Comments on: 6 upgrades that are downgrades

The newest products don't always have the best features.

[malechi]

Vista runs perfect on my mac with 2GB ram

[stasguy]

I have had vista ultimate and it gas been crashing every day, with me just using wmp and internet explorer. XP professional hardly ever crashed. I've used Macs once in a while and in my opinion Macs do the job better, the interface and the simplicity of accessing different functions compared to vista or windows altogether. (my computer is not slow or outdated) itried once the old imacs, the ones with the semi-sphere base, and i found that even so early on, macs were better than vista, which i find very amusing (its as if microsoft used a time machine to spy on macs, but not into the future, but into the past!)

[rduffy12]

They forgot about the new Apple iMovie, one of the biggest downgrades of the year for sure. I'm sorry Apple, but you need to combine the ease of use features of the new iMovie with the power and features of the old one.

[dk-spec]

I would like to defend Windows Vista, I have it and it works perfectly, the people who have a problem with it are those who have older computers not capable of using vista. Although I agree with one comment below in which the person talks about laptops with vista, he/she says that laptops have (mostly have) 2gb max ram and most of them have shared graphics, the only solution to this problem is to spend more euro/dollars/pounds on laptops so you can run vista smoothly, or else the laptop manufactures will have to make laptops more upgradeable so the user can upgrade things like graphics cards, cpu,s, etc. In case anyone is wondering my computer is as follows: Intel core 2 duo e6600 @ 2.4Ghz, BFG geforce 8600 GTS and 2 gb ram.

[prince10bee]

I agree accept for Vista. I upgraded (well, got a new system) to Vista (Ultimate) and will proudly say (in my own opinion), this is truly the ultimate PC expieriece.

[friends_rulz]

I don't undestand what people have against windows vista. I have been using it since November 06 (when it was still in beta) and I find it much easier to use than xp. I have had far less problems with windows in general ever since upgrading to vista. I can't wait until all the computers in my house get vista. It is a great system.

[bambootoy]

I still use my old Handspring Platinum PDA as a tool, and don't even bother using the 'built-in' PDA in my smart phone.... Why? (1) Flash card backup (easily removable); (2) a collection of small, precisely targeted mini-programs easily accessible via icons; (3) triple A batteries; (4) the initial version of Graffiti. But the forgotten factor is INTEGRATION... not the usual one, but the integration of the device and my own nervous system! I'm integrated into its approaches and it is integrated into my life! Change creates slowdowns, bottlenecks, inefficiencies, etc, and if one is TRULY interested in productivity -- and not change because one is simply bored -- old has its inherent advantages.... Oh, another thing: with separate PDA and cellphone, if one goes down (or gets lost) I lose the functionality of half my productivity boosters. If both functions are integrated into one device, lose one and you lose the whole enchilada. In a world of tradeoffs, I like the security of separating things, and not building a complicated house of cards in which everything can collapse in one fell swoop. So let's DIS-integrate, let's put benefit ahead of feature bloat, let's stay lean, and let's put dependability on a higer pedestal. That means avoiding the new, complicated, fully integrated, and 'challenging' product except in specific situations....

[salmanj1]

First things first.... Vista is great!
sure... it's a bit heavy but, if you have the right hardware, vista works like a charm!

The zune is great! The only downside is the price!
people complain about the bluetooth! how it should be open and not zune to zune
uhh.... guys shut up! at least you have it!

The iPod! The revamped interface rocks!! Though it makes the iPod a bit slower...
Overall it's cheaper for those who wont really use the AV out
It's got more features than the previous gen and hence, it's a better deal.

With the iPod you have standard accessories e.g. you can use the last gen headphones on any of the last gen iPods. This gen introduced the iPod touch (the iPhone without the phone...). The iPhone had a problem, there needed to be as little cables involved as possible so they made one standard port instead of two... and the iPhone clone (iPod touch) had one port. Hence... The new iPods have ONE Port...

NOW GET OVER IT!!!

Lastly...
The hotmail issue!

I left Yahoo as soon as i signed up.... which was in the 90's
I left Hotmail as soon as i signed up.... on gmail
I left gmail... NEVER!!!


Cant really say anything about quicken, Linksys WRT54G and Mega-megapixel cameras because i havent really used em'

[rkinne01]

Vista has gotten such a bad rap. I, like a previous poster, have been using Vista since the beta. I feel much of the negative press out there is from outdated information or from uneducated sources. Problems with Vista stem from people who don't do thier homework before upgrading or ignore warnings to remove programs before upgrading from XP.

Vista is an upgrade in every sense of the word, I don't agree with the author at all! Vista looks better, has better security, new features, easier networking, and host of other features that can't be duplicated very well in XP. I just don't see where the "downgrade" is.

[mattumanu]

I'm about to leave Cnet. I'm tired of autoplaying video ads.

