Vista? (20/10/07)
I began using Vista the other day and I've gotta say... I actually like it! I was going to post a Vista related article when I installed it but I decided to give it more than a couple of hours usage to fuck itself up. I basically knew at some point or another my C: drive would be formatted because of a Vista related problem which is why I pulled out all of my Windows disks (Windows 95, 98, 2000 [Pro, Server, Adv. Server], XP [Home Retail, Home OEM, Home Upgrade, Pro Retail, Pro OEM, Pro Corp, Pro Upgrade, Media Center]... and more) and decided to go ahead and install.
Now, just a quick overview because I'm really not in the mood for typing.
-Visual
Visually this version of Windows is so fucking sleek. The functionality of OS X with hints of Linux (Mint, mainly) thrown in here and there. People have said this is a bad thing, but for a Linux fan like myself, this is by far the best idea Windows has came out with for a long time.
-Useability (Is that even a word?)
It's very easy to use, and very easy to adapt to. I got immediately used to it and it took just over a day to adapt from the transition between XP and Vista (Slight changes have made an impact), now everytime I use an XP (or lower) based system, it feels wierd. Seriously, I keep clicking the 'programs list' expecting it to come up in the start menu (Think of Linux Mint only a bit more advanced). Again, a simple change that takes you back a little from XP... it comes quite unexpected, to be honest. But on the same note, it reminds you just how easy it was to get XP cluttered up (not saying this will be any different, of course, but that's yet to come for me). The 'gadgets' (They're fucking Widgets. The idea was ripped straight from the OS X kernel and recoded for Windows) are pretty handy too, but it has a tendency to get annoying after a couple of hours (unless you have the right gadgets installed).
-Speed
Vista outpaces XP on almost any machine. Some of you might know that I run a pretty low end system (1.60Ghz CPU, 512MB RAM, 20GB Master, 60GB Slave, 80GB Slave) and Vista still runs better than XP did! I had written Vista off the same way as I wrote Beryl off for Linux (With Beryl I was fucking right, though), meaningless eye candy and transparancy effects which lead to ridiculous amounts of CPU/Memory usage... but even then, my CPU regularly meets with the 100% bar on my "CPU Usage" gadget, and Vista doesn't even flinch! Which brings me onto the topic of...
-Memory Usage
Vista DOES use a lot of resources, yes, but only in the same way an ethiopian digests a McDonalds 'meal'. Unless you're running less than 1Ghz, your computer is probably going to struggle unless of course your RAM is pretty weighty. If you have a lot of RAM, you might have a bit of stuttering, but apart from that it'll probably run fine. It's most definately not a case of "The reccomended specs are what you NEED". It's actually quite versatile (Not as versatile as say... a Valve game, but versatile all the same). The page/swap file works like a fucking dream too. I haven't YET had any lag! Even when a program stops responding, you can still fuck around on anything else instead of having it sitting on your screen until Windows decides to close it down (as is the case with XP).
-Gaming
I've read a couple of different problems with Gaming on Vista, but I've always assumed that it's due to the system specs/hardware errors. Well, I played Portal and HL2 Episode 1 on my computer and hey, guess what? Runs fine. Perhaps I gain a few jagged edges (on occassion) and sometimes it takes a minute or so to load up a level... but that's it. In fact, on Portal the reflective mats actually became reflective on Vista! I gained graphics! I know, sounds insane, but it happened. I checked all my settings and they all came back exactly the same. No effect on my games.
-Useability (Seriously, is that even a word?) Part 2
There is a couple of SERIOUS problems I have with Vista, though. For example, the "User Account Control" which actually prompted me (the only user on this computer making me by default the system admin) to prove my administrative rights to enter My Documents. I found a program called "Vispa" which is a tweak, basically... it let me turn it off! Only to have it come back with a vengence a couple of days later. "Do you really want to open this .exe file you found in your download folder? I mean, it could be anything! Malware? Y'know, Windows Defender would help with that. WD will defend against malware, you should activate it. Oh, and you should activate automatic updates. You don't need your remaining 6GB of space... give it to Windows. Go on.". That is what I feel it's asking me whenever I open something. In fact it actually just comes up "Would you like to open this file?" while using a black filter on the screen and having a single prompt in the center of the screen. Doesn't sound like much, but it's annoying after ten minutes.
Another problem is another annoying one. My Caps Lock key keeps getting stuck. Now, I use shift for almost everything nowadays, but there still comes a time when I need to/randomly hit the Caps Lock key, and when I do it usually gets stuck... and it takes about six or seven jabs at it to get it off again. Yeah, it gets annoying, but it seems to be random. It isn't every time I turn Caps on.
-Overall
I think that Vista is the best Windows to come out (so far, at least). It seems sturdy and reliable, and may in fact be (though it has a long way to prove itself).
Get it and find out for yourself. I don't think you'll be disapointed.
