Some bumps on the road to Vista

Windows Vista has been in consumers' hands for about a week now and, while there haven't been a flood of problems, there have been a few bumps along the way.

Among the initial gripes are trouble installing or activating copies, as well as reports that the operating system isn't working quite as they expected. In addition to the sporadic reports of bugs and upgrade issues, other people are discovering that hardware and software incompatibilities are impeding their path to Vista.

Michael Cherry, an analyst with research firm Directions on Microsoft, said he doesn't expect a lot of major bugs right out of the gate for Vista, but said that smaller hurdles like incompatible software or missing hardware drivers can still make the move unpleasant.

"When I buy a Mac, I'm like a kid at Christmas; I can't wait to take it home," he said. "When I buy a Windows machine, I wonder what kind of issues am I going to have to fix. Right from the beginning, I almost have buyer's remorse."

"This is where (Microsoft's) own success comes back to haunt them. Even a small error rate becomes a big number."

--Michael Cherry,
Directions on Microsoft

In many ways, Microsoft has been more ready for Vista than for any past version. More than five million people had access to test versions of the software, meaning the company had a better chance to catch a wider array of potential compatibility issues than in the past. As for hardware drivers, there were 30,000 such drivers that shipped with Vista, more than three times the number that came with Windows XP.

With Vista coming nearly five years after XP, Microsoft has had plenty of time to try to get computer makers and the software industry ready for the new operating system. The company offered a design preview of the OS, then code-named Longhorn, six months before publicly unveiling a test version at the 2003 Professional Developers Conference. It has been working directly with the top 1,000 developers and invited many companies to come to Redmond to test their products in a secure building stocked with brownies and Xbox 360s designed to make the coders happy as they Vista-fied their products.

"In the pantheon of OS releases and Windows releases, I think we feel pretty good about the customer experience we've delivered," said Greg Sullivan, a group product manager in the Windows unit at Microsoft.

Still, there are key pieces of software, ranging from things like Apple's iTunes to virtual private network (VPN) software to disk utilities that still don't fully work with the new operating system. And plenty of hardware--items like printers and wireless cards--is missing a needed driver to work properly.

Activation trouble
For those who are making the move to Vista, one trouble area has been properly activating the new operating system. Cartoonist Mike Cope spent hours trying to get his Windows 2000-based system to move to Vista. Initially, he tried to upgrade from within Windows 2000, but that didn't work. Next, the Stoney Creek, Ontario, resident tried to do a clean installation of the software on his PC. The software installed fine, but when time came to do the product activation--a mandatory step with Vista--the process failed.

After reinstalling Windows 2000 and trying a few more things, Cope eventually found a loophole that solved his problem--installing Vista without activating it and then installing it a second time and going through the activation process. Because the software assumed he was moving from Vista to Vista, it activated successfully.

Still, Cope wasn't happy with the more than six hours he spent getting to Vista. "I should've bought a Mac," Cope said.

In theory, that method would let almost anyone install Vista using the upgrade disc rather than a full copy of the OS. However, Microsoft is not condoning such efforts.

"Microsoft is aware of that workaround and encourages all customers to follow the official guidelines for upgrading to Windows Vista," a Microsoft representative said in an e-mail. "People without a licensed copy of XP or earlier version of Windows that use this workaround are violating the terms of use agreed to when they purchased the upgrade version of Windows Vista."

While Cope eventually got himself to Vista, Brett Wasserman, a New York-based technology consultant, is still stuck on XP. He recently bought a Lenovo Thinkpad with Windows XP, making him eligible for a free upgrade to Vista. However, he has been unable to register at the fulfillment site for the offer due to a glitch with the site.

"This is where (Microsoft's) own success comes back to haunt them," said Directions on Microsoft's Cherry. "Even a small error rate becomes a big number."

