Craig Ross

Microsoft virtual Pc 2007… get it!
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/virtualpc/default.mspx

(note depending on how good your hardware is your virtual install of vista or xp may run slower than if you had installed them separately as a dual boot so if you need to run some games that run in XP only you should do a dual boot but if you are just needing xp so you can use your old printer or something like that you should be totally fine. enjoy)

Thank you!

Kashusha

Vista has no compatibility to XP…nor to current versions of autocad , vpn, and I think all the software around there …

At home I will move away from Microsoft… I am going to Mac or Linux

http://prowiki.isc-csg.upenn.edu:16080/index.php/Compatibility_Mode_in_Vista

about the custom built PC, you should try barrowing a copy of XP from a friend and installing it (as a dual boot or whatever) without registering to see what the difference is on your specific system. one of my friends spent $1500+ on a gaming system running windows XP and his bios (or something) has crashed twice and now his USB ports don’t work. His hard drive and windows runs fine in my dell tower but goes to blue screen when we put the hard drive w/same copy of windows back in his system. the bios says there is no hard drive installed even though the windows screen pops up for a minute before it crashes. If you still experience the same problems after installing XP then at least you will know to take it back to the guy you bought it from because at that point it would obviously be a hardware problem.

Now I want to get rid of this damn thing and get my money back for this worthless piece of garbage sold to me by Microsoft called VISTA Ultimate.

In Feb. I purchased a Microsoft wireless Keyboard/Mouse combo bundle ‘Designed For Vista’at Costco, and luckily they took it back a few weeks later cause the scroll wheel only went in one direction on certain apps and the programmed buttons sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t (try scroll-zooming in Google Earth—and be forced to zoom only in only one direction and see how fun that is), and this was not due to the receiver/transmitter being too far – unless you think 5 inches is too far. To add insult to injury Microsoft knows about this mouse flaw and they are still selling it as DESIGNED FOR VISTA – with NO UPDATES or PATCHES. Meanwhile, using a wireless Logitech mouse works fine when it comes to scrolling but since drivers are still in purgatory you can’t program the mouse buttons to take advantage of key features Microsoft tries to sell us on. Doh!

Then is all the security annoyance which I have gotten used to. And if you add MS OneCare – then your computer asks you not twice but 3 times if you REALLY REALLY REALLY want to install this or that.

And since I first started using Vista, it does not even shut down properly. Not ever!!! Whether I put it to sleep or ‘shut it down, it either reboots on its own or when you think it is totally shut down (not asleep mind you – no blinking led lights – no sign of life whatsoever) it comes back to life with the movement of the mouse (and I do not even have timed-sleep or power savings features enabled!!!) and to top that off – it always blocks access to the Internet… so I always have to reboot after it boots!

I have only worked with a Mac (OS X) for 2.5 yrs since I got this job and since then I was probably the biggest supporter of Windows – with all its flaws – cause I thought Macs only supported a one button mouse – so how productive can one be to work with such a primitive device? Well, let me tell you, since day one at work, the G5 running in my cubicle has always had a multi-button Microsoft mouse plugged into it and has worked flawlessly. All the buttons are programmable and switching from screen (app) to screen (called Expose) when multi tasking is awesome and ALWAYS works. And I am amazed how I totally forget to save 20 times an hour fearing I will lose my work in a flash. I never shut it down except when it installs automatic updates, and when it reboots, all network links are relinked – wow – what a concept. Things actually working as they are meant to. And this is OS X Tiger (can you imagine all the cool things lined up for Leopard coming out in a couple of months?!). And when the next OS becomes available IT won’t have to reinstalls all the applications – with Mac you just install your OS and everything else just works better and faster – unlike Windows where if you or Windows XP or Vista sneeze the wrong way you have to reinstall everything OS and ALL. Yey, fun.

So to make a short story long, I am sooooo done with Windows.

