Vista

[jon1968]

Got the option to get a new lappy in the next few weeks or take a few quid in lieu.

Quite fancy a new toy but have all the gremlins in Vista been sorted out yet?

I see Dell have stopped offering the choice of Vista or XP as an OS so I presume all is OK now? :-S

[fo3nix]

Vista: no and they never will. They're implicit in the operating system. Anyone thinking otherwise doesn't understand Vista's internal changes.

Stick with XP. Or even better, get a Mac, or choose a Dell PC running Ubuntu! (Or ideally a Lenovo!)

[rojash]

fo3nix beat me to it. As he says, most of the Vista problems are not due to "bugs" but are inherent in the design of the operating system itself. At least on their business machines, Dell are still offering a choice of XP or Vista, and they think it's important enough to flag their products with "Windows XP Optional" logo.

[anotheoldgit]

I recently heard that Microsoft are soon to launch an update pack, that should iron out the bugs in Vista.

[vehelpfulguy]

>that should iron out the bugs in Vista.

As fo3nix and rojash have made clear THEY ARE NOT BUGS, it is the overall design of the product that is wrong not just individual bugs.

After Microsoft has released XP they decided to re-design much of the internals of Windows that had not changed for many years.

This was a MASSIVE undertaking and was one of the reasons why Vista was so late in coming out.

Some of these design changes have caused the product to run very slow, and to have too many layers of security, making using it unpleasant.

The uncoming service pack will do little to change that.

[rojash]

Further to VHG's reply: All the reports I have heard from testers are that, while the service pack provides minor improvements in some areas, there is actually degradation of performance in others. What's more, while the service pack is unlikely to fix any problems people may be experiencing with drivers, some drivers which were working prior to the update, either fail completely afterwards, or need to be uninstalled and re-installed.

I wouldn't class any of that under the heading "that should iron out the bugs in Vista".

[fo3nix]

I also believe XP service pack 3 is coming out soon too, which gives some speed improvements -- further separating XP and Vista.

[jon1968]

Blimey, that�s not good is it!?!

Thanks for the heads up on ordering through the business bit on the Dell website. Wonder why they are only offering the XP option on two of the high end lappys if you order through the �Home use� bit? They must know it�s shonky!? :-S

Many thanks to all.

[fo3nix]

Hint: pressure from Microsoft.

[jon1968]

Lol Fo3nix, even I�ve heard that the worst kept secret in the world is that Gates and Dell are in bed together (in a business sense obviously!) It�s very odd that they don�t even offer the option of having XP? I bow to the superior knowledge you guys have on the subject of which OS to use but I presume it�s common knowledge in the �industry� that Vista is rubbish?

I�ve been through every �upgrade� and �improvement� since Win98 all of which have had glitches prompting the occasional moan but have quickly been resolved. I�ve never seen such universal loathing as there seems to be with Vista?

Is it just a case that Ms don�t want to admit that they�ve made a booboo and are trying to avoid egg on their face? Surely they�d make as much (if not more) from flogging an XP install as a Vista one? Are they just intent on justifying the expense of development and setting a new lower benchmark for an OS and hoping new users won�t notice?

[rojash]

"Is it just a case that Ms don�t want to admit that they�ve made a booboo and are trying to avoid egg on their face?"

Probably part of it

"Surely they�d make as much (if not more) from flogging an XP install as a Vista one?"

You've obviously not compared the retail price of a the top of the range Vista with that of XP Pro!