Ron Schenone

Vista – My First 30 Days

Posted by on Nov 8, 2008 | 8 Comments

As I previously mentioned, I had purchased a new laptop computer that came with Vista Home Premium installed from the factory. The main reason I chose the make and model I did, was that I knew I could downgrade to XP, since the applications disks came with all of the drivers for XP as well as Vista. Like many of you, I was reluctant to use Vista, fearing that it would not perform anywhere close to how my faithful XP machine had.

So I decided to give Vista a 30 day try out and then make a decision whether to downgrade to XP or stick with Vista. I know many of you dislike Vista while others love it. Therefore I had to separate myself from my own prejudices, since I wasn’t a big Vista fan. I had used it on my test computer, but this was mainly to test. I never really used it very much to get familiar with Vista. So my first 30 days was my time to explorer Vista, give it a fair try out, and than make a decision.

I actually like Vista! [Ron runs out of the room as eggs get thrown at him.] I believe I am fortunate in that I have 3G of RAM, a dual-core processor and a fairly descent video card. SP1 I believe makes a big difference as well. My system is quick, responds well and I have had no issues at all.

I am going to keep Vista for now and continue using it. :-)

Comments welcome.

  • http://danielweb.tk computerwhiz1

    Yes, this is just another example of why you need to try things for yourself. For me Mac OS X makes more sense. Some people hate the way Vista does things, some people like. Some people don’t like the Macs, some people do. So, what ever you do when you are going to buy a new computer go try all the options, think about what you are going to use it for and make the choice that YOU will be happy with.

  • Spiff

    More power to you then, my friend!
    Ever used Vsita for mission critical situations?
    Ever fiddled with it for 20 minutes trying to get it to recognize at least one of three LCD projectors with a classroom full of laughing students?
    I will not touch that stuff ever again.

  • zenium

    I too just started using Vista on a laptop (3 weeks now). My impression?

    1) Still do not like how Vista buries some older functionality. Example: I have to think about how to find and create a new network share entries that function like a network share entries in XP My Network Places. Keep thinking it should not have to be this hard to find.

    2) I think the interface is a half complete version of the Mac OS X. There are some things that OS X just gets right and Vista is just not complete on. The network and file explorer interface is one of my examples. I like the way OS X works.

    3) Why does Vista take so much time for some seemingly simple items? First example: I wanted to see a list of all my drives. It took Vista almost 20 seconds to find the CD-ROM drive that was empty. Second example: I wanted to create a system restore point (or whatever it is called in Vista). Similar time delay problem. It took Vista almost 30 seconds to figure out there was only 1 drive on the system for a restore point. That kind of performance is unacceptable on a modern OS and modern system.

    4) the Vista route print command is nicer then XP. More useful information when trying to setup special networks.

    Bottom line. It turns out I don’t dislike Vista has much as I thought before trying it out. Yet, I think the performance and the interface falls short of expectations given the time it took Microsoft to develop.

    Will I continue to use Vista? Yes, to become more familar with it and see if I can find something that truly makes Vista a want to have OS.

  • http://www.goretsky.com/ Aryeh Goretsky

    Hello,

    I think Microsoft Windows Vista suffered at launch because of how it was marketed, because a bit of the hardware ecosystem was not ready for it (missing or poor quality device drivers) and because computer manufacturers sold computers with poorly-thought-out configurations that did not give their customers a good experience with Microsoft’s new operating system. Another reason that people criticized Windows Vista was the scope of the changes to the user interface. The Start Menu, Desktop and other user-facing Windows components got a different look, and long-time users who had years of experience navigating and working with Microsoft through an interface that had only changed incrementally since Microsoft Windows 95 and NT 4.0 were released found themselves confused, frustrated and then angry.

    That said, one can now buy a computer inexpensive with solid device drivers and hardware capable of providing a good computing experience with Windows Vista. As far as the user experience goes, It is possible to “revert” Windows Vista’s interface to get much of the “classic” functionality back, if that is how the user wants to interact with their computer.

    Regards,

    Aryeh Goretsky

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Aryeh,
    I agree. I believe that MS is still suffering for all of what you mentioned. Thanks for stopping by.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Spiff,
    Sorry to hear about your problem. Like yourself, I have been in the same situation. Not with Vista, but when the college where I taught upgraded Office with my knowledge. When the class on Word started I was presented with a completely new interface. What it taught me was to prepare before class to make sure everything was working properly. :-)

    Zenium,
    I hear you. I am not saying that Vista is 100% perfect. Yes, I’m still stumbling around as well. :-)

    Thanks for your comments. They are all appreciated.

  • Anonymous

    thanks a lot for telling me this information….
    it can help me solve my problems

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