Since I now (very badly) want to buy myself a MacPro for home or a MacBook Pro laptop, I need to get rid of my PC (housed in a LianLi aluminum case with temp blue lit front panel gauge built it). Yeah it looks beautiful, but since I am not a gamer – it along with VISTA is useless. So if anyone wants to buy a kick-ass Vista PC running at dual 2.4 Intel with 2 gigs ram? Give me a holer! I’m moving on to greener pastures :)

As a computer geek who has spent thousands of dollars on hardware/software just in my short lifetime, I should have the choice when and WHOM I want to be a beta tester for.

I NEVER want to buy a “Gold” released version of someone’s OS and pay the high cost of ownership to instead be their beta tester.

I could care less what MS’s excuse is to justify their actions it’s completely reckless of them to operate this way.

fghjk!

Just wanted to say that this thread started beautifully, when it was serious about the vista problems, I read every post, until it started deviating to comparison of sellers and companies and other stuff.

I would think posting about vista, and its bugs and fixes would probably help more people, than comparing 2 companies, or 2 hardware vendors and posting facts that – I am sure – most people know about.

No offense meant by this post to anyone, just stating an opinion.

John

my problem is that all the software and hardware I have purchased over the years is for windows so I don’t think I would upgrade to anything that was not compatible or not going to be compatible with the data and accessories I already have.

But on the other hand, what the hell do I know…

No offense meant by this, but your comments to me are rather defeatist and this is why:

First of all, for someone to say Mac Sucks because they ran away from the desktop PC market into mp3′s for $$$$$ is a ludicris statement.

Realize that the PC market wouldn’t have been anywhere it is today without Mac. Granted, Mac’s were incredibly expensive in the 1980′s, but they did pave the way.

Of course, that’s not the only reason to celebrate Mac.

Secondly, you said: “they’re just really expensive proprietary boxes with minimal third party software available and a pointlessly different way of doing everything.”

Competition is what drives down the cost of your “Windoze” box. Not lack thereof. Also, while the cost is considerably higher than buying a $300 Emachine, you are getting a more stable OS. Hands down, Bar None. There is no one else out there with the stability of OS X. Largely that’s impart to Apple’s focus on its OS and not whipping out new ones as fast as they can before fully testing them.

Thirdly, you then said: “If windows vista was really as bad as what everyone is saying here, then computer stores would be pulling vista off the shelf and new computers would come preinstalled with a different OS instead of vista.”

Since when do local retail stores affect decisions on purchasing preinstalled systems with Windows? LMAO! Most computer retailers get their PCs in bulk from other manufacturer’s like HP, Dell, Gateway, etc. It’s those people who load the OS’s on machines. Retailers have a total HAND OFF approach to installations. The Geek Squad (Best Buy), and Circuit City’s FireDog people are secondary and were bought out because Best Buy wanted to handle/manage inhouse tech support to their customers. That too was a business decision by the giant retailers.

That being said, only Microsoft pulls their OS’s off the shelves because they recalled them.

You need to have a better understanding of the market before you make half-guesses/assumptions.

Mac isn’t for everyone, and no one here is saying it is, some of us have been around a long time and realize Microsoft could be doing a better job and leading the industry but they choose not to. Without Mac, and others we wouldn’t have any where else to turn to for examples and MS would turn out even worse products (assumption on my part, but more realistic).

If I had the money to throw down on a new macbook i would buy it for its hardware quality just to put windows vista on it and possibly run a dual boot with osx for the heck of it. For that amount of money though i could just get something else like a brand new Panasonic Toughbook w/touchscreen. In my opinion Mac OS is more stupid proof than windows is so its good for some. If windows vista was really as bad as what everyone is saying here, then computer stores would be pulling vista off the shelf and new computers would come preinstalled with a different OS instead of vista.

:)

1.3ghz p4 512mb rambus 800mhz
128mb nvidia fx 5600

just give MS a little time along with other vendors to work the bugs out and everyone will adopt vista like xp was…. which also was plagued with problems upon release