Does Vista take as long to startup as everyone suggests? Is using it a
satisfying experience or a frustrating one? Does it hang a lot? I need a new
computer but am turned off by Vista reviews. I am considering a Mac. Should a
take the plunge or not?!
"C Tate" <CTate@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:8925FA74-F7FC-46D9-BB91-43686FC46AF0@microsoft.com...
> Does Vista take as long to startup as everyone suggests? Is using it a
> satisfying experience or a frustrating one? Does it hang a lot? I need a
> new
> computer but am turned off by Vista reviews. I am considering a Mac.
> Should a
> take the plunge or not?!
Vista takes a while to start up. I have never noticed it taking longer, but
then I never turn the computer off.
Vista Ultimate on my HP machine has not hung in the past 12 months 5 days.
By the way, I am at the keyboard an average of 6 hours a day.
Macs are great computers. Our computer club has several Macs running in a
dual boot mode with Windows Vista Home Premium. As with any computer, there
will be glitches. Remember, programmers are human, despite the fact that
many berate vendor as if any operating system can ever be totally bug free!
that way you wont be sorry..get best of both worlds, and you can even
install linux on a mac too, but its most likely that you wont need or want
vista after using MACOSX
"C Tate" <CTate@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:8925FA74-F7FC-46D9-BB91-43686FC46AF0@microsoft.com...
> Does Vista take as long to startup as everyone suggests? Is using it a
> satisfying experience or a frustrating one? Does it hang a lot? I need a
> new
> computer but am turned off by Vista reviews. I am considering a Mac.
> Should a
> take the plunge or not?!
So long as the hardware and drivers are all properly Vista compatible, you
will have no problems. It's startup time is similar to XP; it is good to
use (in fact the user interface is far less patronising than the hideous
Fisher Price look of XP with its stupid giggling children and
trumpet-fanfare sound effects).
Vista doesn't hang at all (again, provided the hardware and drivers are
properly Vista compatible).
I've used it for fourteen months now, and am very happy indeed with it. The
only thing you may not like are the UAC prompts, although these diminish
greatly after you've finished installing all your software. In any case,
you can always turn it off (though I don't recommend it).
Don't pay too much heed to the negative reviews you read in this newsgroup.
It is here primarily as a support community, so basically the only people
who frequent this place are those with Vista problems, or those who like
fixing Vista problems! It does NOT represent the user base as a whole.
Also, I think most of the problems arise when:
1/ the hardware is too old, and there aren't decent Vista drivers for it
2/ the user has done an in-place upgrade of an already flakey XP
installation
3/ the user is trying to use software which is not Vista-compatible.
In other words, they use Vista outside the specified bounds, and then moan
when it doesn't work right.
I've just done a fresh install with SP1, and I've got a smooth, reliable and
responsive system with a sophisticated user interface. Vista is great.
BUT..... MAKE SURE THE HARDWARE AND DRIVERS ARE VISTA-COMPATIBLE!
(I'm sure you've got that part of the message now).... ;-)
I hope you have it on for a good reason and you are not just wasting energy
because you can...
"Charles W Davis" <Anthemwebs@lvcoxmail.com> wrote in message
news:19235F41-74FD-4E36-AA6C-F86CCCA7A2AC@microsoft.com...
>
> "C Tate" <CTate@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:8925FA74-F7FC-46D9-BB91-43686FC46AF0@microsoft.com...
>> Does Vista take as long to startup as everyone suggests? Is using it a
>> satisfying experience or a frustrating one? Does it hang a lot? I need a
>> new
>> computer but am turned off by Vista reviews. I am considering a Mac.
>> Should a
>> take the plunge or not?!
>
> Vista takes a while to start up. I have never noticed it taking longer,
> but then I never turn the computer off.
>
> Vista Ultimate on my HP machine has not hung in the past 12 months 5 days.
> By the way, I am at the keyboard an average of 6 hours a day.
>
> Macs are great computers. Our computer club has several Macs running in a
> dual boot mode with Windows Vista Home Premium. As with any computer,
> there will be glitches. Remember, programmers are human, despite the fact
> that many berate vendor as if any operating system can ever be totally bug
> free!
>
>
"C Tate" <CTate@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:8925FA74-F7FC-46D9-BB91-43686FC46AF0@microsoft.com...
> Does Vista take as long to startup as everyone suggests? Is using it a
> satisfying experience or a frustrating one? Does it hang a lot? I need a
> new
> computer but am turned off by Vista reviews. I am considering a Mac.
> Should a
> take the plunge or not?!
I am using Vista Home Premium. Startup time has been fast, but I am also
using a new computer (so don't have a good comparison with XP). I had
problems for awhile with the notorious "program not responding" error
messages in IE7, but not with my own software programs. I finally called
Microsoft, and they had me uninstall the Yahoo! and Google search engines
and use the default. That solved the problem and I have not had any
problems with it since then.
