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Windows Vista Ultimate with SP1 Review (continued)
More User Submitted Windows Vista Ultimate with SP1 Reviews
Date: 2008-05-19
Nice refresh, but is it compelling?
Vista has gotten its share of knocks, many of them well-deserved. But as an IT professional, and having used XP on the desktop for many years, I decided to give Vista a shot now that it's "mature" at over a year old and with the release of SP1.
XP was starting to show its age ("ugly"), and with Vista, Windows finally looks like it belongs in today's technology world. It's pretty, it's REALLY slick, the interface is more streamlined, and everything is laid out just a little better than in XP. Even little things are easier to use. Copy a large set of files, and the prompt that asks if you want to overwrite existing files let's you click "yes to all", "no to all", AND tells you how many conflicts remain. Much better than XP's Windows 3.1 style dialog.
Those changes in layout are a mixed blessing; much like the transition from MS Office 2003 to Office 2007, many things are in slightly different places and it takes a while to adjust to that.
From an IT perspective, aesthetics are unimportant but they are what is most visible; so Microsoft now provides some lovely images for use as wallpaper, dozens of themes/skins, much better looking icons that look good at all sizes, new screensavers, etc. Some of these things use more CPU than you'd expect.
The Help system actually feels helpful finally, and a new Windows Welcome Center is great for the beginning user. Games have been updated and no longer look like 1990s shareware.
There is support for new technologies like iSCSI.
Security is finally taken seriously, but this is a mixed-bag. Precautionary security pop-ups are a bit too frequent, and worse, take over the screen ("pre-emptive")-- not good for multitasking work-flow. There's drive encryption software included now-- but it's not very robust. Etc.
My favorite addition is the Sidebar, a strip on the side where you can run mini-applications that are always visible. No more separate windows to manage, or kludges using the taskbar for the purpose. A CPU/RAM usage meter is one thing I ran in my Sidebar. The Sidebar also makes good use of the real-estate on wide-screen LCDs.
Compatibility issues have been covered ad-naseum so I won't go into those, but before upgrading check that your favorite apps AND hardware are supported. You can safely assume most current products will work reasonably well, but expect to have to upgrade older software, especially system utilities like anything by Mcafe or Norton.
I ran Vista on a new Dell Vostro with 2GB dual-channel RAM and a fast 2.33GHZ Intel E6550 processor. Your experience may suffer on slower hardware.
All of this begs the question of whether you need THIS edition of Vista. You definitely want to run SP1, which greatly improves the Vista experience. But chances are the few extras for "Ultimate" aren't going to be terribly useful, you'd be just fine with the cheaper Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1.
A more difficult question is do you need to buy Vista for a machine that was presumably already running something else? While there is a handful of software that is Vista specific (such as games using DirectX10), there is little compelling reason to go through upgrade or reinstall hassles otherwise. If you don't need those few packages, and don't care to "keep up" with the newest technology, there's little urgency to go to Vista.
For these reasons, I give Vista Ultimate 4-stars. A much needed refresh, but not compelling enough for 5-stars in this premium-priced package.
Other thoughts: Despite Microsoft's attempt to set system requirements low to expand the possible user-base, you will NOT have a good experience with those minimum requirements. Run Vista only a reasonably new machine, at least double the minimum CPU and memory recommendation.
Date: 2008-05-17
Windows and Hardware Conspiracy
I just bought XP Pro because MS is supposed to phase out XP in June of this year. Go to InfoWorld and read about why the world is up in arms with MS. Over 200,000 signatures have signed the petition to save XP.
And MS is loving every minute of it, as well as all PC and hardware manufacturers. Why?
Vista has promoted the sale of new PCs, Printers, Scanners, etc. This is a win-win scenario for MS, PC and hardware manufacturers. And Vista is killing off most of your applications, but running MS's Office, games, and other applications. Does this sound familiar (IE vs Netscape wars)?
