Paul Thurrott's Latest Review of Windows Vista

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dougiemeats

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I've been keeping up with Paul Thurrott's reviews of Windows Vista. Though many call him a Windows fanboy and what not, and I don't necessarily agree with everything he says, I think most of this articles are well written and informative. In last part of his review of Windows Vista February 2006 CTP , he states many of his disappointments with Vista. I think many of his points are valid and it's a cause for concern.

What do you guys think about this article? I hope Vista doesn't go in the way of Windows ME. It's not that they're not innovative, its just that they have so many customers using Windows that they really can't afford to be as radical as Apple is with OS X or as fast-moving as the many flavors of Linux. With OS X Leopard being available at about the same time, and the strides that open-source are gaining, I just don't see Vista being able to compete. They'll still have the gaming, number of software, and market share advantage by default, but as a feature vs. feature matchup, I think it loses this round.

I hope this doesn't turn into Windows or Mac bashing thread, I just want to know what you guys think about the article and what you think about Vista. It's still in the beta stages, so I'm giving it a chance. I'll probably get it anyways with a new computer purchase, like many people, so I might as well look on the bright side. Though I've been using similar features in Tiger (spotlight, expose, widgets...), I'll enjoy finally being able to use them on Windows. I also think the whole glass theme looks good, but I'm a sucker for eye-candy and a pretty desktop.
 
Thurrott's site I think is really informative, although he does seem to be a tad obsessed!

If Vista is just going to be XP with a nicer looking skin then that will be a big dissapointment...

Right now im more interested in the windows live stuff.... like messenger, toolbar and mail...
 
Yeah, I know what you mean about obsessed! He's really into Windows... maybe a little too much.

He makes an interesting point about the glass windows. It is pretty hard to tell which on is on top. Aside from the red [close] "x" button, everything seems to look identical. Maybe they can intensify the drop shadow or something like that, or make the top-most window's glass more frosted and the windows under more transparent.
 
Personally, Im not a big fan of win XP I prefere win 2000, but for slow pcs it takes too long to load up. I think Vista wont be innovative enough to turn exsisting xp owners unless they are obssesed with using the latest stuff, most people will probably stick with what they have got, and the people who will be using vista will be those who get it with a new pc. TBH I would love to move over to Linux but the lack of software support is whats stopping me from using it.

And I would love to own a Mac just for the fact of using a more appealing OS, which is growing in the software support stakes. I dont choose my OS becasue it looks nice, I choose it because it runs my programmes the best, and for me win 2000 is the best windows out, I say this based on the fact that win 2000 Idles at 56mb ram and win xp idles at 128mb and the processes running in the background is huge with xp.

[edit]

good review 👍 cheers for the read.
 
Is Windows 2000 really that good? I havent used it much but you're not the first one to tell me that its better. I hear it all the time actually, so you might have a point.

I used Ubuntu and Fedora Core 5 for a little while but I reinstalled XP recently. I figured, I paid for it so I'll use it for a while. I did d/l the GIMP, Gaim, Open Office, and Firefox right after installation... so I'm pretty much using the exact same software I was using when I had Linux :cool: I'll probably venture off to the world of Linux again soon.

When I get Vista, you can bet that I'll be using open source products as well.👍
 
I can get Vista for free through the University, so I'll probably try it out and end up going back to XP Pro after a few weeks.
 
VTGT07
I can get Vista for free through the University, so I'll probably try it out and end up going back to XP Pro after a few weeks.
Click to expand...

Ask yourself - Who can't get it for "free" ?...

But for once I highly doubt I'll be joining the Vista Gang, especially if they release DirectX 10 for XP, in which I have finally found some stable joy (Whip me beat me said the Masochist)..

If DX10 turns out to be a Vista exclusive - I think I'm fubar gaming wise...
 
Flerbizky
Ask yourself - Who can't get it for "free" ?...

But for once I highly doubt I'll be joining the Vista Gang, especially if they release DirectX 10 for XP, in which I have finally found some stable joy (Whip me beat me said the Masochist)..

If DX10 turns out to be a Vista exclusive - I think I'm fubar gaming wise...
Click to expand...


My thoughts exactly.
 
Yes but it would be 100% legit ;)

And know M$ they'll release DX10 for Vista only. Bastards.
 
A research group Gartner Inc. claims that Vista will likely be delayed for another 3 months. The reason they give is that the operating system is too complex to meet its scheduled release dates of November '06 (volume license) and January '07 (retail).

