Does Vista Really Suck that Bad?

[Ro_Laren]

I need to buy a laptop for school and have to buy a PC versus a Mac because of a certain software program that my school is making all of the students buy (it isn't compatible with Macs). I have been putting off buying a new laptop 'cause I heard that Vista sucked. However, I can't wait any longer for Microsoft to release the new operating system & get the kinks out of it.

My question is this- does Vista really suck that bad? Have enough of the kinks been worked out of the system so that I don't go crazy while working on the computer? I know you can buy some computers with XP pre-installed, but that can cost extra money (it costs $150 if you want Dell to do it).

 

[archeryguy1701]

I have found that Vista has programs crashing far more frequently than with XP. I try to keep up with my updates and everything, but if Vista decides that it doesn't like a certain program, then it crashes the hell out of it. Vista's not a complete disaster, but you definately need more patience to work with it.

 

[Spot's Meow]

It's not that bad. I like the look of it a lot more than XP, but there are some things to get used to. It manages your folders differently, as well as your pictures. I had to reorganize all of my files but otherwise I haven't had many issues. Once you turn off those annoying security pop-ups it really isn't much different from XP.

But it's true that when something crashes, it really crashes. It's just, gone. One minute you will be looking at a website and a second later the window has disappeared. At least in XP it stays frozen on the screen for a while so you feel like you have some control over the situation (though really you do not and will just have to close the window anyway). So really it's not that different, it just frustrates you more since things will shut down without much warning.

 

[DarkHelmet]

Vista Home Premium has been pretty solid for me. I run it on my laptop (XP Pro on the work CPU's) and I have no complaints, including when I bring it to the office, join the workgroup and use it there.

I recently installed Vista Service Pack 2 and it actually seems to have fixed the very minor bugs that I noticed.

 

[TheGodBen]

If you buy a decent laptop with plenty of memory then it should run fine. A lot of the problems with Vista had to do with incompatible hardware drivers, so if you are buying new then that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Guartho]

I need to buy a laptop for school and have to buy a PC versus a Mac because of a certain software program that my school is making all of the students buy (it isn't compatible with Macs).

Buy a Mac and slap XP on a partition via boot-camp for dealing with your backwards school.

 

[clint g]

Its not nearly as bad as people make it seem. Windows 7 is coming out this winter though, so maybe you want to wait? Word on the street is that Windoes 7 is shockingly amazing

 

[Brent]

Vista with SP2 is pretty good, Win7 is better. You can run the RC for free now (downloaded from MS's website), it will work for a year before you have to upgrade to the final version, and the final version will be out later this year, I would go that route.

 

[Michael Chris]

I hate hate hate Vista. It ran horribly on the laptop it came with. Replaced it with the Windows 7 release candidate which is beautiful. You can still download Windows 7 and try it until March without having to pay for it.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/

 

[CorporalClegg]

I would warn against using Windows Se7en as your primary OS though. Despite people saying it's "the most polished beta ever" and the like, it's still a beta and has a LOT of problems.

Also, don't expect much to work with it. Vista's backwards compatibility is poor. Windows Se7en's is virtually non existent.

As far as Vista goes. It's actually pretty good once you learn its quirks. The irony with it is, while it was designed to be even more "noob friendly" than XP, really have to learn more about it to get to work the way you want to.

If you can get past the horrid boot time (which is an inevitability regardless of pc specs) and learn to "tame the beast," it's actually a pretty awesome OS.

This coming from a certified Linux geek.

 

[Mr. B]

Vista got it's bad rep right after release. Service Pack 1 culminated a number of fixes that made the OS perfectly usable but the reputation remains. Vista isn't that bad... just not great.

 

[Brent]

I would warn against using Windows Se7en as your primary OS though. Despite people saying it's "the most polished beta ever" and the like, it's still a beta and has a LOT of problems.

Also, don't expect much to work with it. Vista's backwards compatibility is poor. Windows Se7en's is virtually non existent.

As far as Vista goes. It's actually pretty good once you learn its quirks. The irony with it is, while it was designed to be even more "noob friendly" than XP, really have to learn more about it to get to work the way you want to.

