Thread: Windows Vista

I am in the market for a laptop and it seems that 99% of them are coming preloaded with Windows Vista as the OS. I have heard less than stellar reviews about Vista mainly how slow it runs and what a memory hog it is.

My question is what are some of the drastic differences if any between the home basic and premium editions of Vista. I know the premium uses the Aero Glass interface which in my opinion is just a fancy, memory eating visual experience which doesn't seem to have any basis on actual operation (or does it..?). The basic is cheaper and probably won't require the memory capacity that the premium does. I just don't want to get basic and find out I can't do a whole lot with it. I don't need the fancy visuals, just a good operating system.

Also, has anybody had trouble running the premium with just 1GB of memory..?

Honestly Ried...get an Apple...IMO, Apple's new computers and laptops make Microsoft look silly.

FWIW, I don't care for Vista. My new Dell desktop had Vista preloaded on it. I had Vista removed and XP reinstalled.

Originally Posted by Reidman

I am in the market for a laptop and it seems that 99% of them are coming preloaded with Windows Vista as the OS. I have heard less than stellar reviews about Vista mainly how slow it runs and what a memory hog it is.

My question is what are some of the drastic differences if any between the home basic and premium editions of Vista. I know the premium uses the Aero Glass interface which in my opinion is just a fancy, memory eating visual experience which doesn't seem to have any basis on actual operation (or does it..?). The basic is cheaper and probably won't require the memory capacity that the premium does. I just don't want to get basic and find out I can't do a whole lot with it. I don't need the fancy visuals, just a good operating system.

Also, has anybody had trouble running the premium with just 1GB of memory..?

I have premium and 1GB. It is barely adequate for this bloated albatross
called Vista. I don't know how brand specific you want to get, but I
understand you can still get Dell online with XP on it. IMO, it is far superior
to Vista . . . it is more stable and takes up less RAM and HD space and runs
faster.

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Originally Posted by SeeingRed

Honestly Ried...get an Apple...IMO, Apple's new computers and laptops make Microsoft look silly.

FWIW, I don't care for Vista. My new Dell desktop had Vista preloaded on it. I had Vista removed and XP reinstalled.

I do like the macbooks a lot but have you seen the prices. I just can't afford to pay a desktop price for a notebook pc. Plus this will be used primarily for day to day web browsing, and maybe some music and office applications but nothing too technical.

Originally Posted by topscribe

I have premium and 1GB. It is barely adequate for this bloated albatross
called Vista. I don't know how brand specific you want to get, but I
understand you can still get Dell online with XP on it. IMO, it is far superior
to Vista . . . it is more stable and takes up less RAM and HD space and runs
faster.

-----

I agree Top, XP is far superior to Vista. I have been toying with getting a Dell which is where I went to get my desktop and haven't had one problem with that. I found one series that came loaded with XP pro but the price is substantially higher. It's probably worth it though to avoid the headaches associated with Vista.

Thanks for the input guys.

If you're buying a new laptop, with Vista on it, they are configured to run it at optimum levels.

The older comps that have upgraded(and I use the term lightly) are the ones experiencing the slow down issues.

My laptop that I bought in January was Vista ready, and I had it installed after my comp went belly-up.

It runs fine.

It took some getting used to, but now, I really like it.

One feature(even though it's tiny) that I love, is you can have 3 time zones set on your clock! So I can see my time, NZ time, and Denver time!

Originally Posted by Reidman

I do like the macbooks a lot but have you seen the prices. I just can't afford to pay a desktop price for a notebook pc. Plus this will be used primarily for day to day web browsing, and maybe some music and office applications but nothing too technical.

I thought the same thing, but once I bit the bullet and bought one I had no regrets about how much it cost. I hardly even use it, but when I do use it I can't help but thing how much it was worth what I paid.

Originally Posted by Kapaibro

If you're buying a new laptop, with Vista on it, they are configured to run it at optimum levels.

The older comps that have upgraded(and I use the term lightly) are the ones experiencing the slow down issues.

My laptop that I bought in January was Vista ready, and I had it installed after my comp went belly-up.

It runs fine.

It took some getting used to, but now, I really like it.

One feature(even though it's tiny) that I love, is you can have 3 time zones set on your clock! So I can see my time, NZ time, and Denver time!

Another problem with old computers is that not all the drivers have been made... So you can face some troubles while migrating to Vista...
Now I guess most of these troubles will disappear with time...

I have 1 computer with XP and another one with 98SE...

I have to see that the problem with technology is that programmers don't optimize the code (I'm working into IT...)... While the machines become more and more powerful, programs become less and less optimized...

Originally Posted by frenchfan

Another problem with old computers is that not all the drivers have been made... So you can face some troubles while migrating to Vista...
Now I guess most of these troubles will disappear with time...

I have 1 computer with XP and another one with 98SE...

I have to see that the problem with technology is that programmers don't optimize the code (I'm working into IT...)... While the machines become more and more powerful, programs become less and less optimized...

Until the turn of the year our lasers were still running 98SE, sweet as a nut........

I'm certainly not considering upgrading to Vista, my lappy's probably up for replacement in 18 months, so that gives Microsoft some more time to get Vista right

Elliot Carver: Mr. Jones, are we ready to release our new software?
Jones: Yes, sir. As requested, it's full of bugs, which means people will be forced to upgrade for years.
Elliot Carver: Outstanding.

Well I was able to find a Dell notebook w/ XP pro which apparently will be supported by Microsoft for the next 7 years so that's fine by me. Didn't have to upgrade to gobs of memory to run it either. I know some have had no problems with Vista while others have had nothing but fits using it.

I figured why change a good thing. XP has been nothing but trouble free for me, at least on my desktop.

So this season will be even better now that I can go online during games and not miss anything plus follow my fantasy teams a little closer.