when I 1st got my Dell XPS410 last winter,I was terribly confused after using XP for over 6 years…but…as I SLOWLY unraveled where everything was [ in relation to XP ],I got to appreciate Vista to the point of creating screencasts for other users to point the way.

I’m just a “casual” user and NOT an I.T.. read/send e-mail,listen/watch videos and surf around the web news services [ for contributions to my newsletter ] and occasionally burn a cd to hold that music or pictures.

I try to keep my puter free of unnecessary junk,cd’s are much better storage devices.

with XP,I had to use Zone Alarm to protect me cause as we all know,XP’s security STINKS ! XP allowed unsafe ActiveX [ check internet options,advanced ] and Vista does NOT !
XP has messenger & alerter services started as DEFAULT,Vista does NOT!

Vista has a LOT of services I love,Media Windows Player,Windows DVD maker,Windows Movie maker among several. a media junkie’s media toy store.

I don’t use Windows Mail [ renamed Outlook Express ],Windows Live Mail [ Hotmail renamed ] or Internet explorer [ prefer Firefox 3.0 ].

Vista [ like XP ] needs a little tweaking in the startup programs and whittling down the bloat [ much like XP ] but otherwise,Vista for me [ the "casual" user ] is just fine!

I think if there were DETAILED manuals,explaining where everything was and how to activate use them,there would be less complaints [ chief among them,turning OFF U.A.C. ! ] about Vista.

that’s why I’m creating Vista tutorials for my friends to spare them the confusion. once you learn how to make Vista mind YOU,you begin to appreciate all the work that went into it.

that’s not to say that Vista is perfect,by no means. it still continues to be bloatware [ Windows Journal,Windows Spaces,ect ] within the operating system.

deal with what you have,learn how to delete bloatware,learn how to use the Vista shortcuts. in short,apply a little elbow grease into making Vista YOUR servant and not the other way around.

ok,my 2 cents worth.

Hello earle.allen,
I’d like to take a look at the tutorials.
TIA, Ron

i am running vista utimate for the second time since it’s release. i uninstalled it the first time because of the uac popping up several times during a programs install, going to install a program and finding out that even though i had given myself full administrative rights that i could not install the program, half or more of my hardware did not have drives. because of the above i never got a chance to really test drive the new interface or new features. after service pack 1 was released i reinstalled vista ran the service pack and proceeded to install my programs, drives, and my own personal settings. i have to say with the exception of vista hanging once in a while(not as windows me), and quite a wait for everything to load on reboot for the most part i am happier with vista currently than i was with xp. even the uac only pops up once during an install and if i run across a program that does not want to install all i usually have to do is right click on the installer and take ownership of it, and if it is a compatibility issue wher compatibility mode do the job i usually can just run the program as administrator. so far with sp1 install i have only run into one program that i use that does not run the way it was designed to, and that is only because the regisrty hive is slightly different. yes microsoft should have waited to release vista until they created sp1 and solved it’s resource use problem(i.e. vista hanging every so often). even the uac i can live with, this coming from a person who pre sp1 would make turning off theuac one of the first things he did. as i tell a friend of mine when he has problems with xp “just remember everything the os has to do to support your hardware, third party sofdtware, and your personalized settings”.

Hello system001,
Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

I’ll most likely be taking the plunge with full steam ahead around X-Mas time when I plan on buying a new laptop. I have a brand new copy of Ultimate that I’ll be using as well.

Regards, Ron

It’s not just “small” businesses that are not making the switch to the Vista virus. The DOD world still has not switched anything to Vista on either the NMCI or the AF OALAN networks and aren’t planning on it anytime soon. They are fully aware of the added security problems in Vista and STILL don’t have it worked out MS. If only someone higher up could convince them to try an OS that is actually “tested” before it’s released instead of Microsoft’s business model: “It compiles?….Ship it!”

I purchased a new HP desktop with vista. It seemed slow with AMD 64 x2, 1 gig ram, 6150 graphics. I fresh installed the Vista Ultimate and still wasn’t impressed with the speed. I have a license for XP pro, so “downgraded” to XP and the increase in speed was surprising. I haven’t considered reinstalling vista since the performance is better. I don’t feed any less secure with XP SP3. For what it’s worth, vista isn’t really all that much different to use after you figure out where they moved stuff. Little harder to network other machines and printers, but it just takes too much horsepower for not much more capability. Just my .02

I’m treating it exactly like I treated Windows XP. Wait a year after Service Pack 1 for everything to be debugged, for peripheral makers to get off their behinds creating usable drivers and then buy a new system.

Till then, I work on my friend’s computers and help them deal with frustration and misery over unsupported hardware, marginally adequate systems and problematic current programs that just don’t quite work with Vista yet.

By the time I get it for my personal use, I’ve already been using it, have dealt with other peoples problems and don’t have to be annoyed totally out of my scull by early adopter syndrome. Might not be good for Microsoft’s income statement, but it helps me maintain my sanity.

I’ll just run that through the deweaselizer:

“Customers who _are actually still using_Windows Vista_after seeing how bloated, slow, unstable and full of DRM it is_, are seeing it and really liking it_because they’ve never used anything professional grade, or even XP, or are happy so long as AOL loads_, and having good experiences_with Windows telling them that a $300 printer and a $60 webcam they bought 3 years ago will never work again_ , and customers who_have actually tried to get Vista to do anything_are really negative about it,”

“We acknowledge that there’s a perception gap that goes on with Windows Vista_especially_in small business, but we’d also assert that, with Windows Vista, a little seeing is believing_and by that we mean, when the DOZEN $300 printers on their network print again, they will see it and believe in Vista._”
____________

From an ideological and monetary standpoint, Apple and OS X are out of the frying pan and into the fire, their hardware isn’t real impressive, and the XNU kernel and HFS+ file system are just scary, but on the level the user actually interfaces with the machine, things have a way of just working, so it still all comes together just because it’s 5 times the OS that Vista is.

Otherwise you just bought a pretty PC at a 300% markup.

I’ve used Vista Home Premium for almost a year, and I like it very much. It’s irritating that the old paths are still around, and it takes a while to stop attempting to use them and winding up nowhere. But once you get past that odd obstacle, everything is fine. Vista looks far better than XP, Windows Mail is less buggy than Outlook Express, the photo organization function is excellent (no need for a 3rd party organizer with Vista), and the OS repairs itself as a matter of course, so there is a reduced need to do diagnostics or System Restore.

The latest Word is no longer included with Works, but the student edition (which is fine for almost everyone) is inexpensive and especially nice.

I have been using Vista since January 2007, and have had no issues at all. We use it in work too. Might I remind all those who are sceptical about it, of one minor thing that seems to be overlooked by many: Windows XP had to have Service 1 released and rushed to the consumers 30 days after the product hit the shelves, and with Vista we didnt see Service Pack 1 for well over a month!

There is no difference in the type of change and difference from what the jump from 3.11 to 95, and so on……so to all you ‘Negative Nancys’ out there……get over it! Things change, its the way of the world!