The little things
For the vast majority who have upgraded their PC without incident, there are still little things that aren't quite as expected. Some MP3 players, for example, aren't properly being recognized. One person found that his Black Eyed Peas track, which displayed fine in XP, showed up in Vista's Windows Media Player with all of its metadata in Chinese.

Sullivan said that Microsoft is looking into the reports of problems as they come in.

"We know there will always be a few instances" of problems, Sullivan said. "What we are trying to do now is identify and resolve these as quickly as we possibly can."

Vista itself tries to solve problems when it can. For software that doesn't install properly, for example, the operating system can try again by changing some settings that often block otherwise compatible programs from installing properly. The software now prompts people to go online for updates as part of their installation, meaning that those who install Vista next week will have more drivers available than those who did so on day one. Microsoft has also added an update to Vista that improves compatibility for dozens of programs, particularly games, but also including other programs ranging from Microsoft Money 2006 to Adobe Systems Creative Suite CS2.

In some cases, software that doesn't work is an annoyance, but in other cases, it can be a deal-breaker.

"Take the case of the college student who uses exam software which runs (only) on XP--that individual can't upgrade," Cherry said. "Even for noncorporate users, there are these blocking programs that can get in your way."

[maccam--2008]

their own success

"This is where (Microsoft's) own success comes back to haunt them.
Even a small error rate becomes a big number."

success = preditory monopoly

Or this is where trying to keep or update millions of lines of
bloated spagetti code bites them in the behind!

[UltraMegaChicken]

One size cannot fit all

When you upgrade a Mac, you upgrade one platform, one OS, and a vastly smaller variety of hardware which needs specific drivers to enable the OS to interact with it.

With Windows you have a significantly wider audience which includes but is not limited to the average consumer, business and enterprise, education, government, industry, and so much more.

Who is the average consumer anyway? Is it me, a guy who runs many web servers at home and in data centers, who works with technology? Or is it my mom, who some how manages to mess up her computer the moment I drive away to go back home? Is it you?

How many video cards are there on the market for PC today? How many scanners are there are the market for PC today? How many ___________ are on the market today?

People want to be able to quickly and easily be able to do things like buy a camera, plug it in, throw a disc in the drive and instantly upload pictures. It is through convenience that the risk of problems becomes apparent.

There is an undeniable correlation between usability and security. The more secure something it is, the less "easy to use" it becomes. The scale tips the opposite direction of course as you decrease security.

We all know MS is notorious for beta testing on the public, but I actually give them just a little bit of slack on this one. First of all, most of the criticism on security is as of its actual release, not impacting - that is, no one has lost anything due to it. Proof of concept needs to be taken seriously, and MS to their credit I must confess has done a much better job at seeking to find problems.

By hiring hackers (white hat?) for goodness sake, they were absolutely showing that they took security very serious. They read these blogs, they know what the concerns are.

I agree that MS has in the past done a miserable job and providing folks not like me, but like my mom with the security that they need. I have never been the victim of ANY malware, despite my pervasive use of the internet, not always trying to even avoid the potentially harmful sites and content out there. Despite my best efforts, laughing out loud, I have never been the victim and I use Windows XP.

Lots of little brats seem to jump on the band wagon to poke a stick and the big dog. One person called MS a predatory monopoly? He must be a Mac user... or is he a Linux user. No matter, it is just someone whining.

I work in IT and I simply cannot imagine a world without MS, which has made our economy so much stronger, and has provided for better or worse, a working and reliable framework and platform for the average consumer, the business and enterprise users, and all other users to become familiar with.

If Mac was the dominate force, what do you think the cost of a computer would be today? Any guesses? How out of reach would they be for the average consumer? If Linux were.... ah forget that one, which Linux would be the question.

[poeziile12]

Normal to hear that

Normal to hear that, every road has some bumbs, like in life <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.poeziile.com" target="_newWindow">http://www.poeziile.com</a>

Why should be here different?

[jaximflash]

Upgrade from Vista Ultimate 32 bit to 64 bit?

