Every computer moment is now a lifetime experience.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

Yep, I just installed Bill Gate's latest Mac ripoff Windows Vista.

So far I am NOT impressed.

[aePrime]

1. Vista is truly awful.

And I'm a computer scientist who programs professionally. My first experience with Vista was using it on a laptop to do a presentation. Horrid. It wouldn't let me install our software because I wasn't an administrator (I was supposed to be, but wasn't for some reason), but Vista didn't tell me that's why I couldn't install the software. It just came up with some random error number. And then I tried to browse the network, which was turned off "for my protection". I got my CS degrees from a very security-oriented school, and I still can't figure out how me not being able to see other computers on the network keeps me any more secure. So, I tried to turn the feature on, but Vista wouldn't do it, saying that I somehow had an "invalid parameter" when my only input options were two radio buttons.

It later blue-screened on me. I haven't seen a real Windows blue-screen in ages.

I work at a software company, and we're getting ready for the next release of our flagship product. All of the bugs assigned to me right now are Vista issues because Microsoft broke something.

[Kutjara]

8. I agree, it's hideous garbage.

I installed it on launch day and my first impression was, "well, it's basically XP with some translucent eyecandy and very bad implementations of the Mac's Widgets and Exposé. After a month and a half, I now wish it was that good. For reasons best know to themselves, M$ have recoded XP from the ground up, only what they've created is actually worse than the earlier OS. The new "security" features are laughable; they add nothing that Linux and Macs haven't had for years, yet make the whole process so clumsy and longwinded that most users will simply turn the User Access Controls off (thereby returning the system to pre-XP levels of security). Bravo!

Every program installation is needlessly encumbered with multiple permission dialogs and any Sidebar widget that requires access to system resources (like the one that measures network throughput) won't run unless the Sidebar is stopped and then restarted in Administrator mode. There is no way to give particular programs permanent Admin privileges without giving everything the same level of access, so I have to stop and start the Sidebar every time I boot the machine. I quickly grew tired of this and simply added a network monitor plugin to Firefox and disabled the Sidebar permanently. That's two of Vista's Wow! features I no longer use.

The Aero interface is just window dressing. I quickly returned the Start menu to it's Windows 2000 'classic' form instead of the gibberish mishmash that Vista uses by default. All the swoopy window effects and translucent crap slow things down, so it's bye bye to all that. Strike three.

In the final analysis, once all the playtime BS has been stripped out and the Nanny-grade security system has been neutered, what's left is a poor imitation of XP, one that won't run many existing applications or games. Vista is a huge step backward in functionality and security.

[aePrime]

13. I'm with you

I only have Linux and Mac OS X at home; I don't allow any form of Windows through my door. :)

Compared to the Unix underpinnings of Linux and Mac, Vista's security is laughable and annoying.

[Kutjara]

15. I'm running Vista in a partition on my MacBook Pro...

...because I often need to run Windows on client sites, to interface with their systems. Also, I want to learn about the kinds of problems users are experiencing so that I can separate Vista bugs from bugs in the systems I'm implementing. If I didn't have that need, I'd get a restraining order against Vista to keep it at least ten miles from me at all times. As it is, I feel I've polluted my lovely Mac by installing that abomination. Most of the time, I try to forget it's on there.

[Initech]

2. I'm getting a new computer this week but it will be sans Vista.

I've heard it's absolutely horrible (and even my boss seems to hate it) and wont work with any of the programs I need it to run, even if I'm running the absolute latest versions.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

3. So far I've managed to install my McAfee Antivirus

and it seemed to update normally and it appears to be okay. Interesting. I'm now trying to install Office 2007 Enterprise, and it's acting like it's in 16 bit DOS mode.

Also, it didn't recognize my video card. I'm going to try using my XP drivers on it, but I somehow doubt it'll do any good.

Good thing I set it up on my multi-boot machine, where I still have access to Xp 32 and 64. At least the boot menu (even though it IS changed radically) still seems to work okay.

[Cobalt-60]

4. It sounds like Millennium II

I'm still happily using Win 98SE. As long as it is possible I will continue to use it.
Then I think it's either Linux or a leap to the MAC side.
I got a dose of millennium when i was surprised to see it was installed
on my laptop.
And it was rubbish. IMO it was made buggy to force the immediate purchase of their next
product, XP.
Microsoft put me off so much with that pos millennium and their ceaseless efforts to turn the os from a purchase to a subscription that I won't ever willingly buy another Microsoft product.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

5. On a fast P3-P4 machine Win98SE kicks ass

There are many things that can't be done on it, but if you have no need for advanced multithreading capabilities then it's still a good system.

I also like Linux, but there aren't enough proven programs for me to permanently switch yet, except on an occasional experimental basis.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

6. Update: Vista recognized my XP64 video drivers

I also loaded Firefox, and it seems to be working well. Now on to Photoshop and other essentials.

P.S. I still don't like it.... :shrug:

On edit: This should have been a reply to the OP. :shrug:

[Cobalt-60]

7. Im running a P4 1.6GHz machine

someone once told me that was wide open for '98.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

10. It's not so much the chip, as it is the memory

Win98SE can only recognize so much memory (I think it's a 1gb limit). Other than that, as long as it's on a 32 bit CPU machine I'm not sure it matters. Of course, there are others here who may disagree. More power to 'em if they do.

[Cobalt-60]

11. I'll have to buy some!

thrifty scavenger that I am, I'm still running the same 256K memory chip that I bought with the board.
Its more than enough for the old utilities and ancient abandonware games I favor.
Sometimes I do consider springing for another 256K, and then the power bill arrives.

[charlie]

14. A gig is sumptuous bounty for Win98

The big problems are those stupid 64K User and GDI heaps.

[njdemocrat106]

9. I'll be doing my damndest to not upgrade to Vista

If my hard drive craps out on me anytime soon (like it did a year ago, when the computer wasn't even 2 years old), I'll buy another new drive and stick my backup disc into the machine with XP (and before that, I used Win98 for the longest time.)

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

12. I need to figure it out because it's my job.

I run a small computer repair business, and some clients have been asking about Vista lately. After my first field experience with it a couple weeks ago, I've decided to bite the bullet for my own preservation and for the confidence of my clients.