Jumping Into Microsoft Windows Vista

Larry Magid Goes Through The Options For Vista Installation

(CBS)  Like a lot of other reviews of Microsoft Windows Vista, mine suggested that most people are better off waiting until they buy a new PC rather than upgrading their existing machine. I suspect that most people will do just that, but there are always some hearty souls out there who are willing to live on the bleeding edge of technology. I admit I’m one of them. I started using pre-release versions of Vista months ago and have been working with the final version for several weeks. I’ve installed it on several machines and, for the most part, my experience has been positive.

The consumer versions of Vista go on sale Tuesday, January 30th. If you’re thinking of upgrading a Windows XP machine to Vista, you first need to find out what if any Vista editions will work on your machine. Then you need to select the version and decide how to install it. That last issue is more complicated than it might seem because there are three different ways to install Vista on an XP machine.

The easiest way to see if your machine is compatible is to go to www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready and download a free program that will scan your system and tell you what, if anything, you need to do to make your machine Vista ready. Make sure all of your peripheral devices are plugged in because it checks to see if Vista is compatible with those devices. If your graphics card isn’t up to speed or you don’t have quite enough system memory it may tell you that you can run the $99 Home Basic edition but not the $159 Home Premium version that gives you some of the cooler features like translucent windows, DVD movie burning and Windows Media Center.

If your machine can’t run Premium, you might be able to make it compatible by getting a new graphics adapter and upgrading to at least a gigabyte of system memory. I replaced my old video card with an nVidia GeForce 7600 (about $170) and am getting great performance.

Also, check with the developer or manufacturer of any hardware or software that you can’t live without. You want to make sure your mission critical products are Vista compatible before upgrading the machine. If not, find out when and if an upgrade software or driver will become available and wait until then. Finally, gather all of your program CDs so you can re-install your software if necessary. Don’t make the mistake of installing Vista and later discovering that I you have an install CD for a program you’ll need.

[memerider]

I'll continue to use different systems based on specific needs. Macs and Linux are not the final word for all things. All of these systems have their uses. Linux works great for heavy database and network servers. Macs have a lot of great software for high-end graphics and the interface is the friendliest (unless you have a problem).

There is a lot of software and hardware that is developed for the PC and just not available for the others until later or possibly not at all. Lots of statistical and specialty software for technical applications falls into this category. Some software and hardware is immediately compatible with PCs in its most advanced form, while the Mac or Linux versions are dumbed down.

My first virus that actually crashed the system, back in the 1980s, was on a Mac. Of course, most malware writers target Microsoft products these days. I'll load Vista on my desktop, keep XP on my laptop for now, keep my Linux machine going to house my database and server stuff, and probably also buy a low-end Mac at some point (I've not had one since I left a job where it was available).

[free_america]

Dear acauble1

I have to agree with you about Linux many years ago, it did have problems. It still has problems and most are directly due to developers doing there own thing. What is lacking is a Common Goal. If you worked for a Linux distribution, this in itself was detrimental to Linux. There were too many distributions, all trying to "one-up" the next guy.

I may be going out on a limb right now but I believe there are more Linux kernel computations going on at this very moment all over the world, than Windows computations. Apache, PHP, Perl....etc. You may want to argue this with all the Windows "gaming" going on. But then you have to look at "computation importance"

Remember DOS? Linux is like Dos but many times better. But they both require you do some work or think. Microsoft did something about it and turned it into a wonderful graphic environment and the User - Microsoft love era was born.

Problem now is Microsoft and their "Associates" or "Partners" want more. Mark my words, it will not be long before you turn on your computer and you will see, in bright Microsoft blue, "your subscription has expired, please......"

Then it will be "enough is enough" and something will done about it.
Then there will be a Common Goal.

There is no doubt about it, Linux and Open Source will dominate in the future. You will be paying for it, but for support, not to use it. And more important, it will be your choice, Free America.

[saransk]

Is VISTA too big, to bloated, to controlling - OF COURSE - what did you expect.
IS VISTA as good as it could have been - no, Microsoft is still reluctant to make some hard choices on compatibility and usablility.
IS VISTA the next step of the "evil-empire" - Oh Please, lets be real here - there is something to be said for some type of universal operating system - I remember when the various versions of DOS wouldn't work on various systems, or together.
Let's face it, most of us want a computer that works as easy as a TV. Turn it on - use it. I like my MAC for that very reason, and I don't really care about some of the features available. I think VISTA will be closer to that. And from an IT standpoint, a system that updates and backup with little or no user input is a great product.
Will I be getting VISTA soon - no, I'll wait until SP1 is released.
Will I eventually get it - yes, eventually business systems will change and XP won't be supported.
Will I think of alternatives for home use - I already have a MAC system for myself. Linux is a nice alternative but with Schools running WORD and EXCEL I need the OFFICE for my kids. Also several programs I use don't have Open-Source alternatives.
Eventually someone will write a Windows killer. It might be a universal OS using on-line applications. But remember, as soon as it becomes the "Next-Big-Thing" someone will figure out how to get us to pay for it. TANSTAAFL

[acauble1]

Dear 'free_america':

You said: "But the downside is you have to be a thinker to use it."