Here's another problem with the Vista Launch...

I recently bought a new computer pre-installed with Vista Ultimate. However, the version installed on the computer is the 32 bit version, and I would like to have the 64 bit version installed seeing as how the computer can handle that version. With the 32 bit version, I can only install up to 4 Gigs of RAM, even though my new motherboard can handle up to 8 Gigs of Ram. My new computer even has a 64 bit processor.

If you buy the retail stand alone version of Vista, Vista Ultimate comes in the 2 flavors (32 and 64 bit) on the same DVD. However, if you buy a new computer, there's no way to change from 32 bit to 64 bit, even though most of Microsoft's literature says you should probably be able to do this with no fee. The computer manufacturers are not ready to handle such a request and Microsoft should have better prepared them.

Plus, I just asked my computer manufacturer (Gateway) about this and they were no help. According to the following Microsoft site, the 64 bit version should be available to those with the 32 bit version. The page obviously assumes you bought the retail version; although, it doesn't specifically say anything if your version of Vista came from a new computer.
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/64bit.mspx" target="_newWindow">http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/64bit.mspx</a>

Theoretically, if I had bought a computer with Vista Home Premium preinstalled, I would be able to upgrade to Vista Ultimate. However, there is no upgrade path from Vista Ultimate 32 bit to 64 bit. Here's another page which says I should be able to upgrade from one version of vista to another. But again it says nothing about being able to upgrade from 32 bit version of Vista to the 64 bit version:
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/windowsanytimeupgrade/overview.mspx" target="_newWindow">http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/windowsanytimeupgrade/overview.mspx</a>

Microsoft should really have information on how to upgrade from a preinstalled version of Vista Ultimate 32 bit to 64 bit, or if is is even possible to do so. As it stands right now, I'm prepared to return my new computer.

[Lindy01]

If you have the standard Vista DVD

it is all about your key. I have a DVD that says Vista Buisness upgrade.

Yet when I use the clean install workaround and I dont enter a key during install, the next screen asks me to pick which version I have a key for.....and all versions are shown including a Ultimate. It will work for 30days and then I need a key.

If Gateway gave you a rebuild DVD then I dont know what they did to it.

[jaximflash]

SOLVED - Upgrade to 64 bit

A fellow blog poster pointed me to a Microsoft website which details how someone who has a 32 bit version pre-installed on their computer can request a 64 bit DVD for a small nominal fee.

So if your new computer CAN handle the 64 bit Operating System, then this web page is for you...

<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/1033/ordermedia/default.mspx" target="_newWindow">http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/1033/ordermedia/default.mspx</a>

[ALMRev]

Windows VISTA

Just another reason to switch to the Linux operating system.....

[epabon]

Vista strinks

I attempted to upgrade Vista Business on a recently purchased laptop labeled Vista-compatible. After over 12 hours of frustration, I returned to XP. I do not view problems such as One Care blocking access to the internet, elimination of printer connections, corruption of drivers, etc. as "bumps." Even after installation, I did not see any new advantage to vISTA. It is "pretty" but not a major step if your XP is up-to-date.

[eldernorm]

Hmmmmm?

Microsoft, all Bumps, all the time!

[eddddd89]

Onecare isn't compatible.

This Could easily be the source of your problem.

[fred dunn]

Early Adopters, You wanted it & you got it....

Vista is not even going to be complete until after at least Service Pack 1. Drivers that should have been native to the OS were not included and in their rush to get it out the door they failed to give the application and utility developers enough time to develop and test against the RTM version.
So deal with it or uninstall it.

[geistman]

64-bit drivers

Have you checked with the manufacturer to see if there are 64-bit drivers for all components of your new system? It's possible that one or more of the audio, video, network, or other component does not have a driver yet that runs under 64-bit Vista.