Because Vista does not work, everyone must buy a copy of XP because OEM versions on one machine can't be installed on a new machine. And neither can any other packaged version be installed on a "second" machine. And if you replace all your hard drives, you will have to go through the 40 digit validation process on the phone with MS. Arrgggghhhh! I've had hard drive failures and had to bear this MS criminal investion phone process, because MS software is too stupid to know I'm using the same Motherboard and Processor. How arrogant!
All of the different packaged versions of the same Windows OS were created to take advantage of everyone. A few years back I bought XP 64. It was not supported by Adelphia (now Comcast) and I could not even get on the Web.
I believe MS was fully aware that Vista would not work on most machines, and knew that it would promote PC sales for Enron-like companies; MS gets to double its income by selling flawed Vista and then double-dip by selling XP Pro/Home to make our expensive PCs work. Next, in 2010 MS will triple its income by selling Windows 7 or its next version. MS learned well from all of its other OS failures (95, 98, especially from Millennium).
MS and PC hardware manufacturers are in the hog pen together, selling Windows, Printers, software applications,and on and on. Aren't most of the hardware manufacturers behind the power curve, not producing drivers or driver updates for Vista?
I think Congress needs to do some investigating, that is, if they are not already in MS's deep soft money pockets!
The Al Queda mind set (AQMS) is in warp drive in the U.S., the AQMS financial version that is (also oil, mortgage ARMs, medical, drugs, and so on).
Date: 2008-05-15
THis one met and exceeded our expectations
First, a disclaimer: I got to try this free. However, we use this product daily and are fully satisfied with its performance - in fact, we got more than we ever expected from this in terms of satisfaction.
To determine if it meets YOUR needs, read on:
We wanted a system that met what I'd call a fairly high level of computing needs. It has many business as well as personal use features and that fulfilled these needs:
1. Those of a family where one member works primarily from the computer and several others spend a significant amount of time online. The teen member of the family is fairly skilled at computer use and relies heavily on programs that come with this, including those who use photo and entertainment options. He was thrilled with the ability to share photos, even from our living room and to use this with the Xbox 360 and other devices.
2. Also good for a group of family members which needed digital photography, music, movies and HDTV capability
3. The ability to connect to business networks and a high degree of anti-theft protection was appreciated.
4. The ability to backup and restore our data was a MAJOR plus.
We got all of this and more and we could use the photo gallery option to share photo and the media center for tv shows. This is an excellent choice for laptop users who have the capability to support a Windows Vista system. We are still enjoying the features of this one and I'd gladly have paid to own it. It really upped our computer's abilities and capability.
Please check my other reviews and you'll see that I write honest reviews about products. If I like them, I say so. Hate them or feel cold about a product? I'll note why.
This one? I really liked it!
Date: 2008-05-15
It has some perks over regular Vista, but Ubuntu is still better
Let me begin by saying we've recently upgraded our computers, and in the process tried Vista Home Premium w/ SP1 ($200), Vista Ultimate w/ SP1 ($300), Ubuntu, tried installing Mac OSX Leopard on our PCs ($129), and Ubuntu (free).
I must admit we were impressed with the look, feel, and some of the features of Vista Ultimate, but our bottom line is that it had way too many glitches, it was way too expensive, the rights management is absolutely ridiculous, it's way too bulky and clunky, and the free version of Ubuntu is a much better operating system. I've also posted a product review for Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1, and I'll be repeating myself on several issues. So let me begin by commenting on the features unique to Vista Ultimate:
From my experience, the biggest perks for the Ultimate version are the "Meeting Space" features (for collaboration & sharing documents), XBox compatibility (which doesn't matter for us), backup features which are pretty helpful, hardware failure protection (which doesn't really matter since you are not allowed to reinstall Vista more than once), remote desktop accessibility, and business networking features. Some of these are pretty good features, but nothing here really impresses us deeply. Most of these things can be downloaded as individual programs or plug-ins ...they are nice features to have in an operating system, but it in no way warrants putting up with all the other bugs and glitches in Vista, nor does it warrant the price.
