Problem with “not using” here is that there is no such option. Microsoft WILL force everyone to it. Whatever it takes.

Choice is to shut up and eat it or struggle and try to voice your opinion.

“Don’t like – don’t use” may be pretty valid for third party utility or niche OS, but not something as dominating as Windows.

>That’s a little immature.

Sleepy morning, bad for deep thoughts. :)

Vista works great for me on my Asus A7SV notebook and it does everything I need it to do where as any non-microsoft OS doesn’t meet my needs. So since I’m not a fan of any other OS I just won’t use it. Simple as that.

There’s no need for me to force my opinion down anybody’s throat just because they prefer another piece of software that I don’t like.

“Yay for random uneducated choice of software… not!”

That’s a little immature.

Yay for random uneducated choice of software… not! :)

Gee, isn’t that simple?

I hate Mac, Linux and anything not Microsoft with passion but you won’t see me spending hours on end complaining. Just stop complaining.

“>>As far as UAC goes… just turn it off its such an issue? <<
Please provide detailed instructions on how to do that.”
Simple. Just open the control panel, go to user accounts, click ‘turn user account control on/off’, uncheck the tick box and click ok.

“Even on a computer with stronger specs, what’s the purpose of using Vista over XP? From what we can tell, Vista is a pretty-looking resource hog. If we were that worried about looks, we could make XP look just as nice for a fraction of the cost (both in resources and the cost of the OS itself).” You mustn’t be using the computers with vista a lot then, if you think the only differences are the visual effects. What about the organisation of explorer or the start menu? Instant search? Windows sidebar? The backup and restore center? Windows mail, calendar, dvd maker? Mobility center? Meeting space? Shadow copy? Parental controls? Sideshow? Speech recognition? Problem diagnostics? Disk management? These are all things that make vista more useable and convenient for the average user – out of the box – not after spending an hour installing 10-15 add-ons. I hate xp’s start menu now that I’m used to vista’s instant search (and if you don’t you can still change it back to the old way, the same goes for visual styles). I use the favourite links panel constantly. Same goes for the mobility center (I use a laptop with vista, my desktop still runs xp). Thanks to the sync center I don’t need to manually replace the files on my usb stick. I love having my windows contacts synced with my phone. I could go on for hours… And for all those that say “but I can install programs on xp that do the same”, my key point is: out of the box. I can tell you if I installed add-ons on my desktop (running xp) for all those features that I use on my laptop (vista) regularly – then the former would run slower than my laptop even though they are quite similar in terms of system specs.

Please provide detailed instructions on how to do that.

For me personally there was a good enough payoff in usability and productivity… also for a lower powered computer yea its not a good option… by the sound of it, 2 minutes to open a webpage even with XP… i would never have upgraded.

However for a middle of the range comp its fine… and heres why… perhaps it will run a little slower then xp on the same resources, however I can promise you that in a years time, vista will be outstripping xp. Vista has much much better system cleaning technology and background defragmenting and will not slow down anywhere near as drastically as xp does.

As far as UAC goes… just turn it off its such an issue? I leave it on and the only times I find it frustrating is when i want to delete files… THEN I curse vista like the best of you.

And to be honest, the people who I have seen to be the biggest haters of vista are the people working in customer support and the computer industry, obviously because initially it means an increased workload for you… to learn the new system, help people etc… the long term benefits are least obvious to these people…

I would definitely recommend Ubuntu for the basic end user over XP any day… seriously, XP is just so crap… I hate having to use it

A better experiment would have been to give the subjects copies of “Windows Mojave” to use and see if they still loved it a few months later.

I’m in the computer field and I can tell you are too.

Your piece is written from the point of view of someone with the patience and skill to overcome tricky systems issues.

But Windows is an OS meant for use by the general public. As such it needs to be usable by minimally capable consumer.

I’ve got 21 years of computer experience. MS has no excuse for subjecting me (or anyone) to the Vista UAC.

Use Vista.

Not just that, use Vista with a willingness to learn.

I really don’t mean to degrade your opinion, but unless you actually use the product on a day to day basis your statements are really just based on what your seeing around the place and in the media.

The only people I’ve met who tried Vista and hated it so much the instantly downgraded are those people who either tried the product back when it was first released and understandably had a lot more issues, or those who are completely cynical to begin with.

Before I got Vista I was just like you, thought it was this complete train wreck. When I first got it I spent 3 days trouble-shooting problems… some driver updates later and things where working good.

the many changes seemed pointless (eg: start menu) and I too thought it was a step backwards.

Unfortunately Microsoft had to make a whole lot of decisions which where unpopular, yet essential for Windows long term… eg: UAC.

Many other things where design and usability decisions which while they at first seem unreasonable or unfounded, rapidly become clear as to why they’ve been made. (eg: progress barless defragmentor)

Other things such as the integrated search simply arn’t initially obvious as to how incredibly useful they really are.

But I promise you, use Vista for a few month, THEN go back to XP. THEN come back with your opinion over which is better, and weather or not Vista is a huge leap forward.

You didn’t even bother to read what my complaints about Vista are.

The problem is that plenty of people with long term experience with Vista HATE IT !

I paid for a OS that forced me to struggle against its stupid security scheme. Wonder if that was part of the Mohave experiment.

This was not an experiment. It was a DECEPTIVE SALES TALK.

Anyone who disagrees with you sucks at computers? Stupid argument.

>I am running modern up to date hardware and software

Not everyone upgrades for the sake of upgrading. Hardware changes every 1-2 years, computer can work perfectly few times that.

>you also must run at least 2 gigs of ram

Sure, pay for Vista, pay for upgrade/new desktop, multiply by number of users if it’s at work… To get what?

>Allot of these people are blaming Microsoft for their computer problems when they should be blaming the manufacturer of their computer remember Microsoft does not make hardware they make software.

Microsoft had PCs certification program for Vista. Microsoft allowed to put certificates on desktops that were clearly underpowered. And suddenly all blame goes on manufacturers?