[erichmercado]

Windows Vista New Distribution Model

I think the reason why most users who tried to upgrade to Windows Vista encountered some issue such as compatibility and activation is because with the different settings of the current OS such as Windows 2000 or XP and hardware setup by the computer manufacturer. The setup of HP computer is different from IBM/Lenovo.

In my opinion, to lower or eliminate the instance of having issue installing, upgrading and activating Vista, Microsoft should make a new distribution model. For example, if I use a fairly new IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad laptop, I have to buy Vista from IBM/Lenovo with correct set of drivers and settings for the hardware. In this case, I will encounter fairly small number of problems.

This is the reason why Mac OS works very well with Macs because the setup is intended for the hardware.

[rcrusoe]

"I should've bought a Mac,"

I bet a lot of people will be saying that when they realize they could have been happily using a Mac, but instead they are struggling to get Microsoft's copy of it to work.

[eldernorm]

Macs?

Rcrusoe,
You might think that, but after reading a number of replys here and elsewhere, Microsoft users seem happy with a terrible experience. If they can eventually get it to "sort of work" they are delighted.

I bought a Mac some time ago and while I use a pc at work (they have an IT dept to support it ) I am more than happy using the Mac. Call me lazy! :-)

[rapier1]

So

I have Vista. I never had a problem with it except during the pre-
Beta 2 testing period. There are, obvioulsy, some driver issues
out there. However, thats because MS doesn't control the
hardware. Apple, in contrast, does and for the most part Apple
knows *exactly* what sort of hardware you'll be using and only
needs a very small set of drivers to support it. In contrast, the
fact that there are 30,000 drivers shipped with Vista and there
are still some people that aren't covered illustrates the wide
ranges of choices a Windows user has available to them.
Obviously this can create problems with increased complexity
but for many people the expanded choice is worth it to them.

I suppose MS could have done what Apple does and say "We will
only support these 50 or so devices, everything else is up to
you." Of course, this would have been decried by the same
people who are complaining now.

Honestly, I like my Mac - I really do. I'm buying another. But I'm
not giving up my Windows box either. OS X is good for work
type things - but for fun and games and general mucking about?
Windows is *much* better.

[cooldogjones]

M$ has no excuse...

...With all the money and resources they have there is no excuse
for them not having Vista ready. The drivers, network
connections, etc. should have worked natively out of the box.
They've had 5 years to work with developers.

Here this Billy G. you really, "screwed the pooch" on this one.
You are helping Apple Inc. out by pushing your customer base
over to the MacOS. Ease of use and reliability are essential in
operating systems today and you somehow managed to screw it
up. I guess you couldn't copy MacOS X in all its glory.

[cooldogjones]

correction for Here and I meant Hear

oops!

[eldernorm]

MS mess up.

I have to totally agree here. I understand about minor errors or ommissions vs drivers etc, but plan for it.
Send people to the net automatically to get the latest drivers or what ever.
Have MS people ready to help you get running, not to give you a hard time.
Vista that will not let you activiate unless you install twice and then fake an upgrade??? And Microsoft says, don't do that, use the official BROKEN method. "Your Pain, Our Money NOW"

[eldernorm]

To Ina about the article

Interesting article. But:
I understand about being neutral vs for or against Microsoft when you write an article, but for crying out loud.......

When you sell software (5 billion dollars and 5 million testers - yea right!) and people are having major problems installing and activating it, there is something major wrong.

OK, maybe only 4 people world wide are having problems (sure!) but we seem to be hearing about every single one that has a problem. Maybe its a LOT MORE than that. Maybe Bill Gates ranting about Apple and saying that MS invented parent controls, and everything else, is an indication of just how much trouble MS is really in.

I am thinking its way past time to Sell any Microsoft shares before they drop even further.JMHO.

N.

[Frodo420024]

Too much beta for me

I remember anticipating Windows XP like crazy. I saw how Linux users had a rock-solid system with good multitasking - and, with a little care, the driver support they needed. I was forced by my job to stay on Windows 98!

