provost
2007-03-22 20:34:51
Home basically-there's-no-reason-to-buy-this
The cheapest version of Vista, Home Basic, is so crippled it can't run the Aero interface. Theoretically, that's a boon for owners of machines that aren't capable of running Aero.
But it's time for some tough love, people: If your PC can't run Aero, you have no need for Vista. Period. On machines that aren't Aero-capable, the rest of the OS will run slowly enough that you're better off sticking with XP until it's time to buy a new Vista PC. So why does Home Basic exist? So Microsoft can say that Vista costs "as little as $100."
Yes, Mom, I really do want to install this software
We often worry about Microsoft playing Big Brother, but now it's playing Big Mother, attempting to protect you from your own rash impulses to run new software. Try to download a program, and Internet Explorer will block it. ("It's for your own good. You can't be too careful, you know. Who knows where that program has been!") Unblock it, and IE will ask if you really, truly want to download the software. ("These programs can be dangerous, you know. I just don't want you to get hurt.")
Once you manage to get the program onto your machine, Windows tosses up its own roadblocks, forcing you to authorize the installer program to run, sometimes as an administrator. ("You're going to have to convince me you really know what you're doing here, young man.") Click through enough dialog boxes, and you'll eventually be running your new software, but you can almost hear Windows grumbling in the background. ("Fine! Ruin your life! But don't say I didn't warn you!")
Who rearranged the furniture?
Here's a note for the programmers working on the next version of Windows: Moving stuff around doesn't necessarily make it better, just harder to find. Vista's chock-full of settings and tools that have been rearranged, renamed, or reorganized for no apparent reason.
Want to change your display properties? In XP you would right-click the desktop and then go down to 'Properties'. In Vista, it's 'Personalize'. Want to use 'Add or Remove Programs' to uninstall some software? Sorry. That capability is now under 'Programs and Features' in the Classic Start Menu or just plain 'Programs' in the default view.
It's not that the new names and locations are harder to use, it's that there's no particular need for the changes. And the new names tend to be vaguer than the ones they replace.
Not fixable: Continually getting lost is just one of the many prices you pay for upgrading to Vista.
The downgraded upgrade disc
An OS upgrade is a nice occasion to start your computer off with a clean slate. But prepare for an annoying additional step if you plan to back up your data files, wipe out your drive, and start fresh: If you bought a Vista upgrade disc, you'll have to reinstall Windows XP on the machine first.
For XP installs, you could start a clean installation on a bare drive and simply insert the disc of a previous Windows version to verify that you qualified for an upgrade. But Microsoft dumped this capability in Vista, so a clean install from an upgrade disc will entail one more (probably 30-minute-long) step. You can still get a clean installation of Vista from an upgrade disc, but you just can't do it without installing XP first.
Kinda sorta fixable: While there is a workaround that lets you perform a clean Vista install with just an upgrade disc, it requires installing Vista twice. That might actually take longer than installing XP first.
Virtualization limits, constant nagging, and needless shuffling
Is this my OS or Hollywood's? (Or, why do I have to buy a new monitor again?)
This arguably isn't Microsoft's fault, but the high-definition situation on PCs in general and Vista specifically certainly qualifies as annoying. If your video card and monitor don't support HDCP (and unless you bought them recently and did your research beforehand, they don't), you'll need new models if you want to watch full-resolution Blu-ray or HD-DVD movies on your PC.
The cheapest version of Vista, Home Basic, is so crippled it can't run the Aero interface. Theoretically, that's a boon for owners of machines that aren't capable of running Aero.
But it's time for some tough love, people: If your PC can't run Aero, you have no need for Vista. Period. On machines that aren't Aero-capable, the rest of the OS will run slowly enough that you're better off sticking with XP until it's time to buy a new Vista PC. So why does Home Basic exist? So Microsoft can say that Vista costs "as little as $100."
Yes, Mom, I really do want to install this software
We often worry about Microsoft playing Big Brother, but now it's playing Big Mother, attempting to protect you from your own rash impulses to run new software. Try to download a program, and Internet Explorer will block it. ("It's for your own good. You can't be too careful, you know. Who knows where that program has been!") Unblock it, and IE will ask if you really, truly want to download the software. ("These programs can be dangerous, you know. I just don't want you to get hurt.")
Once you manage to get the program onto your machine, Windows tosses up its own roadblocks, forcing you to authorize the installer program to run, sometimes as an administrator. ("You're going to have to convince me you really know what you're doing here, young man.") Click through enough dialog boxes, and you'll eventually be running your new software, but you can almost hear Windows grumbling in the background. ("Fine! Ruin your life! But don't say I didn't warn you!")
Who rearranged the furniture?
Here's a note for the programmers working on the next version of Windows: Moving stuff around doesn't necessarily make it better, just harder to find. Vista's chock-full of settings and tools that have been rearranged, renamed, or reorganized for no apparent reason.
Want to change your display properties? In XP you would right-click the desktop and then go down to 'Properties'. In Vista, it's 'Personalize'. Want to use 'Add or Remove Programs' to uninstall some software? Sorry. That capability is now under 'Programs and Features' in the Classic Start Menu or just plain 'Programs' in the default view.
It's not that the new names and locations are harder to use, it's that there's no particular need for the changes. And the new names tend to be vaguer than the ones they replace.
Not fixable: Continually getting lost is just one of the many prices you pay for upgrading to Vista.
The downgraded upgrade disc
An OS upgrade is a nice occasion to start your computer off with a clean slate. But prepare for an annoying additional step if you plan to back up your data files, wipe out your drive, and start fresh: If you bought a Vista upgrade disc, you'll have to reinstall Windows XP on the machine first.
For XP installs, you could start a clean installation on a bare drive and simply insert the disc of a previous Windows version to verify that you qualified for an upgrade. But Microsoft dumped this capability in Vista, so a clean install from an upgrade disc will entail one more (probably 30-minute-long) step. You can still get a clean installation of Vista from an upgrade disc, but you just can't do it without installing XP first.
Kinda sorta fixable: While there is a workaround that lets you perform a clean Vista install with just an upgrade disc, it requires installing Vista twice. That might actually take longer than installing XP first.
Virtualization limits, constant nagging, and needless shuffling
Is this my OS or Hollywood's? (Or, why do I have to buy a new monitor again?)
This arguably isn't Microsoft's fault, but the high-definition situation on PCs in general and Vista specifically certainly qualifies as annoying. If your video card and monitor don't support HDCP (and unless you bought them recently and did your research beforehand, they don't), you'll need new models if you want to watch full-resolution Blu-ray or HD-DVD movies on your PC.