On Sat, 5 Apr 2008 15:29:00 -0700, C Tate
<CTate@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> Does Vista take as long to startup as everyone suggests?
I don't know what everyone suggests, but I don't find that it takes
any longer than earlier versions of Windows did.
Besides, my personal view is that the attention many people pay to how
long it takes to boot is unwarranted. Assuming that the computer's
speed is otherwise satisfactory, it may not be worth worrying about.
Most people start their computers once a day or even less frequently.
In the overall scheme of things, even a few minutes to start up isn't
very important. Personally I power on my computer when I get up in the
morning, then go get my coffee. When I come back, it's done booting. I
don't know how long it took to boot and I don't care.
> Is using it a
> satisfying experience or a frustrating one?
You'll get different points of view from different people, but I find
it just fine. Just realize that it needs more computer power than its
predecessors; in particular be sure that you have at least 2GB of RAM.
> Does it hang a lot?
*Never*, n my experience, and I've been running it here since RTM in
November 2006.
> I need a new
> computer but am turned off by Vista reviews. I am considering a Mac. Should a
> take the plunge or not?!
Your choice entirely. I'm very happy with Vista, but if you want a
Macintosh, feel free to ignore my opinion and get a Macintosh. What's
best for me isn't necessarily best for you.
--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup
"C Tate" <CTate@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:8925FA74-F7FC-46D9-BB91-43686FC46AF0@microsoft.com...
> Does Vista take as long to startup as everyone suggests? Is using it a
> satisfying experience or a frustrating one? Does it hang a lot? I need a
> new
> computer but am turned off by Vista reviews. I am considering a Mac.
> Should a
> take the plunge or not?!
Vista doesn't take much longer to start up than any other OS. If it takes a
few seconds longer, is that a big deal?
It is satisfying if you don't have any hardware or software issues. It is
frustrating if you do. Sounds dumb, but that's what I've observed as being
most folk's complaints in this NG over the last 18 months or so.
Vista has never hung or blue screened for me since RTM was released. All my
installs have been clean installs, no upgrades. If you get a new computer
then the area of concern might be that whichever vendor you buy the computer
from might throw on some crapware that doesn't play well with Vista. One
should hope that after the length of time that Vista's been out, vendors
have gotten their "stuff" together in that respect, but I wouldn't count on
it 100%.
I've seen articles recently saying that many of Vista's "troubles" can be
traced back to nVidia video cards... whether that's true or not, I don't
know... I'm writing this on my Mac Pro which has an nVidia GeForce 7300 GT
and it doesn't seem to have caused any problems thus far but must admit I
only boot into Vista on my Mac every couple of weeks as I have 3 PC's
running Vista. (None of which have nVidia cards...)
While I really enjoy my Mac Pro there are things about OS X that drive me
crazy. It really comes down to: what applications do you need to use? Many
apps are available for both Windows and OS X... but if you have one single
app that you can't live without and it's only available for Windows...
well... there's your answer. (Yes, one can install Vista or XP on a Mac to
be used via Boot Camp, but you'll have the extra cost of buying Vista if you
buy a Mac.)
I got my Mac Pro when I had a windfall of sorts... I've always wanted a Mac
and I got one because I could. I like the apps that come with OS X... but
iPhoto drives me crazy because when you import photos into it, you cannot
access the photos through the Finder (Mac equivilant of Windows Explorer)
but must export the photos from iPhoto to another location on your hard
disk. That just seems plain crazy to me. (And... maybe one can do it, but I
have not discovered how without using iPhoto's export function.) An awful
lot of extra work.
Ultimately for me... the Apple ads that say OS X "...just works like you
do." are bullsh*t. There is no such thing as an intuitive OS. One gets
acclimated to an OS and the longer one uses it, the more familiar one is
with it. One of the major complaints about Vista is "they moved my cheese
and I can't find it." Fair enough... a lot of stuff did get moved in Vista
but Vista's search functionality is far greater than XP's IMHO. Once one has
used a new OS for a while, then those "hard to find" items are no longer
hard to find. In this respect, moving to either Vista or OS X will have the
same effect; one will have to "re-learn" certain fundamental functions.
As to whether it's time for you to "take the plunge" and get a Mac... you'll
want a minimum of 2GB's RAM to run Leopard. Same as Vista. Only a few Mac
desktops come with 2GB's RAM installed. Most come with 1GB RAM and you'll
have to upgrade... so that's an additional cost on top of the heavy premium
one lays out to get a Mac compared to a similarly powerful PC. (Apple has
upped the RAM on many of their laptops to 2GB, but if you're thinking about
getting a Mac Mini or an iMac... the mini only comes with 1GB right now and
only the top end iMac ships with 2GB RAM.) One can find many low cost PC's
shipping with Vista that provide 2GB's RAM - and sometimes even 3GB's - for
half to 2/3's the cost of a Mac.
