Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 11-15 of 117
 Dell System Restore vs. Vista Home Premium April 3, 2008
! Steffan Piper ! (Burbank, CA)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I recently purchased a Dell Inspiron 1721 with a 17" Widescreen. When I opened the box and looked through the materials that Dell sent, I discovered that instead of supplying me with an Operating System disk, they chose to provide only a System Restore Disk. This practice by larger computer providers is well-known and a thorn in the side of many.
Out of the box, I noticed that the boot time was incredibly long. 6:15 seconds to be precise. An absolute eternity. When I tried to adjust the services on my laptop accordingly, I was denied. Dell had installed various pieces of software within the Operating System and made it impossible for the user / owner to have full control.
I installed the new Windows Vista Home Premium over the Dell version and completely deleted the offending nightmare that was masquerading as an Operating System. I thought the Dell Software would put up a fight, create errors and make life difficult, but it went with a whimper ... and rightly so. After I deleted the file "windows.old", I regained a whopping 35.7 GB's! Now, let's be clear ... I just bought this laptop two months ago and have I installed very little software on it, and I store all my personal documents on a separate Hard Drive. That's a lot of space for an Operating System, or rather the nightmare that Dell was trying to pawn off as an Operating System.
So, if you're like me, and you've considered getting this new version of Vista, so you can forego and delete the pre-installed atrocity, rest easy knowing that not only will the install go well, but you'll recover a lot of space doing so. I was never happy with the buggy performance I was experiencing before, which thankfully, is now a thing of the past.
After Vista installed, it searched the computer, found any devices that needed new drivers, found those drivers from the providers and installed them all by itself ... which was a really unexpected bonus. The only thing that it couldn't handle was the ATI Software that I had to download directly from Dell Support which is on their website. I couldn't attain the native resolution for my Widescreen Monitor, but after a manual install, everything went well and all is fine. Apparently, a lot of people have experienced this same problem as googling it cropped up numerous blog posts about it.
The real problem, and the point of this review, is that the bulk of PC computer users either purchase pre-built machines from companies like Dell, HP and Sony or they use them predominately at work. People experiencing problems with their computers typically blame the Operating System and Microsoft. The real truth is that the hacked versions that get installed on these pre-built machines are accidents waiting to happen and solely the fault of the Computer Companies themselves. Dell installs software that can't be removed or turned off that suck system resources and create inefficient boot times and memory usages. It's a shame that people get stuck with this kind of garbage after dropping a lot of money purchasing expensive systems. Companies like Dell respond by saying that "they give Remote Support", but the truth is that programs like PC Anywhere and GoToMyPC can achieve the same results without all the unnecessary bloat.
It's completely counter-productive for Microsoft to be involved in this practice but they are. It's also unlikely that anything is going to change in the near future, so buying the full version of the Operating System - and not an upgrade - is probably everyone's best bet. I recommend it without protestation.
Regarding my boot time now, it's down to 1:50 seconds, which is a vast improvement and it shuts down completely in 8 seconds.
"Free at last, Free at last, Thank God, Almighty, Free at last" -- MLK
EDIT:
And don't worry, a successor to Vista is already in the works ... Windows 7! XP will apparently live on past June of 2008, but finally be retired in 2010.
 Some New Form, Little New Function - Not Worth Upgrading April 4, 2008
diljs
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
For having taken Microsoft over 5 years to build since XP, Vista has surprisingly little to offer that XP can't do with a few tweaks. There are a handful of useful new features, and Aero Glass is certainly attractive (if it works on your machine, it doesn't for many). But most of these, even the eye candy, are unnecessary and can be added to XP if you want them that badly.
I'm reminded of the "upgrade" from Windows 98 to the ill-fated Windows Me. Windows 98 was a "perfect" OS for its time, and while Windows Me was meant to bring exciting new features, what it really brought was a myriad of bugs, and actually took away features from Windows 98, which some die-hards still use. Although Vista is much more different from XP than Me was from 98, the situation is similar. There are no absolute must have features in Vista, but there are plenty of bugs, incompatibilities, and upgrade nightmares.
When it comes to upgrading by installing over your old operating system, my advice is this: don't. Move all your data off your hard drive, wipe it, and do a clean install of Vista, or don't upgrade at all. With today's complicated operating systems, installing over your old OS is bound to be a hassle. Even if it does work correctly, your system still won't be as fast, and will have a lot of junk left over on your hard drive from your old operating system. A clean install is always best.
