Thank Goodness for Windows XP

[mike_s]

My understanding is that Microsoft knows that Vista is a screwup and they are tyring to move past this problem as fast as they can....

I mean this isn't their first screwup. Look at Windows ME. It sucked so bad they shelved it in a hurry.

 

[IndySCUBA]

Dr Bill,
Good call staying away from Vista. I wanted to get a new computer for my wife but they all came with Vista. I finally got one hoping it would work, it did not. I could not get it to access any hardware; NAS, printers, printer adapters and the such. Hardware that works and continues to work just fine with our computers running XP. I tried getting help but Microsoft wouldn't support it because Vista came pre-installed on the computer and the PC maufacturer (I don't recall the brand name but it is one you would know) wouldn't support it because it was a MicroSoft application. I finally took it back to the store for a refund after a week of hassles. I had to eat the 15% restocking fee but it was worth it to get that total piece of junk out of our house.

 

[ekremer]

Dr Bill,
Good call staying away from Vista. I wanted to get a new computer for my wife but they all came with Vista. I finally got one hoping it would work, it did not. I could not get it to access any hardware; NAS, printers, printer adapters and the such. Hardware that works and continues to work just fine with our computers running XP. I tried getting help but Microsoft wouldn't support it because Vista came pre-installed on the computer and the PC maufacturer (I don't recall the brand name but it is one you would know) wouldn't support it because it was a MicroSoft application. I finally took it back to the store for a refund after a week of hassles. I had to eat the 15% restocking fee but it was worth it to get that total piece of junk out of our house.

Ahh somebody doesn't remember The windows XP launch I see. To this day if you have a scanner that was built even a day before the launch of XP good luck getting it working. Same with many printers at the time.

hardware incompatibility is an issue with the hardware manufacturer not wanting to upgrade their drivers. But you can't call Vista a bad os because of hardware incompatibility, it may not be right for you but it doesn't make it bad.

 

[Spratman]

I prefer XP Professional, but at home I have Vista. I had some problems with gaming software, but overall, it boots faster and hasn't cause too many issues. The bottom line is that Vista in nothing more than an interim release, just like Millenium was. It was to generate more income, until they get done hosing around with Longhorn, the next major release.

When first rolled out, vendors were inundated with user requests for XP. Now I see few complaints, except from the tech nerds that runs beta stuff.

I too dislike the interface and it's a PITA trying to search for something. I've been looking for a replacement to the old Explorer.

Regardless, you made a good decision, Bill.

 

[under water]

Bill, Do you use a Dive Computer and download data using an older cable?
If so, moving from Win98 to XP may cause that cable to not work anymore.
You may find similar problems with other devices that use a parallel or serial port.
Frank

 

[Warthaug]

Try this for your dos software DOSBox, a x86 emulator with DOS

VERY cool. Makes me wish I kept all of those old games that I used to love to play. That said, I don't know how'd I'd ever load something that came on a 5" floppy disk...

Bryan

 

[vshearer]

Ahh somebody doesn't remember The windows XP launch I see. To this day if you have a scanner that was built even a day before the launch of XP good luck getting it working. Same with many printers at the time.

hardware incompatibility is an issue with the hardware manufacturer not wanting to upgrade their drivers. But you can't call Vista a bad os because of hardware incompatibility, it may not be right for you but it doesn't make it bad.

I remember HP saying Hell would freeze over before they would re-write their 16 bit printer drivers to support XP. It froze pretty fast.

 

[Hoomi]

My laptop came with Vista, while my desktop runs XP. I'm trying to remember the last time I bothered to boot up my desktop, but that's more from the fact that it's an older system, and the laptop is newer and faster. Really, I don't have much in the way of problems with either OS. I wasn't eager to upgrade to Vista, as XP was working fine for me, but I also haven't found myself thinking I should wipe the OS from the laptop and install XP instead.

I will say after working with the trial version of MS Word 2007 that came with the laptop, I liked the additional features it had over Word 2003 that is on my desktop. I paid the money and bought the full version, and love it. As a writer, the additional formatting features in 2007 very much appealed to me.

 

[DRsharky]

According to many computer experts the best OS was Windows95, but that's long gone. I was using XP and recently upgraded to Vista and haven't had any problems with any programs I use and I like it much better then XP

 

[alcina]

I will say after working with the trial version of MS Word 2007 that came with the laptop, I liked the additional features it had over Word 2003 that is on my desktop. I paid the money and bought the full version, and love it. As a writer, the additional formatting features in 2007 very much appealed to me.

Wow, really? I detest it so far. Thankfully I only have the trial version and haven't paid for the "upgrade" to 07...not sure I will as I am finding even trying to do very simple things like "save as" to be a royal pain in the butt to find the first time. My Mom uses it at work every day and she still hates it, as does everyone in her office. At least I know where to go to solve problems, though My plan, when hubby gets home and finds the disks, is to simply install the trusty one I'm used to.

I haven't been using it long or very much as I find it just totally frustrating, but it's always good to hear another POV and keep an open mind...

Change is bad