If you only use your computer to surf the web and write emails, then you
could save a boat load of cash by getting a PC running Vista. If you use it
for other tasks... well then it's up to you to figure out which fork in the
road makes the most sense for you...
Thanks to everyone has replied. I'm not sure I am any clearer in my own head
which way I want to go. But I am now well aware of the issues. Thanks again.
"Lang Murphy" wrote:
> "C Tate" <CTate@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:8925FA74-F7FC-46D9-BB91-43686FC46AF0@microsoft.com...
> > Does Vista take as long to startup as everyone suggests? Is using it a
> > satisfying experience or a frustrating one? Does it hang a lot? I need a
> > new
> > computer but am turned off by Vista reviews. I am considering a Mac.
> > Should a
> > take the plunge or not?!
>
>
> Vista doesn't take much longer to start up than any other OS. If it takes a
> few seconds longer, is that a big deal?
>
> It is satisfying if you don't have any hardware or software issues. It is
> frustrating if you do. Sounds dumb, but that's what I've observed as being
> most folk's complaints in this NG over the last 18 months or so.
>
> Vista has never hung or blue screened for me since RTM was released. All my
> installs have been clean installs, no upgrades. If you get a new computer
> then the area of concern might be that whichever vendor you buy the computer
> from might throw on some crapware that doesn't play well with Vista. One
> should hope that after the length of time that Vista's been out, vendors
> have gotten their "stuff" together in that respect, but I wouldn't count on
> it 100%.
>
> I've seen articles recently saying that many of Vista's "troubles" can be
> traced back to nVidia video cards... whether that's true or not, I don't
> know... I'm writing this on my Mac Pro which has an nVidia GeForce 7300 GT
> and it doesn't seem to have caused any problems thus far but must admit I
> only boot into Vista on my Mac every couple of weeks as I have 3 PC's
> running Vista. (None of which have nVidia cards...)
>
> While I really enjoy my Mac Pro there are things about OS X that drive me
> crazy. It really comes down to: what applications do you need to use? Many
> apps are available for both Windows and OS X... but if you have one single
> app that you can't live without and it's only available for Windows...
> well... there's your answer. (Yes, one can install Vista or XP on a Mac to
> be used via Boot Camp, but you'll have the extra cost of buying Vista if you
> buy a Mac.)
>
> I got my Mac Pro when I had a windfall of sorts... I've always wanted a Mac
> and I got one because I could. I like the apps that come with OS X... but
> iPhoto drives me crazy because when you import photos into it, you cannot
> access the photos through the Finder (Mac equivilant of Windows Explorer)
> but must export the photos from iPhoto to another location on your hard
> disk. That just seems plain crazy to me. (And... maybe one can do it, but I
> have not discovered how without using iPhoto's export function.) An awful
> lot of extra work.
>
> Ultimately for me... the Apple ads that say OS X "...just works like you
> do." are bullsh*t. There is no such thing as an intuitive OS. One gets
> acclimated to an OS and the longer one uses it, the more familiar one is
> with it. One of the major complaints about Vista is "they moved my cheese
> and I can't find it." Fair enough... a lot of stuff did get moved in Vista
> but Vista's search functionality is far greater than XP's IMHO. Once one has
> used a new OS for a while, then those "hard to find" items are no longer
> hard to find. In this respect, moving to either Vista or OS X will have the
> same effect; one will have to "re-learn" certain fundamental functions.
>
> As to whether it's time for you to "take the plunge" and get a Mac... you'll
> want a minimum of 2GB's RAM to run Leopard. Same as Vista. Only a few Mac
> desktops come with 2GB's RAM installed. Most come with 1GB RAM and you'll
> have to upgrade... so that's an additional cost on top of the heavy premium
> one lays out to get a Mac compared to a similarly powerful PC. (Apple has
> upped the RAM on many of their laptops to 2GB, but if you're thinking about
> getting a Mac Mini or an iMac... the mini only comes with 1GB right now and
> only the top end iMac ships with 2GB RAM.) One can find many low cost PC's
> shipping with Vista that provide 2GB's RAM - and sometimes even 3GB's - for
> half to 2/3's the cost of a Mac.
>
> If you only use your computer to surf the web and write emails, then you
> could save a boat load of cash by getting a PC running Vista. If you use it
> for other tasks... well then it's up to you to figure out which fork in the
> road makes the most sense for you...
>
> In any event... good luck!
>
> Lang
>
>
>
>
>
"C Tate" <CTate@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:6645D573-AA0C-44F3-8205-BED9C5C9AB52@microsoft.com...