[RDH7]

I AGREE!!!! Gone are the early days of computing, when everybody eagerly awaited upgrades to see what new features would be offered. Most programs now already offer more features than we will ever learn to use!
I think most people now view program upgrades with a good deal of suspicion. We already know how to use the old version.... so what will the new version offer that makes it worth the hassle of learning a new program? The whole point of a computer is to make your work easier! New versions often make your work harder, and offer very little in return!
Vista is an obvious case, but Office 2007 is even worse! Why should I need to start over in learning how to work with programs like Word and Powerpoint? I've used them for years, and can easily do everything I need to do! Office 2007 adds nothing that I need, but makes it much harder to do what I do! I have to re-learn how to do basic things, and the new Powerpoint often messes up my older presentations I try to open. How is that an improvement??? I'm seriously looking at alternatives... including Apple!
Another example for your list is Paint Shop Pro!!! It was the easiest graphics program around, and I loved it... in version 5!!! I've tried the newer versions, including the current version... and they don't compare! Especially since Corel bought the program, it's become bloated, much slower, and buggier! I've gone back to my old copy of version 5! I want to teach a class in computer graphics, and my preference would be to teach Pain Shop Pro, but version 5 is no longer available for students to buy! So instead... I'm having to take the time to learn Adobe Photoshop Elements!!!
I know there are a lot of people who feel this way. I would urge companies like Microsoft and Corel to at least make earlier versions available as an option for those who prefer them! It might hurt their pride to admit that their much hyped upgrade is not universally considered an improvement, but I think they would see profits increase!

[sphinxqqg]

I would also have to dissagree that Vista is a Downgrade from Windows XP. The new operating system does have its faults i will admit but the advantages heavily outway the faults. I work tech support and take calls every day about both Vista and Xp systems. I find that the majority of my customers that call in and are angry about Vista are normaly not mad because of a problem that it has created on thier system but because thier nieghbor, or "tech" friend has informed them that they made a poor choice and that Vista was not a wise choice. Having been told this they blame thier self created problems on Vista. I personaly have owned three diffrent Vista systems already. My first a 3 year old HP Laptop that i ran the beta on before it was released. The second system a toshiba laptop that shipped with WinXp Media Center Edition I UPGRADED to Vista 64 bit edition, and most recently my currenty system Dell XPS 1330 running Vista Ultimate 32 bit edition. I have a lot of Vista experience.....WHAT I WOULD NOT DO WITH VISTA is buy Vista upgrade and install it over top of my existing installation of XP expecting all of my old programs and printer that first came out about when windows 3.1 was released to function perfectly. Vista is a new program and deserves to be installed fresh...backup pictures, bank records, and personal files, and wipe out your old hard drive and install it fresh. Make sure you have all of the Vista Compatable drivers before doing so....if you can't find them for any pieces of your system you plan on useing than simply don't puchase the upgrade. If you install Vista fresh and install all the Vista capable drivers your system will run like a dream. Don't expect it to be fast unless you have at least 2 gig of ram and a dual core processor, and a graphics card with at least 128 Mbs of ram. 2 gig of ram is not a lot these days...you can buy it anywhere for about 50 bucks. Even better purchase a system that came preinstalled with Vista and save yourself the trouble of the driver hunt. Anyways I could talk about Vista all day. If you buy it and are optimistic it will work for you, if your willing to learn the new menues.

[dborg]

I'm both surprised and not at the number of users happy with Vista. I too was one of the anit-Vista group. I had the betas(ultimate) loaded as dual-boot on an older PC, and then as dual boot on my new PC (Home Basic that I got from HP through the Vista upgrade coupon). I had upgraded my cpu to AMD64X2, 2gb, ATIx1300, and finally bought a new hard drive, upgraded to Premium, and loaded everything from scratch.

And I have been very pleased with Vista since. Yes, you need the hardware, but I remember putting XP on my old W98 Celeron PII 466, and needing to get memory and graphic card upgrades before it was smooth. Then Media Centre upped the anti again. Even at work, we didn't attempt to update our NT4 or W2k machines to XP - we waited until the computers refreshed and could handle XP. Even the new PCs were bought with W2k for about 2 years before we were at a point we could start the XP rollout. As with the W98 to NT4, to W2k moves, we had many apps and h/w that had to be replaced/upgraded to work with XP.

Funny thing, why can't scanners and Web cams work with new O/S's. The two pieces of hardware I had to upgrade at home when I moved from W98 to WXP were the exact one's that had issues when moving from XP to Vista. One last item was my haupauge tv tuner. It did make the jump from W98 to WXP, but didn't cut it for Vista. Oh well, I bought it in 2000 - and it was time for a remote. Tigerdirect had a $20 card w/remote that worked with Vista right away - can't beat that.

I agree that probably most of the writers still hung up on XP are 20 somthings who only know one O/S. Anyone I know who is a non-geek, say they love their new Vista PCs. Listening to these people were the first nudge I had to give Vista another try, and now I am sold.

And my daughter is upset the new PC I just build for her doesn't have Vista. She's been using the one with Vista from time to time, and like's it more than her XP Media Centre 2005. I was just using my old AMD64-3500 and 1gb DDR ram with an inexpensive mobo to boost her old machine, but looks like I'll be getting a copy of Vista for her too (and now I know what O/S she'll want next year on her laptop for College.)

Give it up, Vista's here to stay. (and yes, we have an old ""browsing" PC in the den where I give the many Linux versions a go from time to time, but no one (or myself), ever want to use those PCs for very long, and I always end up putting Windows back on (this is where we tried the Vista betas - kids felt comfortable using these betas a lot more than they ever did using one of the Linux's).

One of the converted..............