Pack 2 for XP! We have an MSDN subscription at work, so i have used it quite a bit. From what i have seen, it looks good. But, it has nothing that im gonna be in a rush to part with �350 for the Ultimate Edition! Sure, there are cheaper versions, but as fo3nix said, hundreds of people are not going to know what they need until after buying it and using it for a while... For some really good info, check this site out: http://www.winsupersite.com/vista/ . In a nutshell, hang on for a while before getting it. And, just before you part with your money, ask yourself if you NEED to.

[AussieGeoff]

G'Day

I wont be touching it with a ten foot long, sterilized barge pole. I am not interested in spending large amounts of money to buy/upgrade a system so that I can then be a captive of the draconian DRM implemented in Vista.

This paper is a Cost Analysis of the Content Protection (where you have no rights), 1984 stuff. Dont believe it is written by some street corner crackpot, it is written by Peter Gutmann, who is a researcher at Auckland University who also designs/builds/breaks security systems and consults to governments around the world on computer security. This is another reason I will not be going anywhere near Vista - but it is your choice.

XP is the last version of windoze I will voluntarily be using, the plan for next year (2007)is to learn Linux.

Geoff

[peanut]

Why in the world would anyone buy this operating system after reading that link provided by AussieGeoff?

[fo3nix]

peanut: because all the computers from PC World etc. will come preinstalled with it, and many don't realise there's anything else available.

[Llamatron]

Vista DRM a go go:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/28/vista_ drm_analysis/

[peanut]

so should i go buy another copy of xp for the next computer i plan to build so that if its a year from now i will still have xp?

[Llamatron]

Wow, I've just read the Cost Analysis thingy.
Scarey.

[AussieGeoff]

G'Day

For peanut

In answer to your various questions:

Why would people buy vista - I agree with fo3nix, because they dont know any better.

Should you buy another copy of XP - I currently use XP Pro and have bought 2 more copies of it - 1 for a system I intend to build in the next 1-2 months and the other in case I decide to build another and have not learnt Linux. I figure that if I dont need the spare copy and put it on eBay, I will be knocked down by the hordes chasing a copy, especially after vista is officially released and the crap hits the fan and starts to be widely disseminated.

I think it is a pity he only analysed part of the DRM complexities, I would love to see his analysis of the rest, especially micro$oft's Genuine Advantage (or whatever misleading name they have given it in vista).

Geoff