Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft, Commercial
Anyone have Vista running?
by Ryan Carter Feb 19th 2007 at 5:30PM
For anyone who doesn't yet have Vista, but want to know about the ins and outs, there are a lot of new features, yet not a ton of truly "new" features. In an attempt to find out what Vista works like and plays like, I will be writing a bunch of Vista-related stuff over the coming weeks.
There are more improved features in Vista than new. The good news is that many of the "new" features are old ideas, finally done well.
So far, a few of my favorites:
- The death of the full blown, multi-level hierarchical start menu in favor of the one-paned integrated menu and search feature. Slick.
- The unabashed slaying of the age old "My" folders. No more nonsense. I love the new structure, which features a Users folder, then has documents, videos, pictures in sub folders, which seems closer to the way a human sees anyway.
- Window Switcher is dead-sexy (also called Flip3D). I will be wearing out this feature in coming days.
- I love the new very "mac-like" sidebar (taskbar) on all windows that make everything you do easy, seeing the directory structure you are working with in an easy to use format and location. It makes everything easier.
With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet.
They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Tom said 5:46PM on 2-19-2007
While I don't have Vista yet I just ordered it yesterday. I plan to do something almost sacraligious to some when it finally arrives this week. I plan to blow away OSX on my mac mini and install vista on it. I've had the mini for a few months now and have come to realize I don't really like OSX. =p
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John said 5:44PM on 2-19-2007
I've been running Vista for 4 days now. While I love many of the new features, I would read up on how well your current hardware configuration is faring with the Vista related drivers.
I have an Nvidia 6800GTOC with 256 MB RAM which smoked on the XP flavor of my system. It now runs like molasses when it comes to 3-D Applications. Specifically, WoW runs .5 - 14 fps now - under XP it ran at 40-60 fps. There appears to be no remedy in sight.
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Ryan Carter said 5:50PM on 2-19-2007
Yeah, I don't know. I haven't seen any performance hit on Vista, and WoW runs just fine. I also have a nVidia 256MB chip.
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John said 6:03PM on 2-19-2007
Re No. 3 - Ryan Carter
Ryan - I would love to know what driver you are using and what series you are using? The message boards over at Nvidia are replete with problems. I am using a 6 Series card. I've updated Direct X 9 and tried both the official release and beta release driver - to no avail.
Oblivion won't even run past the loading screen.
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wasabi said 6:06PM on 2-19-2007
been running it for almost a month now. not worth upgrading. i have a 6800gtoc also, and css is running about 10-20fps slower than on xp. i am really unsatisfied. going back to xp
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Brian! said 6:07PM on 2-19-2007
I have been running Vista for a bit now, since the release was available to developers. Granted, it is on my testing machine only though.
Probably the biggest issue in holding back from an upgrade is the lack of Font Management. We use Font Reserve currently. To be honest, all font management software blows on Windows, but we have to run something.
And then, there are a number of graphic design and video tools that don't work in Vista. Nearly all the Adobe tools have an issue here or there. Some just disable Areo but some just don't run at all. Last time I tried our encoder (Sorenson Squeeze) it failed to run properly.
I guess, I feel as though Microsoft missed working with the graphics/video/and audio designers of the world to help make sure that the software vendors were getting support in place. The mac has always dominated the design market, but this could have been Vista's chance to fix the problems (can I say Font Management again?) that plagued Windows XP.
Well, that is our story here. Microsoft, do you ever read this?
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~J~ said 6:08PM on 2-19-2007
Been a Vista (Ultimate) user since the Beta days and absolutely loving it. Definately think Microsoft have made a great piece of kit here, and there's so much packed in like far greater schedule management, performance monitors and a far stable OS.
The only problem I have (despite telling them several times about the 'bug') is that switching profiles whilst using a wireless mouse stops the pointer from working!
Other than that, loving it.
