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Windows Vista User Reviews 2007
As I eagerly await my forever delayed delivery of my new highly upspec’d Dell 1520 loaded with Microsoft Windows Vista Business, I decided to take a run around the traps to assess user reviews on Windows Vista. And the word is not as good as I had hoped. Nearly six months after the launch of Miscrosoft Windows Vista, promises of improved desktop search, graphics and security are not sufficient to overcome users angst over issues of inoperability. With Vista deemed to become the world's dominant PC operating system it seems to be a case of either learning to live with workarounds or sticking with Vista's predecessor, Windows XP. IncompatabilityEven Microsoft enthusiasts asked for early feedback on Vista are none too impressed. And it seems to stem from incompatability with peripheries such as printers and advanced Network software such as VMware, a program which provides partitioning to all multiple operating systems to run on a single machine. Being a great fan of VMWare this does not bode well for my future with Vista. Aero Eye CandyAero desktop interface is an array of translucent icons and translucent window borders. Taskbar tabs zoom, with graphical preview thumbnails showing the window's contents, all only serving to distract you from what you really want to get to....functional ???? eye candy - definitely. And it demands about three times the processing resources of XP. SecurityI sense from reviews that Vista is suffering the same self destruction from feature bloat that Trend Mico 2007 died of. There is so much crap function that most users dont want, but if you turn it off, you get continually bombarded with flashing warnings and dialog boxes every time you start up or attempt to do simple online functions. I don't need the thousand and one parental controls but Vista does not allow me to turn these off - and then leave me alone. It just feels it has to remind me...continuously. Directory StructureThe directory and file organisation, and the overall look and feel have a real Apple Mac feel [ I can hear the Mac enthusiast rebelling at this comment]. But it appears Microsoft got this bit right. Overall, search is now much faster, easy to configure and has improved indexing. NavigationThe location bars [address bars] have been changed, making it easy to navigate. Just mouse-over to reveal a button to take you back to a previous or higher location, and click. No more back-buttoning to get there. I find the scrolling menu a real pain and not good for those who already suffer from RSI. Users have found it more difficult to find programs to launch. However, the frustrating delay in opening expanding menus is gone. GadgetsCall them gadgets or widgets, the Vista sidebar, houses a collection of utilities and other apps such as clocks and timers and news feaders. Useful for some, but distracting for others. Wizards And Dialog BoxesThe user interaction with windows is now much easier and intuitive. Both dialog boxes and wizards are now cleaner, and actually quite helpful. UpgradesIt is very difficult to know which edition is right for you, and packaging and sales information is extremely poor in advising on upgrades. The Home Premium upgrade, cannot be used with Windows XP Pro, as it is not backwardly compatiable with some of XP Pros's more advanced features. It does not give the user the option to disregard, it just wont let you do it. So if you have XP Pro, your only option is a clean install, or install an old version of XP and upgrade from there. Terrific!!!. Upgrading from XP can only be done from XP SP2 Home or Media Centre Edition or Vista Home Basic. And don't expect to find the packaging or sales people much help. You will need to check this all out online first. Media TechnologyExpect an increase in noise of your laptop cooling fan, as it will run continuously to drive the hefty grahics cards supporting Aero. There have been a lot of complaints with the audio systems. Users report Creative X-Fi cards and expensive surround speaker systems no longer functioning. SummaryOverall, you are going to enjoy the entertainment value of Vista or you will hate its intrusion and incompatability. The only solution….. back to XP. Sounds similar to problems I experienced with IE 7.0; but unfortunately, reverting back to IE 6.0 was even more problematic. With MS Windows running 93 percent of PCs worldwide, [IDC] this does not bode well for computer users. As of early May 2007, Microsoft claimed it had distributed 40 million copies of Vista; how many of these are actually in the hands of users remains to be seen. Forrester Research estimates just over 12 million of 235 U.S. consumer PC’s will be running Vista by the end of 2007. As for the compatibility problems, in spite of claims that 2 million devices, such as cameras and printers, run on Vista, the real story lies with the users. So please post your experiences on the Go-Reviews blog. This post will be updated as new feedback comes to hand. Todays Word is...wait for SP1 More Information On Windows Vista
Computing Index | Windows Vista | Mac OSX Leonard | Hard Drives | Back Up | Security | Data Transfer | Firewalls | PC Utility Programs | PC TV | Home WLAN Security | Wireless Networking
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