This brings me to my final problem with Vista: performance. Despite its lack of hot new features, it does consume vastly larger amounts of resources than XP. Your old machine may not be able to handle it, and even if it can, it will still be much slower than if you keep using your old operating system. The best approach to buying Vista is to just buy a new machine with it preinstalled. It's not like you have the choice anyway, most new computers give you Vista whether you want it or not.
Overall Vista is okay, but not worth buying if you're happy with XP. As always, do your research and be ready for a big hassle if you choose to upgrade.
 How Many Windows, Let Me Count the Ways April 8, 2008
Ophella Paige (Reno, Nevada)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
First there's Vista Home Basic which, like all the versions of Vista, has your basic digital media features like Windows Photo Gallery, but it doesn't do Aero. You get Windows Flip, but no 3D and no live taskbar thumbnails. If that stuff means nothing to you, go with it.
Second there's Vista Home Premium. Add Flip 3D and Aero to the version above and the availability to do scheduled backups. Also you get Windows Media Player, which you don't get with Home Basic. Windows Media Center can truly can handle all your Media needs. It comes with HDTV support, Xbox 360 Center Extender compatibility (which means nothing to me as I'm not a gamer), Windows DVD Maker and Windows Movie Maker.
Third there's Vista Business. You get everything you get in the above versions, but no Windows Media Player, but you do get business features like Windows Fax and Scan, offline files and folder support and Remote Desktop. If you're a business person, then perhaps this is the version for you.
Fourth there's Vista Ultimate. With this version you get it all, the business stuff plus the media stuff.
And then there's the Upgrades, like the four versions above, they are all upgrades to the SP1 versions.
So far we have eight versions. The first four, plus the four upgrades. That's eight different prices. But wait, I'm not finished. There's four more upgrades, you can upgrade from Home Basic to Home Premium, from Business to Ultimate, from Premium to Ultimate, from Basic to Ultimate.
That's a lot to digest. Then there's still a version you can't buy, one you've got to be a Microsoft Assurance customer to get, called Windows Vista Enterprise.
That's a lot of windows in the Microsoft Operating System house, but I'm guessing there are only three versions that will be of interest to most. Vista Home Basic, because it's the cheapest. Home Premium, because you get the Aero interface and Windows Media Player, or lastly Vista Ultimate, because with this one you get it all.
I was pretty confused when I started this review and maybe I still am, a little, but I think I've got it all sorted out in my head and I'm wondering if I've been any help to you, dear reader, at all. For the money, Basic is the best deal, but me, I'd go with Home Premium or even Ultimate, because I can afford it and because it's the latest and the greatest.
Now with all that out of the way, do I like Vista? Absolutely. I've been an XP girl for way too long. I didn't upgrade straightaway when Vista first came out, because I'd heard all the horror stories. I have Vista now and I'm happy with it. Will I go back to XP? Answer, no. I've got Vista now and I'm sticking with it.
If You haven't Upgraded Yet, Now's the Time April 13, 2008
Maggie Mae (Memphis, Tennessee)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
You have to admit that Vista didn't get off to a banging good start. Many people thought it was bloated, slow, crashed all the time and the endless stories about those popups that kept questioning you would keep all but the reckless thinking twice before they upgraded from XP. In fact a year after its release it seems only a little over ten percent of the XP users out there have decided to upgrade.
I've been using Vista since it came out and have been very happy with it. Yes you need more RAM than you did a couple years ago, I've got 2 megs on my laptop, which is plenty for Vista Home Premium. And I've got a whopping 4 megs on my desktop, which is running Vista Ultimate and that's way, way more than needed. My computers both seem happy enough and I know they're not fooling me, because when they get unhappy they crash and that's something they haven't done in a long time (three months for my laptop and I think six or more for my desktop).
Is Vista bloated? Yes, sure, that's what happens when an operating systems (despite it's many flavors) tries to be all things to all people. Still, if you don't need the features, don't use them. It's not like todays computers are hurting for hard drive space. With 200 gigs in my laptop and 750 in my desktop, those features I don't use sitting in the background don't bother me at all.
And those annoying UAC (User Account Control) popups and they are annoying, you don't have to live with those. If you've been using computers for anytime at all and have more than a clue about what you're doing, why don't you just turn them off. I did. Just type "system configuration" into Vista's Start Menu's instant search feature. When the System Configuration Utility window opens, click the tools tab, scroll down, click on "disable user control," click "launch", click "okay", then reboot and voila, those annoying popups are history.