If you can get past the horrid boot time (which is an inevitability regardless of pc specs) and learn to "tame the beast," it's actually a pretty awesome OS.

This coming from a certified Linux geek.

Win7 is not in Beta stage any longer, it is now in Release Candidate stage. The version available from MS is RC.

 

[Rob Hal]

I use Windows Vista on my desktop PC, I have a MacBook Pro and I use Ubuntu on my office desktop PC. While my preference is for the Mac OSX, I don't think that the other operating systems are bad by any means. I like Windows Vista, and I think its flaws have been exagerrated to a certain extent.

With that said, it should be noted that if you really want to get yourself a Mac, you can very easily use Windows on it, either with BootCamp, which is now a fully integrated feature in the Mac OSX Leopard, or through a Windows in a window after purchasing a program like Parallels or VMWare Fusion. I have yet to do either on my MacBook Pro, but I hear it is very easy to do.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

I've never had problems with Vista. Like someone upthread said, if you have a computer with plenty of memory, you'll be fine.

 

[FordSVT]

I use Windows Vista on my desktop PC, I have a MacBook Pro and I use Ubuntu on my office desktop PC. While my preference is for the Mac OSX, I don't think that the other operating systems are bad by any means. I like Windows Vista, and I think its flaws have been exagerrated to a certain extent.

With that said, it should be noted that if you really want to get yourself a Mac, you can very easily use Windows on it, either with BootCamp, which is now a fully integrated feature in the Mac OSX Leopard, or through a Windows in a window after purchasing a program like Parallels or VMWare Fusion. I have yet to do either on my MacBook Pro, but I hear it is very easy to do.

OK, so she needs Windows because of school, and your solution is for her to buy a more expensive to begin with Mac, buy Vista (more money again), and then possibly spend more money on more software. So you want her to double her purchase price why?

Apple people.

 

[TrekNut87]

I've had my laptop with Vista Home Premium for two years now and have never had a single issue with it. I love it.

 

[RandyS]

I have found that Vista has programs crashing far more frequently than with XP. I try to keep up with my updates and everything, but if Vista decides that it doesn't like a certain program, then it crashes the hell out of it. Vista's not a complete disaster, but you definately need more patience to work with it.

Not to mention more practice.

I'm looking forward to my next paycheck so I can afford to upgrade.

 

[QCzar]

I use Windows Vista on my desktop PC, I have a MacBook Pro and I use Ubuntu on my office desktop PC. While my preference is for the Mac OSX, I don't think that the other operating systems are bad by any means. I like Windows Vista, and I think its flaws have been exagerrated to a certain extent.

With that said, it should be noted that if you really want to get yourself a Mac, you can very easily use Windows on it, either with BootCamp, which is now a fully integrated feature in the Mac OSX Leopard, or through a Windows in a window after purchasing a program like Parallels or VMWare Fusion. I have yet to do either on my MacBook Pro, but I hear it is very easy to do.

OK, so she needs Windows because of school, and your solution is for her to buy a more expensive to begin with Mac, buy Vista (more money again), and then possibly spend more money on more software. So you want her to double her purchase price why?

Apple people.

*emphasis mine*

To me it seems rather that there are people determined to malign Apple whenever the word Mac, iPod or iPhone is even mentioned, no matter how thin the reasoning. If Ro Laren is really determined to have a Mac, the route suggested by Rob is a lot more practical than buying a PC because your school says you need one, then buying a Mac because that's what you really want.

Using the method proscribed above, Ro can have her cake (or is that apple pie?) and eat it too. But feel free to continue bashing all us latte drinking, Prius driving "Apple people"*.

* = I should add that I find the opposite (foaming at the mouth Apple fanboy/girl early adopters who worship at the altar of Steve Jobs) to be equally annoying, but the 'two wrongs' thing kinda applies...

 

[Guartho]

I use a Mac, but I drive an 11-year-old Toyota, hate coffee in general especially designer coffee... what does that make me?

 

[Aragorn]

The Army is going to be 100% Vista by the start of 2010.

And on Jan. 1, some internet nerds will hack them and take over the world.