> Thanks to everyone has replied. I'm not sure I am any clearer in my own
> head
> which way I want to go. But I am now well aware of the issues. Thanks
> again.
>
OK... what do you use your computer for? Email? Surfing the web? What other
tasks do you undertake on your computer?
Lang
> "Lang Murphy" wrote:
>
>> "C Tate" <CTate@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:8925FA74-F7FC-46D9-BB91-43686FC46AF0@microsoft.com...
>> > Does Vista take as long to startup as everyone suggests? Is using it a
>> > satisfying experience or a frustrating one? Does it hang a lot? I need
>> > a
>> > new
>> > computer but am turned off by Vista reviews. I am considering a Mac.
>> > Should a
>> > take the plunge or not?!
>>
>>
>> Vista doesn't take much longer to start up than any other OS. If it takes
>> a
>> few seconds longer, is that a big deal?
>>
>> It is satisfying if you don't have any hardware or software issues. It is
>> frustrating if you do. Sounds dumb, but that's what I've observed as
>> being
>> most folk's complaints in this NG over the last 18 months or so.
>>
>> Vista has never hung or blue screened for me since RTM was released. All
>> my
>> installs have been clean installs, no upgrades. If you get a new computer
>> then the area of concern might be that whichever vendor you buy the
>> computer
>> from might throw on some crapware that doesn't play well with Vista. One
>> should hope that after the length of time that Vista's been out, vendors
>> have gotten their "stuff" together in that respect, but I wouldn't count
>> on
>> it 100%.
>>
>> I've seen articles recently saying that many of Vista's "troubles" can be
>> traced back to nVidia video cards... whether that's true or not, I don't
>> know... I'm writing this on my Mac Pro which has an nVidia GeForce 7300
>> GT
>> and it doesn't seem to have caused any problems thus far but must admit I
>> only boot into Vista on my Mac every couple of weeks as I have 3 PC's
>> running Vista. (None of which have nVidia cards...)
>>
>> While I really enjoy my Mac Pro there are things about OS X that drive me
>> crazy. It really comes down to: what applications do you need to use?
>> Many
>> apps are available for both Windows and OS X... but if you have one
>> single
>> app that you can't live without and it's only available for Windows...
>> well... there's your answer. (Yes, one can install Vista or XP on a Mac
>> to
>> be used via Boot Camp, but you'll have the extra cost of buying Vista if
>> you
>> buy a Mac.)
>>
>> I got my Mac Pro when I had a windfall of sorts... I've always wanted a
>> Mac
>> and I got one because I could. I like the apps that come with OS X... but
>> iPhoto drives me crazy because when you import photos into it, you cannot
>> access the photos through the Finder (Mac equivilant of Windows Explorer)
>> but must export the photos from iPhoto to another location on your hard
>> disk. That just seems plain crazy to me. (And... maybe one can do it, but
>> I
>> have not discovered how without using iPhoto's export function.) An awful
>> lot of extra work.
>>
>> Ultimately for me... the Apple ads that say OS X "...just works like you
>> do." are bullsh*t. There is no such thing as an intuitive OS. One gets
>> acclimated to an OS and the longer one uses it, the more familiar one is
>> with it. One of the major complaints about Vista is "they moved my cheese
>> and I can't find it." Fair enough... a lot of stuff did get moved in
>> Vista
>> but Vista's search functionality is far greater than XP's IMHO. Once one
>> has
>> used a new OS for a while, then those "hard to find" items are no longer
>> hard to find. In this respect, moving to either Vista or OS X will have
>> the
>> same effect; one will have to "re-learn" certain fundamental functions.
>>
>> As to whether it's time for you to "take the plunge" and get a Mac...
>> you'll
>> want a minimum of 2GB's RAM to run Leopard. Same as Vista. Only a few Mac
>> desktops come with 2GB's RAM installed. Most come with 1GB RAM and you'll
>> have to upgrade... so that's an additional cost on top of the heavy
>> premium
>> one lays out to get a Mac compared to a similarly powerful PC. (Apple has
>> upped the RAM on many of their laptops to 2GB, but if you're thinking
>> about
>> getting a Mac Mini or an iMac... the mini only comes with 1GB right now
>> and
>> only the top end iMac ships with 2GB RAM.) One can find many low cost
>> PC's
>> shipping with Vista that provide 2GB's RAM - and sometimes even 3GB's -
>> for
>> half to 2/3's the cost of a Mac.
>>
>> If you only use your computer to surf the web and write emails, then you
>> could save a boat load of cash by getting a PC running Vista. If you use
>> it
>> for other tasks... well then it's up to you to figure out which fork in
>> the
>> road makes the most sense for you...
>>
>> In any event... good luck!
>>
>> Lang
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
Startup and reliability 
Linear Mode
