Inquirer..Heh that is a rant in itself...

While Vista definitely has issues (Anyone remember the initial release of XP?)

XP was not considered really stable until SP2 hit the market...

Comparing Windows ME to Vista---> Serious overkill... ME was a disaster out of the box. It was right up there with MS Bob..

I can run Vista on my machine just fine. I have no issue finding standard Vista drivers or modded ones for that matter (Video drivers)..

While Beta testing is great you cannot truly test everything until you have 20 million people using the software putting it through every potential scenario with every possible hardware configuration.


...That is why Apple has a smaller following but a significant advantage. Their hardware is nowhere near as diverse as the Windows platform machines are. Of course they are going to be fewer issues & viruses. .. While I like that aspect I prefer to have a machine I can configure in any way I want.

vista needs a chance, as do the software engineers reviewing all of the data they are collecting from users as they do run into problems. Dell definitely made a smart choice going back to offering 2 OS'es.

That said I enjoy Vista & I am slowly porting over to it while maintaining my XP partition to ensure I don't find one of their bugs & get stuck dead in the water.

If Vista was more modular (meaning critical parts of the OS were separated), the foundation was security based rather than DRM based, and supported OPEN standards I'd have a significantly more positive view of it.

It's like having a really sweet looking car but you're required to only get service through one super expensive shop, have to constantly upgrade components for no sensible reason and can only trade it in for another vehicle of the same brand. I don't think most people even understand that they are deeply entrenched in this cycle when it comes to their computer.

This part of your comment reminds me more of Apple than M$

I agree and that's part of why I don't own a mac. I think that's very true for mac hardware and also true for Ms' software model.

I'm Sick & Tried of MS, I want a MAC, an MS based System, just isn't any fun anymore to me, I need a new challenge, where I don't have to upgrade hardware everytime they come out with a new OS just keeping an MS System's Hardware up-to-date is way too expensive, and who wants to buy a new PC every time MS updates it's OS, that's just LAME I 'm tried of getting screwed twice by MS and it's hardward Vendors too.........sick-of-it!!!

In my opinion, operating systems should be compared on what they cost, what they are capable of, how easily you can make them do it, how well they do it, and what it takes to make them do it. From what I've seen & read, I'd rank the OSes like this-

For software compatibility- 1.) Windows XP, 2.) OSX, 3.) Linux, 4.) Windows Vista
For hardware compatibility- 1.) Windows XP, 2.) Linux, 3.) Windows Vista, 4.) OSX (only runs on Apple hardware)
For resource usage- 1.) Linux, 2.) OSX, 3.) Windows XP, 4.) Windows Vista
For ease of use- 1.) OSX, 2.) Windows Vista, 3.) Windows XP, 4.) Linux
For price- 1.) Linux, 2.) OSX, 3.) Windows XP, 4.) Windows Vista

so overall, the averages would say:
Windows XP- rank 2.2
OSX- rank 2.2
Linux- rank 2.2
Windows Vista- rank 3.4

While the other 3 OSes balance each other out, Vista just doesn't have enough good about it to balance the bad, in my opinion. That may very well change in the future, but for now I just don't think it's worth it.

people do that anyway. on average, a number of people buy a new machine every 2 years, and on average the long term keeping of comptuers is 5 years. XP came out in 2001

laptops are typically designed for a service life of 3 years and desktops 5. You may get more or less but that is what they shoot for.

1st off as stated above, 3 years for a lappy & 4-5 for a deskto are avg useful lifespans, though gamers ususally upgrade at least every 2 years to keep up with the most cutting edge games.


As far as "everytime the come out with a new OS"... You make it sound like they come out with something every 6 months & you are forced to upgrade to the new OS & hardware... Neither is true.

My friend is still running a P3 1GHz w/1.5GB RAM & a 9800 PRO card on XP. While he can't play the latest games he has no issues running the OS. Heck I have a P3-550 that can run XP still...


He has no need to upgrade to VIsta & M$ is not forcing him to...

Your system is not exactly a powerhouse & you should be able to run Vista just fine if thats what you want...This thread sounds more like a rant

I have a 233MHz laptop that runs XP Its only function is as a fax machine but still....