XP lived up to its promises. Rock-solid, more resilitent to virus, good.

Enter Vista. I'm the first mover in my office, and I'm disappointed.

While the new looks is great, the driver support is worse than that of XP (probably because of so many new devices out there), and there are lots of strange changes in the user interface that are over-engineered.

Then there's a bunch of programs refusing to work, more of a problem than with Win98 (most of those programs actually still work today). That's manageable, there are alternatives.

My greatest annoyance is probably all the little crashes from various Windows components, like COM Substitute or the print spooling system.

Finally, I had the system hang completely a couple times.

If this was a service pack, I'd complain to Microsoft about regressions. Now it's a new OS, and I expect a bug-fix service pack to come discreetly out the door quite soon, hopefully before summer.

Paying for this 'upgrade'? Nope. Rather buy a Mac.

[Tech38]

Vista is useless

I have been a loyal Microsoft user for 20 years and I am completely shocked and dismayed by the piece of garbage that Microsoft is trying to pawn off on the unsuspecting public.

By making so many application programs obsolete, including many of their own games, they have made the ultimate mistake that generally befalls monopolistic companies: they have taken their market for granted.

You cannot force product changes down peoples throats. Tomorrow I will buy a Mac for the first time in my life.

[eddddd89]

Do you mean COM Surrogate?

This is the one complaint that I hear from vista users.

[imacpwr]

Happy I switch to a Mac..!!

Vista's just a cheap OS X rip-off, glad after 10yrs on a pc that last
year I finally made the move to a Mac.
Once you go Mac,
you never go back..!!

[m_k_321]

vista is unsuccessful clone of mac OSX

its my case too ive been on pc's for 12 years since the generation
of dos i know pc's verry well but mac's did realy prove to me from
the first time how organized and easy to use.it costy but worth it
believe me

[thebadguy0]

Mac Attack

Soooo what you are saying is that you enjoy spending twice as much on a Mac to get a simmilar OS and the same hardware (mac-tel) as I do on my PC? Wow...you truly are a Mac user then.

[Andisar]

They are all clones

They all stole the orignial GUI from XEROX. What is your point?

[Andisar]

They are all clones

They all stole the orignial GUI from XEROX. What is your point?

[dirk goedseels]

and you're not the only one

<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?" target="_newWindow">http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?</a>
command=viewArticleBasic&#38;articleId=9010759&#38;intsrc=hm_ts_hea
d

[wolivere]

Dejavoo

It should never be a surprise at the "Sky is Falling" news mentality on anything Microsoft does.

Heck, today people talk about how solid XP is and how it runs so many old things, and this and that and its so secure *cough*

Yet even just a quick search of cnet.com

<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://news.com.com/2100-1001-257094.html" target="_newWindow">http://news.com.com/2100-1001-257094.html</a>

Its not hard to find how many people did this same tap and dance when XP came out. And when it did the dam driver going to go linux going to go mac.

Heck even the huge research firm Gartner...

"Research firm Gartner predicts that most consumers won't switch operating systems until they buy new PCs. Gartner predicted tepid initial sales, which would be in line with the lukewarm reception received by Windows Me and Windows 2000 last year. "

Should we just cut and past XP with Vista? Yet today XP is a huge sucess.

Wait CNET from XP Launch.

"There are massive driver issues, and Intel's changing processor road map creates problems as well," he said. "Bottom line, Windows XP is nowhere near ready for release."

Wait what was that?

Wait do you mean when XP came out CNET was bemoning the new technology and "Needed Hardware Upgrades?"

<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://news.com.com/2100-1001-269085.html" target="_newWindow">http://news.com.com/2100-1001-269085.html</a>

Or wow do we really need XP or SP2 or just stick with 98?

<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6142_102-0.html?forumID=5&#38;threadID=88650&#38;messageID=999006" target="_newWindow">http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6142_102-0.html?forumID=5&#38;threadID=88650&#38;messageID=999006</a>

I'm sure people love to just try and work on the "Sky is falling" lets take down the big guy parade...etc..etc. bable.