UPDATE:
The sticky caps key problem? Yeah, not a problem with Vista at all. Turns out that my keyboard had been dropped at some point (It basically lives on the floor. Especially when I'm composing) and the casing had came apart on the right side of the keyboard, slight enough for me not to notice it. This problem was fixed by me picking up the keyboard and hearing a click.
That's right. I'm damn technical.
Now, just a quick overview because I'm really not in the mood for typing.
-Visual
Visually this version of Windows is so fucking sleek. The functionality of OS X with hints of Linux (Mint, mainly) thrown in here and there. People have said this is a bad thing, but for a Linux fan like myself, this is by far the best idea Windows has came out with for a long time.
-Useability (Is that even a word?)
It's very easy to use, and very easy to adapt to. I got immediately used to it and it took just over a day to adapt from the transition between XP and Vista (Slight changes have made an impact), now everytime I use an XP (or lower) based system, it feels wierd. Seriously, I keep clicking the 'programs list' expecting it to come up in the start menu (Think of Linux Mint only a bit more advanced). Again, a simple change that takes you back a little from XP... it comes quite unexpected, to be honest. But on the same note, it reminds you just how easy it was to get XP cluttered up (not saying this will be any different, of course, but that's yet to come for me). The 'gadgets' (They're fucking Widgets. The idea was ripped straight from the OS X kernel and recoded for Windows) are pretty handy too, but it has a tendency to get annoying after a couple of hours (unless you have the right gadgets installed).
-Speed
Vista outpaces XP on almost any machine. Some of you might know that I run a pretty low end system (1.60Ghz CPU, 512MB RAM, 20GB Master, 60GB Slave, 80GB Slave) and Vista still runs better than XP did! I had written Vista off the same way as I wrote Beryl off for Linux (With Beryl I was fucking right, though), meaningless eye candy and transparancy effects which lead to ridiculous amounts of CPU/Memory usage... but even then, my CPU regularly meets with the 100% bar on my "CPU Usage" gadget, and Vista doesn't even flinch! Which brings me onto the topic of...
-Memory Usage
Vista DOES use a lot of resources, yes, but only in the same way an ethiopian digests a McDonalds 'meal'. Unless you're running less than 1Ghz, your computer is probably going to struggle unless of course your RAM is pretty weighty. If you have a lot of RAM, you might have a bit of stuttering, but apart from that it'll probably run fine. It's most definately not a case of "The reccomended specs are what you NEED". It's actually quite versatile (Not as versatile as say... a Valve game, but versatile all the same). The page/swap file works like a fucking dream too. I haven't YET had any lag! Even when a program stops responding, you can still fuck around on anything else instead of having it sitting on your screen until Windows decides to close it down (as is the case with XP).
-Gaming
I've read a couple of different problems with Gaming on Vista, but I've always assumed that it's due to the system specs/hardware errors. Well, I played Portal and HL2 Episode 1 on my computer and hey, guess what? Runs fine. Perhaps I gain a few jagged edges (on occassion) and sometimes it takes a minute or so to load up a level... but that's it. In fact, on Portal the reflective mats actually became reflective on Vista! I gained graphics! I know, sounds insane, but it happened. I checked all my settings and they all came back exactly the same. No effect on my games.
-Useability (Seriously, is that even a word?) Part 2
There is a couple of SERIOUS problems I have with Vista, though. For example, the "User Account Control" which actually prompted me (the only user on this computer making me by default the system admin) to prove my administrative rights to enter My Documents. I found a program called "Vispa" which is a tweak, basically... it let me turn it off! Only to have it come back with a vengence a couple of days later. "Do you really want to open this .exe file you found in your download folder? I mean, it could be anything! Malware? Y'know, Windows Defender would help with that. WD will defend against malware, you should activate it. Oh, and you should activate automatic updates. You don't need your remaining 6GB of space... give it to Windows. Go on.". That is what I feel it's asking me whenever I open something. In fact it actually just comes up "Would you like to open this file?" while using a black filter on the screen and having a single prompt in the center of the screen. Doesn't sound like much, but it's annoying after ten minutes.
Another problem is another annoying one. My Caps Lock key keeps getting stuck. Now, I use shift for almost everything nowadays, but there still comes a time when I need to/randomly hit the Caps Lock key, and when I do it usually gets stuck... and it takes about six or seven jabs at it to get it off again. Yeah, it gets annoying, but it seems to be random. It isn't every time I turn Caps on.
-Overall
I think that Vista is the best Windows to come out (so far, at least). It seems sturdy and reliable, and may in fact be (though it has a long way to prove itself).
Get it and find out for yourself. I don't think you'll be disapointed.
UPDATE:
The sticky caps key problem? Yeah, not a problem with Vista at all. Turns out that my keyboard had been dropped at some point (It basically lives on the floor. Especially when I'm composing) and the casing had came apart on the right side of the keyboard, slight enough for me not to notice it. This problem was fixed by me picking up the keyboard and hearing a click.
That's right. I'm damn technical.
posted by Thump at 10:05 pm
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