A Microsoft spokeswoman however, insists that Vista is on track to meet these target dates.

I really hope this isn't the case. From what I've seen and read about the recent betas I don't think they will delay it. But this just adds to the long list of setbacks for this release.
 
Windows XP is the most stable, quickest running operating system Microsoft has released - To prove it, here we are 5-6 years after it was released and it's still running fine. This creates a problem, though - If the core OS is already as good as it's going to get, what is Microsoft supposed to do with their next release?

I think they're taking the wrong path - Basically what I see them doing (I've used a Vista Beta release, so I have a little experience) is taking XP and bloating the crap out of it. What they should be doing is taking XP, improving on it's flaws (utilizing hardware rather than emulation it with software is a good start), and including more freaking useful features.

What I'm saying is, they're got the OS for all intensive purposes, pretty well strapped down. Improving the speed with technological advancement is a great thing, but to take those advancements and bloat them with an insanely fancy interface is going backwards again.

In OS X, it doesn't really slow the computer down to have all of it's fancy features and pretty appearing enabled. In Vista, it slows it down horribly - They took it too far trying to beat OS X in that department (expecting results too quickly - and what's worse is that it's still ugly).

Of course you can turn Aero off, but then it's just like XP with some annoying features added.

Maybe the official releases will have a more finished and optimized feel, maybe have some nice innovative features. Maybe we'll all be wrong.
I Hope...
 
I bet DX10 will be exclusively on Vista, forcing everyone to upgrade. Because we all know that games are the only thing that actually make people upgrade their computers...

Microsoft are gonna use Halo2 as a little incentive to upgrade to Vista. The most annoying thing is - Halo2 runs fine on a Pentium3 733mhz console with a Geforce 3 and a half with the rough equivalent of DirectX 8 effects support. Its a crime asking people to upgrade to Vista if they want to play Halo2, a game that doesn't need to utilise any of Vista's new features, and can technically run well on pretty old hardware (if its optimised properly for PC, which it won't be)...
 
Burnout

Good points. I couldn't tell if you were for or against the fact that Vista is implementing OS X-like features, but I think this is the right direction because at the moment, OS X is the benchmark. (I may get flamed for this but average consumer-wise, I believe this is the case.)

I agree with you that they took it a little too far, to the point where many of its most-useful features were dropped yet the eyecandy is here to stay. I don't think they can catch up now, especially since OS X Leopard will be released around the same time.

Vista is a disappointment. It's hard to disagree with that. However, it's not a total failure. XP is stable for the most part, and if they can improve on this as well as security, then I won't be afraid to purchase my next PC with Vista installed.

James2097

Unfortunately, you're correct. DirectX 10 is to be Vista-only.
 
dougiemeats
Burnout

Good points. I couldn't tell if you were for or against the fact that Vista is implementing OS X-like features, but I think this is the right direction because at the moment, OS X is the benchmark. (I may get flamed for this but average consumer-wise, I believe this is the case.)

I agree with you that they took it a little too far, to the point where many of its most-useful features were dropped yet the eyecandy is here to stay. I don't think they can catch up now, especially since OS X Leopard will be released around the same time.

Vista is a disappointment. It's hard to disagree with that. However, it's not a total failure. XP is stable for the most part, and if they can improve on this as well as security, then I won't be afraid to purchase my next PC with Vista installed.

James2097

Unfortunately, you're correct. DirectX 10 is to be Vista-only.
Click to expand...
Ha - I was just reading over my reply, and I find it funny how many times I didn't quite use the right word. In my defense it was like 3AM.

On the subject of Vista, I agree with you. If they can take what's to an extent a decent product and improve on it, I believe Vista could turn out to be a decent OS. I also agree with you that they're not going to be murdering OS X with this release, nor is it going to be 'groundbreaking' by any means.

Personally, though, I'm sort of looking forward to seeing exactly what it's about.

Now for you're viewing pleasure, take a look at this..
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4134446112378047444&pl=true
 
:lol: I've seen that video, kind of embarrassing for MS.

I'm glad they're finally including these features though. Except maybe for gadgets. I don't use widgets much on OS X, but I guess some people may like them on Windows.

I guess since this is a Vista thread, I-the mac user, will defend Microsoft. They probably came up with these ideas about the same time, its just that Apple could get it to the market muuuuuch faster than MS could. So I wouldn't necessarily say they copied everything. Maybe the execution of the features were somewhat copied, but the concepts are not original to Apple. (does that even make sense?)
 

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