I still remeber well the early 80's when everyone rooted for MS to take down IBM and the Mainframe world.

Sure some people will have issues. Heck after 27 years in IT, I have seen people screw up putting a floppy in a drive.. so yes I am sure some people will have most entertaining ways of messing up an OS install. And then watch the news grab it and run with it as a huge flaw.

Heck I saw the LinuX Vista news here, with the editor showing how the Linux Version was using only 100mb of ram and Vista 800mb.

Maybe I cant do math but the screen shot showing only 100mb used is a little odd

<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.desktoplinux.com/files/article111/mepis-memory.jpg" target="_newWindow">http://www.desktoplinux.com/files/article111/mepis-memory.jpg</a>

But heck why would we want to report correct information. It does not make for cool talk back forums.

[TheShane]

Amen!

Amen!

[herkamur]

Linux memory footprint

Just FYI, my SuSE 10.0 Linux with KDE boots up and logs in using 150 MB of RAM. I have a few extra daemons running so the original default installation would be somewhat less (maybe 20 MB less).

I'm just pointing out a fact and not promoting any OS. I run Windows, Linux and OS X at home.

[realistic1]

Well done.

Things never change.

[GreyClaw]

I second that..

AMEN!

[newsman71]

So far, very happy with Vista

I bought a new computer recently that came preloaded with Vista Home Premium and so far I have been very pleased. I have a Wacom drawing tablet that worked perfectly from the moment I plugged it in. Networking has been a breeze. It took a few minutes to find an alternative driver for my HP printer, but nothing serious. The only hardware problem I've had is my old Canon flatbed scanner for which there is no new driver. This is no big deal in my book as I have been sorely in need of an upgrade. Most of my old software likes Vista fine. I've only had one compatibility problem (out of something like 20 installs) -- and again it was something relatively obscure. Incidentally, Aero is not nearly as resource intensive as I've been led to believe.

[ThePenguin]

No Problems here

I have installed Vista Ultimate on my Gigabyte C2D system, no problems, no issues, went as smooth as any XP install. Recognized all of my hardware, and Aero is actually quite usable with the GMA3000 integrated intel graphics.

If you buy some no name crap hardware, you will probably won't be a smooth transition.

The computer I built, mentioned above cost a total of $750. Gigabyte GA-965G-DS3 + Intel C2D 6400, 1GB DDR2-800, 250GB WD SATA2, Samsung SHA182 18X DVDRW w/ lightscribe. No problems at all. The same people would have problems installing XP.

[WJeansonne]

Yes, Love Vista, but not peripheral vendors

They are dragging their feet with drivers. Right now, I can't use two HP scanners and three HP printers with my Vista. And HP said I can forget about trying to hook up my HP 6300c scanner to Vista--forever. The link suggested I replace a perfectly good scanner.

[erichmercado]

Yes, Love Vista, but not peripheral vendors

Did you try to install the drive for Windows XP or 2k? Because in my case, I install the XP driver for my Canon scanner and it worked fine. Just curious.

[ajbright]

Too soon

Its way to soon for anyone to get Vista. As a long time M$ user I've come to expect certain things from them - like the first release of every OS they produce is beta only.

SP1 is the equivalent of a proper release, SP2 the bug fix for that release.

As for Macs, do people still buy those? I'm surprised Apple still haven't found you and sued your ass. I realise Jobs has strong ties with the movie industry, but you'd think he would know that suing his own customers and fan sites is not exactly a mark of genius when it comes to customer relations. A quick look at the list of customers, Mac developers and Apple fan sites he has sued over the last couple years is enough to put me off ever owning anything made by Apple. The hypocrisy of it all leaves a stink as far as I'm concerned.

[drfrost]

Much as I hate to admit it....

