From the day it hit the shelves, Windows Vista has had a bad reputation, and for good reason. For the longest time, it didn’t work with a lot of hardware and software. I switched back to XP when some of my hardware wouldn’t work with Vista. Its release proved what consumers are willing to put up with in terms of software.

Microsoft tried to force people to upgrade their software and hardware to newer products if they wanted Vista to work well, and no one likes being forced to do anything.

One test, done by CNET.com last year, said “Vista, both with and without SP1, performed notably slower than XP with SP3 in the test, taking over 80 seconds to complete the test, compared to the beta SP3-enhanced XP’s 35 seconds.”

The test was run on a system with only 1GB of RAM. I use 4GB, and the speed is noticeable on everyday tasks.

Consumers rebelled, and it took nearly a year for Microsoft and manufacturers to get their act together. People didn’t want to wait, and no one could blame them, and all we could do was shake our heads in disbelief.

Most of us have been using Windows XP since it came out in 2001. We’re used to it, and we understand it. We don’t like change, or to be exact, we don’t like change that makes our lives more difficult.

One change in Vista that really irks people, and certainly irked me at first, is the User Account Control (UAC) prompts that pop up far too often. People are more annoyed then comforted by the security of UAC and the security of Vista in general.

The truth is, Microsoft built Vista with security in mind, not usability. This fact was made crystal clear to technology experts that Windows was created with big business in mind, and not the consumer.

People stuck with XP, since it was still widely available, and worked well. There was really no compelling reason to switch to Vista.

Since June of this year, Microsoft has stopped selling Windows XP, trying to force people to buy Windows Vista. Those who have purchased it discovered that manufacturers have caught up and are making products that now work well, for the most part.

That said, many problems have been reported all over the internet, and consumers have been convinced by word-of-mouth that Vista sucks, even though it has gotten better. Some have become so frustrated with it, they switched back to XP (I did for a year), or even to a “Mac”. Others seem to have very little trouble with Vista.

One good thing to come out of the Vista problems is that consumers have become more aware of their options, and have upped the market share of the Apple “Mac OS X” operating system, and although “Macs” are more expensive, they’re very easy to use.

So, hate it or love it, Windows Vista isn’t going anywhere, in fact, the next version of Windows will be based on it. Macs are here to stay as well. We are now more aware of our choices, which is a fantastic thing.
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Originally posted 2008-10-09 17:18:16. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Many people are wondering if they should go and buy Windows Vista or wait for Windows 7 to come out. The answer is yes to both questions, if you can afford it, if not, the consensus seems to be to wait for Windows 7.

According to the Microsoft website, Vista will completely lose support in 2012, XP as of April 14, 2009, though commercial and developer support continues until 2014. It’s not recommended to wait that long, since that will make it over a decade old.

“The just-released Beta 1 version of Windows 7 is a solid, fast-performing, stable operating system that appears to be just about fully baked and ready for prime time,” says ComputerWorld.com

As for Windows 7 performance, testers have been playing with early test releases, and report that “[the rumours that] Windows 7 is simply faster than Vista appear to be true,” says CNET News.com. “Windows 7 had no problem simultaneously installing and launching applications, downloading files, browsing the Web, and carrying out other tasks.”

A ZDNet blog post comparing Windows 7, Vista, and XP shows “7” winning nearly every test thrown at it.

As for Vista’s biggest annoyance, User Account Control, in Windows 7, it has been “pared right back on its default setting, and we encountered it only a couple of times throughout a whole morning of installing applications.” Though users can change it to be more Vista-like.

News.com also expresses relief in Windows 7, saying “[It] signals that Microsoft has spent a lot of effort with Windows 7 on delivering a solid operating system that won’t “wow” anyone but will satisfy them on a much deeper level. In other words, just what the doctor–and the customers–ordered.”

“The reality is that it (Vista) is a mature product right now,” she said. “The issues are solved.” That’s easier said than believed, even though it’s largely true,” said Stella Chernyak, a director in Microsoft’s Windows Client product group, in an interview with InformationWeek.com

Chernyak said Microsoft expects a much easier transition [than with Windows Vista]. Companies (and consumers) have done the grunt work of upgrading to Windows Vista, and won’t have to repeat the process with Windows 7.

Though Information Week is quick to point out that “with two such upgrades looming, Vista and Windows 7, people may look for ways to only upgrade once.”

There are a few new features in Windows 7, including “Jumplists”, in which you can many open windows display as a stacked list when your computer mouse hovers over the program icon on the Taskbar. Mac OS X users are already familiar with something similar in the “dock”.

According to ComputerWorld.com, a huge plus is that “Microsoft set out to make sure that Windows 7 wouldn’t have the same issues with hardware compatibility that Windows Vista had, and the company said that all hardware that works with Windows Vista should also work with Windows 7. It appears that even in this beta version, that goal has been met.”

Another really impressive fact is that the installation process for Windows 7 “generally installs in 20 minutes or less,” according to Winsupersite.com

The biggest difference between Windows 7 and previous versions is that Windows 7 will be “modular”, according to some reputable technology blogs. This means that Microsoft will sell certain features and add-ons post-launch, or on a subscription basis, which is great news for consumers, who end up paying for everything in Windows, and only using some of it.

Originally posted 2009-01-17 20:43:22. Republished by Blog Post Promoter