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Vista Operating System

Started by keithsed, February 24, 2007, 09:10:21 PM

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keithsed

Has anyone installed the new Vista operating system?  I saw it advertised at Sam's Club for $144.  Before I spend that $$ I would like to talk or read about a review from someone who has installed it. I wonder it it is fully compatible with all the Windows XP software. 

While in the store I thumbed through a book called "Vista for Dummies."  I didn't have time to read it just brouse the pages.  It looks like the interface has been completely changed.  The book said you should have at least 1 Gig of memory to use the 3D interface.  I guess it will operate on less but you don't get all the bells and whistles. 

If any of you have installed it or have heard about it let us know what you think of it. 

Thanks

Keith

DebussyMan

#1
Wouldn't know about that... I use mastercard ;D
(sorry, couldnt resist)

But seriously, I don't have Vista yet, but know some people who do. They say it runs programs well, but I havn't asked much about it.


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keithsed

#2
 :D You got me on that one.  I just realized that I called it visa rather that vista.  I was hoping I could get back here and change it before anyone read it but your too fast on the draw. :thumbsup:

I need a book called "Memory for dummies"    &mmm  I must of had a brain burp.  :bomb:

Keith

jeronij

Keith, I have installed one Vista on a Dual Pentium with 1 GB RAM and seems to work fine. I dont know what are the minimum specs. from MS, but if they say 512M, you should use 1 GB, and so on  ;)
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Cali

"It's not a design flaw, It's my signature"

Archangel

Ive heard, from a very unreliable source, (actually a bunch of ppl are saying on the internet) that VISTA cannot run many PC games, including simcity4..... my laptop is vista compatable, so i could get it, but its not worth it if u cannot play any games (i think i also remember hearing something about itunes or the new ipod phone not being compatable with vista.......if both are true then im wondering why they releasd it in the first place!)

Another note, I have ALSO heard that vista is very graphicly appealing, but have yet to see screenshots -_- maybe someone with vista could SHOW US YOUR............Vista.......LOL

Shadow Assassin

Also: I've heard that Vista Basic runs games better than Ultimate right at this point in time. :P
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Cali

i have vista home premium, and it runs sc4 with absolutly no problems.  you can tweak vista to run the way you want it too.
"It's not a design flaw, It's my signature"

vab423

Keithsed, if you have nowhere else to spend your $144 you can send it to me.  Seriously.  Oops, that's not the part I was serious about.  To dispel the myth about Vista and SimCity, it's absolutely not true.  I installed Vista last week and the game runs fine (well, except for the random crashes I've been experiencing - but I'm playing with those trying to figure out why).

Having said that, it's not only the $144 for the OS.  If you don't have *at least* 1-GB RAM, forget it.  My daughter bought a laptop over the weekend with 2-GB RAM and Vista ran about the same as on 1-GB.  Plus you need a DVD reader since it's not available on CD.  Plus you may or may not need a graphics card to get the full graphics effects.  And while we're on the subject of graphics, can anyone tell me one good reason why you would *want* to have a video desktop?

Before I go further, did I mention the packaging?  Installation of the OS took roughly 60 minutes, including 15 minutes trying to figure out how to open the damn box.  God knows why a normal cardboard box with security seals on both ends and shrinkwrap wasn't good enough for Vista.

Vista out of the box is very security-minded.  For every command you select (never mind that it's part of the OS), Vista asks you at least 3 times if you're sure you want to do whatever it is you're doing.  Very annoying.  Speaking of security (and the hidden costs), don't even think your anti-virus scanner is going to work.  I had to upgrade from McAfee Enterprise 8.0 to 8.5something because (error msg paraphrased) "this program could be bad for your OS so I'm not going to let you install it."  If you're old enough, think Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Microsoft has hidden everything - took me about 15 minutes to figure out my IP address.  I have no idea where the RUN command was, or how to find that information in my network settings.  I found it ... eventually, but don't ask how.

Freecell is now 3D, which makes it difficult to navigate.  And the cards break apart into various suits when you win, kinda like the card dance Solitaire does.  The only good thing about the games is that they added a couple of more, including Mahjong.

Oh and the last thing that really busted my chops was when you go to "customize your experience," you get a list of options, including wallpaper, sounds, cursors and screensavers.  There is actually a description as to what a screensaver does.  Come on, don't you think it's a little late for that?  I mean, the time to tell users what a screensaver did was back in Windows 3.0 -- not almost 20 years after we've been using them.

In any event, if you're bound and determined to blow your dough, wait at least until the first service pack.  However, I'm not sure why anyone would consciously go out and purchase it.


"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit."     - Harry S. Truman

Cali

very true vab.
you can turn off the user account control manager in control panel(that stops the cancel or allow for everything). you can also use classic view(winxp) by right clicking on the task bar and selecting it, this makes finding stuff easier. i even opted to use classic view in control panel till i was comfortable enough knowing where everything was. the only real difference i noticed in vista is the appearence and security. the root system is still comparable to xp. once you master the basic controls, and learn to tweak it a bit(took me 15 min) then you'll find it's really no different. just remember to run vista takes 1 gig of ram, so i would suggest at least using 2 gigs or more.
"It's not a design flaw, It's my signature"

vab423

#10
Thought this was an interesting read about Vista.

edited to fix the link to point to page 1 of the article.  ps, thanks, Cali, for the tip on how to make the Programs menu like XP.  *Now* I have my Run command back.  I feel somewhat better.


"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit."     - Harry S. Truman

Cali

Quote from: vab423 on March 13, 2007, 01:32:56 PM
Thought this was an interesting read about Vista.

edited to fix the link to point to page 1 of the article.  ps, thanks, Cali, for the tip on how to make the Programs menu like XP.  *Now* I have my Run command back.  I feel somewhat better.

glad i could help :)
"It's not a design flaw, It's my signature"

keithsed

#12
Thanks Vab423 for the fine update.  I think I'll send the $144 to you rather than send it to Bill Gates $%Grinno$% I think you would put it to better use.  :D

I think I'll keep the WindowsXP for a while longer.  I have 2gigs of memory so that wouldn't be a probem, but I don't think I would like what it does.  I know people like an "old comfortable shoe"  but if you want/need to change it to get the XP look, why change in the first place?  All the asking me "do you really what to allow (? ? ?)" would drive me crazy. 

Thanks all for the info.

Keith

thundercrack83

I don't know if this will help anyone at all, but there is a program that you can download from the Microsoft Website called The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, which will check to see what is necessary for you to upgrade to Vista. I used it already, it's free, and pretty self-explanatory, just click on the link and it'll take you there. Hope this can help some people out.

Cali

Quote from: thundercrack83 on March 14, 2007, 09:13:11 PM
I don't know if this will help anyone at all, but there is a program that you can download from the Microsoft Website called The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, which will check to see what is necessary for you to upgrade to Vista. I used it already, it's free, and pretty self-explanatory, just click on the link and it'll take you there. Hope this can help some people out.

just make sure you have service pack 2 installed or it wont work :thumbsup:
"It's not a design flaw, It's my signature"

Shadow Assassin

#15
I tried out the Upgrade Advisor, and it basically told me I couldn't run Vista. It's because I have a PoS graphics card. The funny thing is, all the programs that are expected to have compatibility problems with Vista are all Microsoft programs.  :D
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dioangel

just got a new pc a month ago (loooong story) and yes I have Vista. I tried out Simcity 4 2000, black and white 2, the sims 2 and works fine.  &mmm


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