anandtech.com — An exhaustively comprehensive look at Vista (21 pages!). The big question that almost everyone is going to want answered is pretty simple: should you upgrade to Windows Vista now or wait awhile longer? It's a question we hope to answer by the time we finish this article, so without further ado let's take a look at some of the new features.
Feb 1, 2007 View in Crawl 4
namcoFeb 2, 2007
Sweet. Thanks for summarizing it for me so I don't have to read all 22 pages. Makes sense now.
neuropsychguyFeb 2, 2007
There are a lot of things I like better in Vista than XP; to name a few: faster installation, better security, snappier performance, etc.However, my wireless card in my laptop does NOT work (Dell is taking their time with driver updates). The card is recognized but will never connect to my (or open routers around me) router.Also, I cannot install Firefox. I've tried at least 4 different times (downloading a new installation package each time) and I consistantly receive error messages.I cannot install Adobe Illustrator and have it work.Around 40% of RAM (of 1 GB) is in use without any programs open.If you program compatability is essential, don't install Vista. I like it but it has given me as many *problems* as Ubuntu (you know the old getting hardware to work and so forth). I'm using it just for the heck of it, plus Microsoft gave me a copy for free (as in free beer). :)
digitaldudFeb 2, 2007
Yes it's pretty stupid. It only fixes the biggest security issue in Windows, the inconvenience of not running as root.
kolop1Feb 2, 2007
Remember Windows 98? I remember no one was going to switch to xp. Fast forward 5 years, who is still using Windows 98?
puffycFeb 2, 2007
Just as an FYI, you can change the behavior of the Start Menu power button to do whatever you like. Just click on Start -> type in power options to bring it up, select Change Plan Settings and you'll find it under Change advanced power settings.
theorydigitalFeb 2, 2007
I thought this was an interesting article,The first wave of "consumer release" variants of Windows Vista are shipping this week.... ....and not only are consumers dramatically un-interested in the first major revision of Windows in seven years, in many countries they have in fact been specifically warned by their respective governments that updating to Vista could wreak havoc on their computing lives!Microsoft has been relatively low-key until recently with their Vista marketing efforts, mostly focusing on "enthusiasts," uber-geeks and other leading-edge user groups to create a buzz surrounding their latest operating system.That has largely backfired, however, with the vast bulk of even hard-core Windows adherents acknowledging that the new OS is deeply flawed, rife with security issues, and suffers incredibly dramatic performance issues.Even on the absolute latest Intel/AMD processors, with the latest graphics cards and motherboards, Vista suffers from several fundamental issues which would remind the Mac geek of Mac OS X 10.0-Preview Release, far more than the latest Leopard builds.Or even 10.1, for that matter. We've been talking about Vista for years now, first focusing predominantly on the dramatic delays and vast sums of money, man-hours and corporate resources that were dumped into the effort. In fact, many of the early features and applications intended to make Vista worth upgrading to, were cut along the way -- much to the project's detriment.Early-adopter variants of Vista, intended to give corporate/IT and "enthusiant" users time to adapt to the new environment and its quirks, have been out since December with stunningly small sales numbers and many reports from those early-adopters proving quite negative.Now, the "mainstream" release is upon us -- but surprisingly little has changed. In sharp contrast to recent "midnight release events" for various Apple products, very few people showed up to last night's Vista release events at major retailers.Popular Silicon Valley stores, including Fry's and CompUSA, which had been expecting hundreds of shoppers for their midnight Vista events, saw less than a dozen in some cases. One smaller but very popular non-chain store in San Francisco, whose manager/owner asked us not to name, had low expectations from the outset but were still so shocked by the "non-event" that they shut their doors after only a few minutes and sent employees home before 12:30.All in all, this doesn't come as much of a surprise to those in the industry who have been following Vista's development.....but it does not bode well for Redmond's efforts to stem the tide of Apple's growth, and positions Infinite Loop particularly well for the upcoming release of Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard."Although less than half of Leopard's features have been publicized by Apple, and less than half of the remaining 'top secret' features have been reported on by rumor sites including this one.....we can say with confidence that Leopard is every bit the "Vista-killer" that the Mac community is hoping for. And we are already seeing that silicon smackdown in progress.Stay tuned for much more coverage of Vista, Leopard, and the changing landscape of the technology industry -- right here on Mac OS Rumors.
jakem1Feb 2, 2007
@OBKenobiI believe that those are the things you're saying - not most people. I'm getting really tired of seeing posts from you complaining about DRM in Vista. Perhaps you should try it before ranting about it. I have, and so far I've not run into a single issue related to DRM. It doesn't slow my PC down, it's not constantly warning me about infringements, I'm not worried about it denying me access to any of my files. It's just not an issue.
rysac1Feb 2, 2007
I upgraded my xp MCE 2005 to vista home premium and had no issues personally, but thats just me, i doubt everyone had the same experience. Getting the upgrade also saved me some $ and what i realized is that i upgraded from a pirated version and it upgraded without a hitch.