There are plenty of "thinkers" in the world who think that they don't want to waste their F'ING time using an operating system that requires a WHOLE NEW LEARNING CURVE! These "thinkers" want to get things done and done NOW! So, Windows simply becomes a background to them, not a religion, (unlike some users who worship Linus Torvalds for what they think is the greatest thing since yeast).

... yes, yeast, because if it was designed like Linux, you'd still have to make the friggen bread and slice it yourself!

There are thinkers in the world who could care less about what operating system they use, in fact, real thinkers are more interested in the results that are created and not the tools they use to create them.

[acauble1]

Dear 'free_america':

You said: "Linux and Open Source will dominate in the future"

That has been said for almost two decades now, since it's creation. I was working for a major Linux distribution back in the late 90's when Linux was all the rage. That 'rage' died when the average user tried it and realized it was a pain in the arse to use and it generally sucked. The time it took to do simple tasks was many times longer than it took on the current version of Windows (at that time). Rebooting Windows was less time consuming and easier than trying to simply change the settings on your monitor in Linux.

[rwcmick]

WARNING

I upgraded to Vista Ultimate from Windows XP Pro. One of the things that Vista likes to do is get people out of the habit of running as the administrator, something that I am guilty of myself.

There were several administrative level accounts on my Windows XP PC, but I only used administrator regularly.

I stuck in the Ultimate CD and at no point do I recall being prompted that the Administrator account was going to be disabled.

My computer slogged away for a few hours and came back up as a vista machine. Imagine my surprise when the Administrator account wasn't there. Okay, so I logged in as the only other account I knew--a non adminstrator account. Unfortunately I couldn't do any real heavy lifting with my pc b/c I couldn't install anything, etc.

I was really starting to worry. Would I have to install another copy of either XP or Vista to get back to administrative levels? Luckily my wife saved the day by remembering the password to an admin level account that we had used several years ago.

Like I said, I don't know if I missed it, but please be sure you have another admin account available b/c Vista likes to disable the built in administator account.

[free_america]

It took a long time to get XP working the way I wanted it to. No way am I going through that again with another operating system. I will embark on Linux when the time comes.

In the past you paid for a computer and used it. With Microsoft and Vista you will pay for the computer and pay dearly to use!

There is no doubt, Microsoft wants control. SP2 got them a little with their update manager. With Vista they will be in charge. Eventually they will have total control with numerous update that the average user will know nothing about. But then maybe the average Microsoft user wants to be controlled, they can't think for themselves.

Linux and Open Source will dominate in the future. Support is building and now is the time to learn it. Even Microsoft is terrified of it. They have their foot in Linux already, with Suse, just in case Linux takes off too fast for them.

Or maybe Microsoft has finally realized the Linux kernel is more stable and reliable than the Windows kernel. It doesn't crash the way Windows does, and it keeps processes from interfering with one another. But the downside is you have to be a thinker to use it.

[bildooreilly]

Hey Gerald Newton, not all open source products are junk. Check out PHP and MYSQL, totally free and running millions of websites... Check out Oscommerce, the most widely used e-commerce shopping cart in existence, totally free and totally open source.

[bildooreilly]

Go do some research before you buy into the hype, VISTA is all about copyright control and needs a huge system because it sucks tons of resources so people can't watch worthless hollywood movies or hollywood music that isn't even worth downloading in the first place. I'll be switching to a Mac or going to Linux or something next...

[dchurbuck]

Larry --
Vista drivers for the X60S are here:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/product.do?template=/product.do?template=%2Fproductpage%2Flandingpages%2FproductPageLandingPage.vm&sitestyle=lenovo&brandind=10&familyind=290559&machineind=0&modelind=0&partnumberind=0&subcategoryind=0&doctypeind=9&doccategoryind=0&operatingsystemind=343518&validate=true
I'll check on the Sprint WAN drivers for you.

David Churbuck
Lenovo

[Syndicate]

I'm tired of Microsoft. I have used several versions of Excel over the years and they all seem to have the same bugs. Every version adds new bells and whistles but never fixes the existing bugs. Its pretty bad when the third party books start saying things like "This has been a know problem for the last several versions."

Some one said get a mac. Won't mac os run on a PC now? It would be nice if apple would give up on the hardware and challenge Microsoft head on in the os market.

[geraldnewton]

I will be buying and using Vista soon, because I want to use the new Office suite. I have been using Microsoft products since 1995 and have found they are the best. I have looked at open source products but they do not compare to Microsoft. I believe Vista will be a success, but wished I had known how successful XBox 360 was going to be back in June when MSFT was at $22 a share. I still bought 2000 shares of MSFT just last week so Vista better be good.

[dchurbuck]

Larry --
Vista drivers for the X60S are here:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/product.do?template=/product.do?template=%2Fproductpage%2Flandingpages%2FproductPageLandingPage.vm&sitestyle=lenovo&brandind=10&familyind=290559&machineind=0&modelind=0&partnumberind=0&subcategoryind=0&doctypeind=9&doccategoryind=0&operatingsystemind=343518&validate=true
I'll check on the Sprint WAN drivers for you.

David Churbuck
Lenovo

[inventagod]

I appreciate your article, and of course, like ms38654ob says, you could just get a Mac. However, like millions of others, I have invested some hard-earned dollars in my XP machine. Investing $159 more makes far more sense than the price of a new, equivalent Mac, which could run as high as $1,999 for a MacBook Pro...

[ms38654ob]

Best suggestion: Just get a Mac!