Poll: XP vs Vista (2008)

[johnsal914]

I have to agree with you Spawn. I too have Vista 64-Bit (Ultimate). I have not had any major issues. I love DreamScene and the clean look of Vista. The only thing I am irritated about is the UAC (User Account Control. It gets pretty annoying having to consistantly accept a certain program from running on my PC. It would be nice to have a Properties tab for UAC where you can manually select which programs you want UAC to ignore. I understand the need for security and I do not want to fully disable it but wish there was a way to black list and whitelist programs (similar to Windows Firewall).

I have been searching forums and I don't understand why people are having so many issues with Vista64. People who have small amounts of RAM, slow processor, and a low budget video card shouldn't even be attempting to run Vista in the first place. Vista is a memory and CPU hog "It is what it is". It's a great OS and pretty stable. It better be stable for the amount of time it took Microsoft to release it.

[Spawn]

I would not recommend this for the standard user, but if you take the appropriate precautions, and you run the appropriate protection software (I haven't had a virus or spyware etc in 6 years), and then if you become the "hidden administrator" of your PC, you won't be bothered with UAC unless there is a real threat.

Best Regards,

Spawn

[Myrm]

I ended up switching off the UAC.  It got right on my breasts! 

[Vulcan]

I ended up switching off the UAC.  It got right on my breasts! 

Like 99% of all users. UAC is a good idea poor implemented. I would like to see UAC act more like Linux does when you need Root to make system changes that effect your computer's configuration or what to install software. I have read a few items that with SP1 UAC is going to be toned down for thinks like changing your wallpaper etc.

[grandpa]

i don't care very much. i prefer to use the one my
customers are using.

that said, i feel more comfortable in using xp because
after some years i have learned it reasonable well.

i think i will stick with it another year or two.

[TheBear]

I'm going to stick with XP pro 32 for as long as I can find drivers for peripherals and boards.

Thanks to sites like Black Viper and others, I know the o/s well and it's all that I'll need. Hell, the most I stress my system is when I rar a file in the background while playing Settlers 4. lol

[StiKs]

Voted Linux, for better stability and memory management.

[Tiga]

How can anyone that has worked on both operation system passionately say either.
I loved XP 32bit as it done what it was told and didn't tell me what I can or cannot do (vista 64bit)
I used it right up to 6 months ago and still miss it at times.
But I have moved on and enjoy the more fault tolerant vista 32. Of course in the beginning it was hard, I feel like I was cheating but some tweaks to vista 32 and soon all was forgotten about. It was vista 32 with the look of XP with of course UAC and defender disabled.
Now the only thing that still annoys me when reinstalling vista is UAC and defender, I have grown to like the aero display and the sidebar that gives me some useful real time information.
Yes my vote went to vista 32 as it appear to be more fault tolerant, more secure, handles networks better and is nearly on par with XP in gaming performance.

Tiggs 

[Clownhoes]

Windows 98 everytime............


Thats what I installed when I got my 1st real PC with XP Home preinstalled.  Then after a few weeks I thougt ' bugger it I paid for XP and by the powers of grey skull I will use it'.  This was quickly followed by reinstalling 98 and so It continued for a couple of months.  When I eventualy got to grips with XP ( many thanks to BV and his site ) I thought it was the best O/S in the world.


Then Mr Gates released Vista, 'whoo hoo' I shouted, quickly followed by 'what a crock' and so the same senario ensued XP/Vista.

I'm now running Vista 64 ultimate and well it's kicking butt, sorry XP but you were the best O/S ever once.

[AKHandyman]

I am for XP 64-bit, at least until Vista gets its bugs corrected.  SP1 should be out very soon (and I am not counting the RC SP1, already too many problems as well) and that might help change my mind.  With talk already of Windows 7 around the corner, I really believe that Vista may come and go like ME did ...

[grandpa]

Somehow I'm on thin ice here, so I better be a bit careful, because I don't know Vista, just tried it, and even worse: I'm not into gaming

I'm a programmer, and from my point of view: The best OS, the perfect OS, will I ever find it? My programs are geared to a semiprofessional market with lots of text processing. What I need is raw speed and and few font problems as possible, and a very important part: backward compatibility.

One of XP's strength is the last point, backward compatibility, but it is also XP's weakest point. XP is at a point where Microsoft had to make a decision, backward compatibility or not. They decided something in between.

Windows is geared to the consumer marked, office applications and games. As I said, I can not enter your discussion about gaming, but I'm sure Vista is more than good enough for the consumer market.

For myself, I think I'll end up having one XP machine, one Vista and one Linux. For me the best OS is a mix between those three.

grandpa

[Vulcan]

There comes a time when Microsoft will have to draw a line in the sand.....no more backwards compatibility with older programs. Apple has done this several times and look were they are at now in terms of increasing sales of their product line.

[FLATLINE]

I have stayed away from Vista mainly due to yes what ive read from the internet but also the experiences of friends with the OS. Im not saying its a bad OS. I would actually like to use it but im not an early adopter. I prefer the bugs be worked out before I make the switch.

[Spawn]

There comes a time when Microsoft will have to draw a line in the sand.....no more backwards compatibility with older programs.

I agree.  Microsoft has a gap between their vision and their execution at times. Maybe it's leadership, maybe it's separate teams all pulling in different directions, maybe it's just size and organizational inertia. Microsoft has changed the leadership, tried to get everyone on the same page by cutting features in Vista and elsewhere, and even tossed a couple of hundred bucks at employees to squash bugs at home.  How has it turned out? Nobody will know until Vista, Home Server, and Zune have been on the market for a bit longer.

Apple has done this several times and look were they are at now in terms of increasing sales of their product line.

The reason that Apple is able to pull all of this together is largely because of Steve Jobs, I think. The man is a perfectionist, and wants stuff that he'll use himself. Nothing goes out the door at Apple without his approval. In some ways that's not so great, but on the whole? It's made for an incredibly coherent set of products.

Spawn

[AlGrinch]

I use XP Pro 32 bit on my desktop and Vista Home premium on a laptop.

Things I like about Vista

- even when it is loaded with tasks the operating system still responds well. I find when xp gets bogged down everything goes into slowmo.
- the start menu - type a few letters of the program and there it is - easy as pie
- I like the sidebar, don't mind uac

Things I don't like

- my perception is that it is slower
- It doesn't see my other computers on the network, I can connect if I manually type in the network address. Maybe I am missing a setting, I just don't like the networking part of it.
- to create a password reset disk it wants a usb stick or a floppy,  doesn't give option for DVD burner. It would be nice if it created a file that I could put where ever I want.

Later in 2008 I will likely build a new computer. I will likely get Vista to go with it, I am thinking that games will start requiring it at some point and don't want to buy xp first and then buy vista later.

I think Microsoft is an amazing company, and I am a fan of Bill Gates - even more so after he virtually retired to give all his money away.

With that said, I do not have blind faith in their operating systems. They are far from perfect. I don't like their anti-piracy (translation anti-user) components.

I agree with Spawn's comments, I think there could be improvement with the user experience. When I use vista it feels like different teams worked on different parts without communicating properly. It doesn't come together, it doesn't flow.  This is one area where microsoft could learn from apple.

This concludes my rambling for today.

Cheers
Al