Vista baby
Vista is finally out, well properly out anyway. It’s already managed to annoy me several times and I only started the install this afternoon. After years of mocking microsoft for their lack of progress information it seems that they are destined for more as the install process has only indeterminate progress bars for a good part of the install, and quite frankly the most important part as its the bit where you have to sit there to fill in the information.
As for looks, it does look very cool. I’m not sure that I’ve got everything running smoothly yet but it was pretty troube free with regard to getting everything working. Anyway must get back to playing around with it!
Good Hunting
I’m going to see how long it is before I have to use it!
I don’t play games, so that should help - the only thing I’m using windows for is firmware/hardward updates to gadgets (like my mobile phone, etc.) that only have propritory windows software, etc.
I still can’t believe its a 15Gig install. Trouble is, it should operate your system, not your system operate it - 15Gig is unbelievable.
Yeah, it looks cool, but I usually find funky graphics on the OS have the following:
- novity that wears off very quicky (most people I know at work default back to the normal windows theme, due to annoyancies, etc.)
- more unstable
- more hardward intensive and slows the machine donw
- Most of all, slow you down in achieving what you actually need to achieve!!!
Still, as Si said, I’d be very interested to hear how it goes.
Well so far so good, for a windows install it’s not actually buggared anything up as far as I can see.
15gig isn’t that bad for your OS - maybe five years ago where a 30gig drive was big but 15 gets lost on something like a 160/200 gb drive, proportionally it’s only about twice the size of XP.
The aero stuff is cool, and the windows switching is very useful as is all the previewing that Windows now seems to do. This includes running video on the stacked windows that have been rotated and sheared, it doesn’t tax my computer too much either, (3Ghz DC 2GB RAM), I haven’t noticed any slow down at all but then I can’t see it running nicely on my laptop! To be fair I haven’t really used linux for ages so I don’t have an up to date picture of what they can do.
I can see some things being a flash in the pan (sidebar gadgets) but on the whole I’d say that (so far) the user experience is superior to XP. Whether it’s worth the cash I’m not sure… (Didn’t pay for it!)
I’ll see how it goes though.
15 Gig is big, when my entire Linux install, including a lot of apps (open office), etc. is only 3 gig - and that is with 2 window managers!! - I’m sure if you stripped it right down and used XFCE you’d be looking at half a gig, max.
I think the price gets me more than anything though, especially when I can do 95% of stuff for free / small donation.
As you said - you don’t think it’ll run on your laptop - now to me, if I was designing a new OS, the first thing that would spring to mind is nearly every home has a PC, although many are getting old, type thing - so I would want to get a new OS with minimal hardware upgrades, otherwise people will be put off by the cost - now vista, is the opposite - its a beast which is going to require massive hardware/new pc’s for many - seems silly to me!
Only 3gig? My linux drive has 16gig so don’t know what I’ve managed to fill it with.
But still that is 16gig after about 2 years of installing loads of applications (including Quake 4 and Doom 3) so for Vista to need that for a basic install (presumably without even an office app) is quite large. Don’t most laptops still only come with 40 or 80 gig drives?
Rob, all the 3D desktop stuff (rotating windows, window switching etc) is available in Linux through Compiz. The trouble is that it’s a bitch to install and stability depends largely on your graphics card. Having said that apparently the latest version of Fedora Core has nailed it pretty well so that most users will have to do little more than tick a checkbox.
Apparently compiz (or beryl?) comes with feisty…but we’ll see.
the 3gig is my work one - which is more stripped down that my home one (no webservers, databases, etc.)
I guess that I’ve pretty much dropped out of the Linux loop, both Uni and Work force me to use windows really so it only makes sense to have my machine at home for which I do stuff for both on as a windows one.
I have got ubuntu on my laptop but seeing as the only thing I really use it for is programming and eclipse is soooo slow in linux then theres no real incentive for me to put up with the hassle of setting everything up again and again after each update. (The 3D cubes from Compiz do look cool though, Vista doesn’t have that - yet) .
Can I have my boyfriend back now?
I dont need to make a comment
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6320865.stm
Actually, i do. D’OH!
Wasn’t that long was it!
Well I think that the story is a tad daily Mail but I suppose that they should have thought of that one. Having said that, how would you protect from this type of attack?
That has to be the funniest type of attack every though - shouting at a PC to delete its own files!!!
I think just turning off the mic should do it!
That is brilliant!
I love their defence:
“The firm has pointed out that in order for the flaw to be exploited the speech recognition feature would need to be activated and configured and both microphone and speakers would have to be switched on.”
Because of course no users would ever consider doing something as unusual as having their speakers and microphone switched on when they enable voice recognition. So everyone is safe.
Now be fair. Microsoft do also point out that you\’d have to not be in the room too… 
From what I’ve heard it looks pretty but is stuffed full of DRM, apart from that it isn’t massively different to XP. Be interested to hear what you think of it once you’ve used it for a week or so. Personally I’m happy enough sticking with XP for gaming (I use ubuntu for everything else) but no doubt it won’t be long before games require Vista.