Anyone using VISTA?

[Paul Thompson 'Hooligan']

I've just won a copy of 'Microsoft Vista Ultimate' -

Is anyone here using it? - any 'hands on' comments? (from experience as opposed to review/hearsay)

I'm not sure at present whether to install or not, but I would wipe my laptop clean first....

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

From what I have heard, RUN, don't walk away from Vista!

Microsoft seems to "invent" new problems every time they release a new OS. Also I have been "told" that Vista reports pirated software run on it to MS. (not that anyone here has a non-genuine copy of software!)

Rick

[Ian K]

Yeah, our experiences have been less than stellar. From poor driver
support to flaky behavior to flat out ugly interfaces. Software that
will not work (even Office apps).

We are very slowly going to adopt it (I work at the UC San Diego
Jacobs School of Engineering - if that makes the slow adoption
stick out further). Maybe wait a rev or two. The management tools
do not exist, so our admins even hate running it - they cannot get
any real work done.

Some of the developer blogs have been funny to read - basically they
were given Mac OSX and told to make Vista look like it. But, there was
no cohesive structure, just a bunch of independent projects that do
not mesh well at this point. And, if you dig down deep enough, the old
XP style interface pops up here and their.

Ian

[Joe T]

I have been testing the 64 bit version, on a new Intel 6600 system, driver support is patchy although most have downloadable updates, still failed to get everything running.
Not see any real performance increase, so really do wonder what the 64 aspect is actually doing, not like the old DEC Alpha 64 bit when that came out, big performance gains.
I am not a games player maybe thats where the performance ramps up, ironically though most of the grief found so far seems to be with VGA drivers.

I have heard the 32 bit version is less agressive, all the Vista packages seem to come in both 32bit and 64bit, truth is why would anyone upgrade from XP Pro to Vista 32?

I would re partiton your system and use Vista on a dual boot with your original setup.

Good luck

[Paul Thompson 'Hooligan']

Thanks guys -

All input greatly appreciated..... I'm still in two minds, I have XP Pro but it has become a bit 'slow' and I'm tempted to wipe my HDD regardless and re-configure....

I know the laptop is Vista compatible as its suitably 'stickered' and is a Core Duo T7200 with 2GB Ram and Ati X1600 video - so it shouldn't be slow. One thing though is I beta tested Office 2007 till last month, but have now had to re-install XP Office Pro as the 2007 trial period ended. Ever since, the unit has not been as slick as when first received....

Anyone got anything positive to say?

[John]

Paul,

I'm a computer consultant - that means I have to stay on top of all the new technology. I beta tested Vista for months and now have Vista Ultimate final release running on a test machine. I would not recommend deploying it right now - wait til the first service pack bug fix. I have at least two Microsoft programs that won't run under Vista - one ironically is the Microsoft Accounting Professional program. It crashes repeatedly.

A lot of the stuff that Microsoft touts such a Nero graphics features is just window glass stuff - hardly needed and just gets in the way. I'm also running the 2007 Office Suite - I'm also unimpressed with its new ribbon features. It imposes a new learning curve on those who've gotten use to navigating office's existing features.

There are a few beneficial features but none of such great benefit that you need to install Vista now!

There are also some issues with device drivers - my sound card won't work because I can't find a Vista Compatible sound driver. I have a dual Opteron machine running 32 bit Vista with 4 Gig of Ram.

One other respondent recommended loading both OS's on separate partitions with a dual boot. That's an option for sophisticated users - my advice is to wait for SP1.

John

[Keith Hardy]

Hey Paul, I ran the MS diagnostics through my system to see what they thought i would gain (given my type of usage) with a switch to Vista, and the report came back that Vista Basic was the most suitable (which I didn't see as any advantage over XP anyway)

The worst thing was, there was a whole list of software and hardware on my system which was "incompatible" or "unsupported" by Vista, so I declined to upgrade at this time.

It took months for me to get stuff working that was "unsupported" by XP so I ain't going back there anytime soon.

I am, however, after a 12 year absence, seriously contemplating a return to AppleMac.

[Doc Watson]

Only get Vista on a new computer that is compatible.... do not install on a computer that previously ran XP I've had many reports of it wiping hard drives and having many compatibility problems.

I always wait until service pack 2 comes out for an OS before even contemplating getting it. XP works well so why change it?

[PaulB]

I'm running it on my home system as well as a few "trial" system at work and I like it, although I can't claim there are any compelling reasons to upgrade.
I installed it on my home PC as an upgrade and the install was very comprehensive and seemed to work very well, although it did take a while.
I've come across a couple of programs that didn't want to run, but either running them in XP mode and/or as Admin fixed the problem. I had to update a few drivers, but the install identifies any likely problems before it starts and gives you the chance to back out.

John,
I presume you mean "AERO" and not "NERO" ?

Paul

[John]

Yes, Paul

I meant Aero rather than Nero - a senior moment or a racing mind caused the error!

Gentlemen and Ladies (are there any ladies on this site) ,

Go online to PCworld.com - they have a survey of 1,000 early adopters of Vista and what they think of it

John