PVR Wire

1. "when you move your mouse over the borders, you'll find they're a little thicker so it isn't as hard to grab them and expand the size of a window" KDE for linux has had this feature for years now. Anyone with some common sense will realize that for the pricetag, there is no good reason to upgrade to Vista.

Posted at 10:45PM on Jan 22nd 2007 by James Smith

2. Vista is solid and the new GUI effects make it feel fresh. Anyone that has a system that can run Aero would like it. It has its quirks but they are easy to deal with .

Posted at 3:16AM on Jan 23rd 2007 by jSn

3. it runs on macs with bootcamp and rhen you can play dx10games on a mac

Posted at 3:17AM on Jan 23rd 2007 by Der Jupp

4. I've been using the full release version of Vista (Business Edition) for the past two months developing software on it. I'm a Microsoft .Net developer (no I don't work for MS). Honestly if it didn't take hours to reinstall XP, I'd go back to XP due to multiple software incompatibilities I've encountered. The funny thing is many of the incompatibilities are with Microsoft development tools.

It feels slow to me which is sad since I'm on a brand new Core2 system with 2GB of memory...maybe it's the slow X1300 card or the binding to our network that makes it feel slow?

THE GOOD:
Really the only thing that I'm absolutely thrilled about is the built in search...finally...I've had that in OSX for over a year now and couldn't wait to have it in Vista. It saves me so much time to search for various work items rather than searching through endless folders and emails...this feature alone will save everyone hours of wasted time each week.

Some really great features that should have happened in XP SP2 is you can finally install RAID drivers from any media at the F6 prompt instead of being forced to use a floppy drive...about time! How long ago did Apple ditch the floppy? But, what was really surprising during the install is that it recognized a RAID array without loading any additional drivers...nice! The entire install process is worlds better than XP, almost as good as a OS X.

It's a work machine, so I haven't tried gaming on it, but from what I've read it's really poor in that department for the time being. The only killer app for home users is the Ultimate media center and support of digital cable cards for recording HDTV over cable...hopefully DRM won't completely screw this up! I'm really disappointed that you must purchase a brand new system with Vista Ultimate pre-installed to use this feature...it's a shame we cannot white-box our own media center machines...hopefully this will change.

My advice:
Buy a Mac, OS X is still better than Vista for most home users. While Vista adds some badly needed features, in my opinion it's just catching up to OS X. When Leopard comes out in a few months it will leave Vista in the dust again. :)

If you insist on a PC, wait for SP1 before upgrading to Vista.

Posted at 3:17AM on Jan 23rd 2007 by Brian

5. A great reason not to get vista, it runs games worse than xp by up to 11%. Check out tomshardware.com for the story.

Posted at 3:17AM on Jan 23rd 2007 by Spiza

6. "Vista is solid and the new GUI effects make it feel fresh." Fresh like a brand new cowpie, maybe. Vista is a giant leap backwards in terms of usability, features and compatibility. They'd have to pay me to run it..but only if I could still have a second machine with XP. If Macs were affordable and there was more development for them, I'd seriously consider one for my next machine.

Posted at 3:17AM on Jan 23rd 2007 by Psycros

7. psycros: and you say this from what experience? Did you read that somewhere? The common link I've seen from everyone who has posted in this thread is that nobody seems to have actually used it themselves. They're just going by what they read somewhere else. From a usability and features standpoint it surpasses XP, period. I can't speak to the compatibility beyond my own experiences, but other than drivers and a few obscure apps I haven't found anything that wouldn't run. It was no different when XP came around.

Posted at 7:23AM on Jan 23rd 2007 by jSn

8. So true, why don't you try Vista before you start bashing it.

It is a brand new O/S and it will take the software & hardware vendors forever to release support for it.

Give me a break.

Posted at 12:59PM on Jan 23rd 2007 by KingBuzzo

9. My first exposure to Vista was a Microsoft demo for our Computer Science department. The Microsoft guys crashed it twice in a 30 minute demo, and with one exception (3-D alt-tab) every new feature is already available on a Mac, not to mention the various Linux distros that have these features.
It's always foolish to put a new MS OS on a production machine before the first sp is released.

Posted at 2:19PM on Jan 25th 2007 by leatherwing

10. No matter what is posted on engadget (or similar blogs)some disgruntled minority try’s to start an argument. Fact, while apple is showing renewed popularity, it still doesn’t sell as many copies (OEM or Preinstalled) as windows. I know why it sells more copies so spare me you stupid replies that no one cares about. Microsoft owns the world. Get over it. I’m glad I’m getting a fresh new look.

Okay, point number two, regular people do not use Linux. Most people have never even heard of it. I got curious one day and started snooping around. After wasting my life reading endless forums and installing a dozen different versions of the same thing painted different colors, (Don’t correct me on this, I have a full understanding on all the shit Linux has to offer) I came to the realization that Linux just outright sucks as an everyday OS. GET OVER IT. The 90’s came and went. You Lost. Bill Won. It’s a great hobby for a select few but no one else cares.

Having said that, I think I will stick with an OS that EVERYONE else in the world uses. Also, an OS that has enough employees behind it to provide me with the updated software and technology I need to keep me productive and entertained at the same time.

Commence the bitching you opinionated handful of technological gurus.

Posted at 11:24AM on Jan 27th 2007 by Richard Thomason

11. Hey Richard, great comments. I totally agree with you. I've played around with both the Apple and Linux OS and I couldn't agree more with one comment you made in particular - that everyone else in the world uses Windows! My sister bought a Mac just because she lives in Hippy-town, I mean Austin, TX and it is hip to rebel against the MAN. Flash forward and now not only can she not get any programs she wants but she also can't get any of her friends running PCs to help her when she's stumped by something. Tech support for most people is HUGE!! Not everyone has a Masters in Geek-ology.

Bring on Vista! I drank the Kool-Aid back when Windows 95 was released.

Posted at 9:52AM on Jan 28th 2007 by Michael

12. Mac OS may have looked cool in the past but compared to Vista it looks like its for kids!

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Http://www.WindowsVistaUserGuide.com

Posted at 1:28PM on Jan 28th 2007 by James