Even though this version comes with a service pack, it still seems like a beta product. It really does take a lot of time to figure out how to install it, how to migrate your programs and information to Vista (I've read some nightmare stories about trying to uninstall it, too), and how to use it. I really don't see how Windows can compete with Ubuntu, which is free! Overall I would strongly suggest either 1.) keeping your previous version of Windows (I'm using XP on one machine, and NT or 2000 on our other machines, which remains the lightest, most functional version of Windows); 2.) installing Ubuntu instead; or 3.) getting a Mac.
The new Internet Explorer 7 is a clear benefit over previous versions. It has much better security (though still not as good as Mozilla Firefox or Mac browsers), and it has more functionality. But you don't need to buy Vista to get it - you can upgrade free online.
Also, it has some new gadgets & wizards which are useful, such as transparent layering windows and 3D layout (Aero), tablet interface, and others. But this is not enough to impress me - either these things are available already through Ubuntu or Mac OS, or these are things you can download with your other peripherals/accessories (such as the tablet interface).
But I quickly run out of nice things to say about Vista. The DRM precautions (digital rights management) are ridiculous - there are way too many issues to mention here, so you'll have to google it to get the full story. My biggest problem with the "rights management", perhaps, is that you cannot reinstall this more than once... even with the disc! Yes, that means if you have a bad install, then you only get one more shot at installing it. That also means if you have to migrate to a new PC or
hard drive, you are out of luck! This is a ripoff - absolute nonsense, and I would recommend against this OS for this reason alone.
My second biggest problem is that this is a huge, clunky OS which takes an enormous amount of disk space. I have a pretty nice system at home, but its a couple years old and Vista slows me down to a snail's pace. It's ironic, because when we decided to install Ubuntu instead of upgrading our systems (keeping the old hardware), everything ran twice as fast. Microsoft simply doesn't get it. They seem to be adding a whole bunch of features and new stuff instead of making the OS lighter, more efficient, &/or easier to use.
The power management feature does not seem to work. The operating system is constantly scanning your computer, so the features contradict themselves, making it a rather inefficient operating system for desktops or laptops. This can take a toll both on the environment and on your electric bill.
The security features in Vista seem too little, too late. Yes, these features might help, but they pop up for the dumbest reasons (i.e., plugging in a USB drive or an external hard drive - is it warning me that my drive has a virus on it?, or that my drive *may* have a virus on it?, or that someone may be stealing my files? It's not clear). Also, as I said earlier, the new IE7 (bundled here) has clear advantages to the previous versions, but if security is a concern (as it should be - studies show that 90% of computers in the US have some sort of malware or virus on it), then get a Mac or upgrade to Ubuntu instead.
Vista, for the first time in Windows, introduced a recording tools program (again, better versions come standard in Ubuntu or Mac), and upgraded their windows media player - and again, made it clunkier instead of lighter. Media player, by the way, remains a huge security risk.
In terms of drivers, I couldn't get either of my printers to work with Vista (Dell Color Laser, and an old ALPS micro dry printer). These took me a LOT of time to set up in XP, and frankly, I gave up trying to get them to work with Vista. The legacy of "plug and pray" continues with Vista.
There is a lot more I could say about Vista, but I should probably "bottom line" it for you ... who should get Vista? This does have some nice business & conferencing features not available in Ubuntu or Mac OS. So if these are really important to you, then maybe you should check it out...though I would definitely suggest trying to find individual programs to meet your needs instead of switching to a whole new operating system just for these features. If you do get it, expect to fork out another $300 next time your computer crashes (I cannot warn you enough about what a cost and inconvenience this will be for users), and expect to spend a LOT of time tinkering (something I suspect a lot of business users don't have time for).
Date: 2008-05-10
SP1 makes a difference
I had Vista before the service pack.. and unfortunately, the operating system seemed to lack in one area, operating. My hardware drivers stopped working over time, and I ultimately uninstalled the OS and reinstalled XP.
I built a new computer and wanted to have DirectX 10, and since installing Vista with SP1, I haven't had any issues with compatability with drivers. I'm pleased with the perfomance of it so far.
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