Easily over 90% of the problems I have with MS windows actually comes down to drivers and hardware. For such a complicated system, and such a wide array of supported devices, they actually do an incredible job on QA.

[thebadguy0]

Switch?

Ok. To which "flavor" would you have me switch to?

[thebadguy0]

Switch?

Ok. To which "flavor" would you have me switch to?

[open-mind]

www.ilovemymacthesong.com

Maybe Vista needs a song like that.

Likewise, maybe Zune needs a song like this:

www.ilovemyipodthesong.com

[inachu]

this should not be the consumers concern.

Why the heck didn't these companies contact Microsoft and make their product work with VISTA on time?!?!!?!? NVIDIA still in beta.

I refuse to even try ATI.
The top 3 drivers that should have ben stable are:
Hard drive drivers
Video drivers
Wireless drivers

[GreyClaw]

It's Hard to believe that such inane comments

...can come from (supposedly) intelligent people.

"...I'm a long-time WIN user n' I tried to install Vista and couldn't so I went and spent EVEN more money on a Mac (machine and software)"

"Vista is just a clone of OS X"

That's the type of bull$#%t reasoning that is on the level of to 5year olds arguing over whose Hot Wheels are cooler...

Where have you people been for the last thirteen years?

Change is difficult, drastic change is MORE difficult. Duh!
When Win95 landed, you heard of similar problems and complaints, and with Win2000, and with XP.

Somewhere along the way, my meager intellect clued me into the fact that maybe, just maybe I should NOT rush out and spend hard earned money (even if it was just $1) on untested product THE DAY IT COMES OUT, because there might be some unforseen issues. Maybe to preserve my sanity, (and not waste my money) I'll wait a bit and let some of the issues be ironed out. After all the software isn't going anywhere, more and more developers will have the time to retrofit/rebuild their products correctly and without the rush, and any necessary parts I might need will gradually get cheaper. It's a win-win-win (pun not intended) situation for me.

Put another way, why pack my stuff and move out of a perfectly fine, fairly well maintained building to move into the one next that still has scaffolding and unfinished walls and uitilities just cuz the building's new and promises to be cutting edge?

Funny thing about the phrase "cutting edge"... It's bandied about for all sorts of thing but people tend to forget the implication of it. Ride the cutting edge wrong, and you will bleed...

Sorry, but M$ didn't threaten anyone with death if they buy Vista, and if the "edge" turned on you and you are gushing right now, 55% of the blame lies with you.

I (as many other people) have spent a great deal of time understanding and mastering XP. My PC screams along, happily tackling every heavy task I throw at and sneers "is that all you got?" and apart from some issues with the new MSN Messenger and Quicktime 7, hasn't crashed since I built it. I ran the Upgrade Advisor just for giggles on my PC and was informed that my Audigy 2ZS sound card and GeForce 7 graphics card didn't make the cut, and I thought, "another reason to wait awhile." Common sense. I also haven't caught a PC virus since I switched from Win98. Why? Again, common sense. A PC is a dumb machine that is dependent on the superior computer--the user's brain--to keep it running properly.

If any of that escaped you, you bought Vista already, you got burned and NOW you are "going Mac"--not because they are superior (they aren't) but out of spite? Go ahead. The rest of the thinkers will carry on without you just fine.

As for all the morons trumpeting the "Windows it copying blah-blah blah... What do you expect to happen? Whoever is first gets imitated. Plus
it is the hardware that drives things like the Aqua/Aero implementation. I doubt the techs and designers of both companies sit in a vault cooking up these things from scratch. They all go to the same symposiums and meet with the same hardware people and see the same tech demos get, lobbied by some of the same venders get inspirations from the same media, and go "Aha! I think this would be cool!" and then the race is on to see who can bring it to market first.