Now about the speed, yes, Vista "was" and that's the operative word here as far as I'm concerned, it was a bit slower than XP on my machines, but now thats I've installed the SP1 upgrades on my machines, they both seem zippier. So if you're still using XP and have been thinking about upgrading, now's the time.
 Seems like a beta... can't believe Vista already includes a service pack May 15, 2008
Mad Max (Seattle, WA USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
My first comment is, with all the bugs and problems, this seems like a beta product. I did indeed try to install the Premium version of Vista with service pack 1...and it still does not seem to be fully functional. It's not like they rushed this to production - they've had over six years to get the bugs out.
I really don't see how Windows can compete with Ubuntu, which is free! This newest version of Windows has some nice perks over other versions, but overall I would strongly suggest either 1.) keeping your previous version of Windows (I'm using XP on one machine, and NT or 2000 on our other machines, which remains the lightest, most functional version of Windows); 2.) installing Ubuntu instead; or 3.) getting a Mac. For us, after looking at all our options, we decided we like Macs but don't want to switch all our software, and they're a little too expensive for us. So we decided to switch most of our computers at work and home to Ubuntu (did I mention it's free!), which is better than Vista in nearly every way, and is working great for us so far.
So what are the perks to Vista? For one, the new Internet Explorer 7 is a clear benefit over previous versions. It has much better security (though still not as good as Mozilla Firefox or Mac browsers), and it has more functionality. But you don't need to buy Vista to get it - you can upgrade free online.
Also, it has some new gadgets & wizards which are useful, such as transparent layering windows and 3D layout, tablet interface, and others. But this is not enough to impress me - either these things are available already through Ubuntu or Mac OS, or these are things you can download with your other peripherals/accessories (such as the tablet interface).
But I quickly run out of nice things to say about Vista. The DRM precautions (digital rights management) are ridiculous - there are way too many issues to mention here, so you'll have to google it to get the full story. My biggest problem with the "rights management", perhaps, is that you cannot reinstall this more than once... even with the disc! Yes, that means if you have a bad install, then you only get one more shot at installing it. That also means if you have to migrate to a new PC or
hard drive, you are out of luck! This is a ripoff - absolute nonsense, and I would recommend against this OS for this reason alone.
My second biggest problem is that this is a huge, clunky OS which takes an enormous amount of disk space. I have a pretty nice system, but its a couple years old and Vista slows me down to a snails pace. It's ironic, because when we decided to install Ubuntu instead of upgrading our systems (keeping the old hardware), everything ran twice as fast. Microsoft simply doesn't get it. They seem to be adding a whole bunch of features and new stuff instead of making the OS lighter and easier to use.
The power management feature is a joke. The operating system is constantly scanning your computer, so you can never fully power down with the computer on. The features contradict themselves, making it a rather inefficient operating system for desktops or laptops. (This, by the way, is an issue many people overlook - since many people & offices leave their computers on 24/7, or at least all day long, this has consequences both for the environment and also for your electric bill)
The security features in Vista seem too little, too late. Yes, these features might help, but they pop up for the dumbest reasons (i.e., plugging in a USB drive or an external hard drive - is it warning me that my drive has a virus on it?, or that my drive *may* have a virus on it?, or that someone may be stealing my files? It's not clear). Also, as I said earlier, the new IE7 (bundled here) has clear advantages to the previous versions, but if security is a concern (as it should be - studies show that 90% of computers in the US have some sort of malware or virus on it), then get a Mac or upgrade to Ubuntu instead.
vista, for the first time in windows, introduced recording tools (again, better versions come standard in ubuntu or mac), and upgraded their windows media player - and again, made it clunkier instead of lighter. media player, by the way, is a huge security risk.
In terms of drivers, I couldn't get either of my printers to work with Vista (Dell Color Laser, and an old ALPS micro dry printer). These took me a LOT of time to set up in XP, and frankly, I gave up trying to get them to work with Vista. The legacy of "plug and pray" continues with Vista.
There is a lot more I could say about Vista, but I should probably "bottom line" it for you ... who should get Vista? Well, in all seriousness, I believe the Twixer "Techies" are Microsoft's target audience: If you have an extra couple hundred dollars lying around, if you don't mind buying another copy of Vista if your computer ever crashes, if you don't mind having a slower computer in exchange for lots of gizmos and gadgets, and if you really enjoy tinkering for hours on end, then this might be for you.
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