Vista Review

I’m wondering how many people out there (on average) have updated their Vista laptops and desktops to SP1 not that it’s been available quite awhile. I have to say – I haven’t updated my laptop yet at all, especially since I read that (despite the initial hype) machines aren’t running faster at all post-upgrade, they’re (mostly) in fact running slower!

This guy at TechIMO reports his system running squirrelly after the upgrade, so he backed it out with system restore.

Then again – it’s a double edged sword, since if I don’t upgrade in the near future my machine might be vulnerable to new exploits, the one recently announced that renders Windows Vista security useless.

It looks like I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t, and I may have to make a choice this year. Have you upgraded your Vista yet? What have you experienced?

Everybody knows that Windows Vista is a dud and Windows XP is still viable. The hilarity of the “downgrade” option is absurd. How ironic is it then that Windows Vista good enough for new OEM PC’s to consumers, but it’s not good enough for Intel employees. Intel has more than 80,000 computers, but is only meagerly testing in a few departments Vista. The rest of the company is waiting until 2010 when Windows 7 comes out according to an anonymous source in The New York Times. If the failure of Windows Vista weren’t evident before, glaring examples come out more each day.

WTF is going on Microsoft? In my last post I talked about “Vista’s Second Life, and how the confirmed release date of Windows 7 is Jan 2010. OEM’s can sell XP Professional until Jan 2009, so that leaves people screwed for about a year if they buy a new PC – doesn’t it?

Well, just a couple days about Microsoft officially ended sales of Windows XP – you can’t just walk into Office Max and pickup a copy anymore. As previously mentioned, you can still get it from OEM computer builders until Jan 2009, but after that they can’t even get it from Microsoft.

So, the really screwy thing I just read about was that Dell was now offer it’s new Windows Vista Bonus Program for only $99. What’s the bonus?? You get a computer with Windows XP Professional installed on it, and a disc with Vista on it. WTF Microsoft – and WTF dell?!? Now we have to PAY AN EXTRA HUNDRED BUCKS to not get Vista? F*CK YOU!

US $49.95 End Date: Monday Aug-02-2010 12:37:06 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $49.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $3.95 End Date: Friday Aug-06-2010 10:09:19 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $3.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $0.01 (0 Bid) End Date: Saturday Aug-07-2010 13:33:33 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

The register article Microsoft says ‘hasta la vista XP’ is so timely. It loos like Windows 7 (to be released in Jan 2010) is really gonna be Vista mock 2, and built on the same “core architecture”. Basically they’re saying – no surprised, we’re gonna fix it this time – really! In addition, OEM’s can still sell XP Professional until early 2009. So what happens between 2009 and 2010 is what I want to know! I guess, just don’t buy a PC or laptop that year at all.

I would hash out all the BS in Vista they should fix, but why when Let’s Not Repeat the Vista Mistakes in Windows 7 does it so well already!

It was important that Microsoft confirmed the Jan 2010 release date, but more importantly MS – can you clue us in along the way on what you’ll actually be doing with it? What’s included? Will you take ANY of our millions of suggestions into consideration? I doubt it.

Wow – if the tv commercials of Mac vs. PC where the PC says even he “downgraded to Windows XP” weren’t enough, today I catch this headline from c|Net where Windows Vista made their list of Top 10 Terrible Tech Products of ALL TIME! Microsoft is really taking a beating on this one. Vista comes in at #10 (out of 10) – so at least 9 things placed before it on the list of terrible tech, but the opening line says it all “Any operating system that provokes a campaign for its predecessor’s reintroduction deserves to be classed as terrible technology.”

While I knew people had been doing this – this article actually has links about downgrading, like “Dell Offers Windows XP again (April 2007), and Microsoft allows Vista ‘downgrade’ (Sept 24, 2007) where it talks of Microsoft allowing PC manufacturers and OEM’s offer an downgrade option for customers who want to switch to Windows XP. The quote I love best from that article is “Fujitsu has been among the most aggressive, starting last month to include an XP disc in the box with its laptops and tablets.”

Fujitsu is putting an XP disc “IN THE BOX” with PC’s and laptops that have Vista installed…… HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHAHA!!!

I knew that people were having issues with Vista and that many thought it sucked, and there are legions of people wanting to see it fail for various reasons (Mac zealots and Linux minions)…..but truth be told it seems to be failing on it’s own merits after all. I mean, come on – the search term “Vista downgrade” has over 2 million results so far!

And of those results look what we find:

• Microsoft to simplify downgrades from Vista to XP: comes from ZDNet! In June 2007 they told about Microsoft making it much easier for their top-tier OEM’s to downgrade customers to XP. I guess before this they had to call MS with each serial number being downgraded and they were going to an easier submission system. Just the fact that they had to do this shows customers were bitching up a storm.
• How to downgrade to Windows XP from Vista: is a guide from Computerworld written on October 2nd, 2007. The first paragraph suprises me, because it points to an article from the week before where it says Microsoft will sell Windows XP until June of 2008! Microsoft’s own PR team says: “So we’re responding to feedback we have gotten from our OEM partners that some customers will benefit by extending availability of Windows XP.” Read between the lines: “too many people are bitching!”
• Downgrade Your Vista to XP: is an article from cNet Asia that says that not only OEM’s and PC manufacturers can downgrade to Windows XP – ANYONE WITH A VISTA LICENSE can!

Other Vista Downgrade links

• Official Windows Vista Downgrade Rights: Microsoft Reference Sheet
• Lenovo Vista to XP downgrade page
• Microsoft Malaysia Vista to XP downgrade rights
• The XP Alternative for Vista PC’s“>Windows Vista Downgrade Rights
• HP Vista Downgrade FAQ
• Vista license downgrade rights for volume licensing
• The XP Alternative for Vista PC’s