What? Because Apple won that particular race, 20 years from now every other OS maker should be stuck with an XP like interface? Don't be stupid.
I remember all the "Macs are faster, ...more powerful than PCs", crap from the past, then Apple slinking over to suckle the same intel teet as almost every over PC maker and then claiming the same performance 'increases' that PC owners had known all along.
If you are going to be "revolutionary" expect to be copied. So then it is your responsibility to patent what you can, get the product to the widest audience possible(Apple did this with iPods), watch what twist your imitators come up with that are worthwhile and update your product where you can, and of course try to have something better waiting in the wings.

[helgers7]

You're right it is hard to believe

It's hard to believe that some people take it to such extremes.
This insane competition about which is better, well guess what,
nobody cares. I'm a Mac user and have been all my life. Now,
thats not to say that I don't use Windows. In fact, I have XP
installed on my MBP because I'm an Engineering student and I
need to run a few programs that aren't available for OSX.
However, I don't suffer under the delusion that Windows is in
any way superior to OSX, it's not. Now I haven't used Vista yet,
but I've kept a close eye on it to see what would develop, and it
is a good looking interface no doubt, but the fact of the matter
is that many of its "new" features are ones that have been
available on a mac for years. Now it does make sense to copy
such a successful interface like OSX, but they don't need to deny
it. As far as the idea that apple "slinking over to suckle the same
intel teet as almost every over PC maker and then claiming the
same performance 'increases' that PC owners", you take a
pentium 4 and run it against a G5, which I remind you were from
the same time period, and see which one comes out on top. In
addition to that, this supposed massive price difference is
completely untrue. You couldn't a PC that is truely comparably
equiped for much cheaper, and, for that matter, I read a story on
the fact that the Mac Pro is actually cheaper than a Dell of the
same caliber. My point is, there's a reason that every graphic
desinger or editor uses a mac, because they understand that it is
a more powerful system for working on graphics and most other
things for that matter. So get over yourself, you clearly don't
know everything, and neither do I, but one thing I do know is
that while I have never once got a virus on OSX, it took me all of
two days to get one on my Windows partition. Maybe you
people should think about that when you say OSX isn't more
secure.

[dansterpower]

See my Sad Post Below

Sadly, you are the mistaken one.

[ArtG1248]

"I wish I bought a Mac."

The same people since 1985 have been beating Windows with their complaints (if they were born then) and moaning that that "they should have bought an Mac."
I wish the two goofs in this article would and go away to Happy Mac World where everyting is roses and they have nothing to complain about. Right? They would be much happier people. No? You say not.... couldn't earn a living complaining about Macs? Oh, that's right, Apple is now making PCs too. Do they have Windows on them?

[flashfast]

Truth Hurts

As a windows user of 7 years who finally swtiched to mac, all I
can say is that apple is doing a public service pointing out their
pride in their product. Would you have them praise how
wonderful the windows experience is after they've used a mac?
It's like promoting the joy of herpes is to the local parish
congregation - I'm just surprised that there are people still
believing it.

[spgoodman]

Irresponsible Pundits...

Lord knows there's a ton of them in every corner of the planet. But I expect better than this from c/net...

"an analyst ... doesn't expect a lot of major bugs right out of the gate for Vista, but said that smaller hurdles like incompatible software or missing hardware drivers can still make the move unpleasant."

He states something so mundane as to be nearly matter-of-fact to the world outside this interview, but laces it with anti-MS Lite with a slight swipe about 'incompatible software'. Examples of such are usually good reading at least. When was the last time one had this problem on a new Windows update-install that was done correctly?

The bit about drivers must have been just to fill space in the article. It's general knowledge these days amongst anyone who does a Build that you have your current-as-possible drivers present before opening the OS box.

What was the purpose of this article besides tossing small chunks of poo?

[GrahamSivill]

Mac Users Running Scared Now!

The Apple fanboys must be running scared, judging by the amount of anti Windows stuff on Apple's site and all this rubbish here.

[flashfast]

Rubbish

Show me a mac user who is going to switch to Vista and I'll show
you my flying pig!