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Stu said 6:14PM on 2-19-2007
My favourite new feature is (for some unknown reason) the thumbnails for video files which no longer take the 1st frame. Think I only like it because I only just noticed, I'm sure the novelty will soon wear off though.
I'm dual booting at the moment, mainly using xp as my external sound card doesn't work in vista which is a pain.
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Jake said 6:14PM on 2-19-2007
John, for the FPS problem in wow try the beta version drivers for vista, my 7900GS was running slow as well until i saw the fine print about beta drivers on nvidia's website http://www.nvidia.com/object/winvista_x86_100.64.html
helped mine get back to where they were.
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Ryan Carter said 6:16PM on 2-19-2007
yeah, I am running an nVidia 7600 card with 256Mb of dedicated RAM, and aside from Adobe Premiere crashing nearly every time I have tried to use it, everything runs great from a gaming perspective. Is it a possibility that the nVidia 6 series has Vista issues, where a 7 series is fine?
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John said 6:19PM on 2-19-2007
To No. 9, Stu
Stu - I've tried that one - it had the same problems. I'm thinking Ryan may be right and I just need to hunker down and get a series 7 card...I have read similar complaints regarding series 8 cards as well (the 8800c).
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iwit said 6:20PM on 2-19-2007
I've installed Vista Ultimate on my MacBook a few days ago. But it just doesn't feel right. It seems sluggish and slow, even-though it's actually quite fast. Probably because of those massive borders around all of the windows. The default settings make everything look cluttered. I really don't like all of the security warnings you get. I got like 8 warnings, just to download and install a new gadget. That's just crazy. I also haven't found anything that would make Vista Ultimate so ultimate that it would be worth it's price (I got it for free). So I don't really see why anyone would need to upgrade if XP does the job for you.
But I do like the small touches. Like the glow on the close/minimize/maximize buttons. And the animation when a window closes. Stuff like that.
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alf said 7:03PM on 2-19-2007
I've been using Windows since the 95 days, and this will be the first version of Windows that I miss (sadly, I even used ME).
I've decided to finally give the Macs a shot so I'm just waiting for the new Mac OS before buying.
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TaXXuS said 6:57PM on 2-19-2007
I noticed framerate issues with all of my steam games, (nV 7800 GT 256MB) and after searching, I found that despite selecting antialiasing to be set by the application, the NV control panel still had it always on. After fixing this, my framerate nearly doubled, returning to pre-vista levels. This is using the 100.64 beta drivers from guru3d. Jumping from 16fps to 30+ fps makes a big difference. Running at 1900x1280, I need all the help I can get.
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asurroca said 10:46AM on 3-01-2007
I've been using various betas on my laptop for ages, so the retail version had few surprises for me. and I'm thinking of using my student discount ($70 Vista FTW) to buy a few copies of Home Premium for my other computers. Besides what's already been mentioned, what I love:
The death, once and for all, of ActiveSync! As a long-time mobile user who's had to suffer various equally appalling iterations of the software, the fact that Windows Mobile Device Center actually works perfectly every time (and looks good to boot) is a breath of fresh air.
The Aero frosted glass theme. After like a year of use, it still hasn't gotten old. It feels like all my windows are sheets of plexiglass, and it has become the most natural UI I've ever experienced.
The fact that Vista has never crashed for me yet, and that includes the betas. The fact that it's not build on Windows XP codebase is quite apparent.
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Zatch said 7:07PM on 2-19-2007
I got the Business edition through the Power Together campaign and upgraded to Ultimate the night I installed it. First off, it's just too pretty to pass up. I tried the beta back in the day and it was tough going back to XP. One weird thing I have now is when I unplug (or keep plugged in and shut off my PC) the USB wireless card...the computer blue screens, dumps my RAM and restarts. No real harm done, but very quirky. I just don't plug it in anymore.
And now I'm having a problem with coming out of sleep mode. It doesn't reconnect to the network, it's just "Local only" and I have to enable/disable every time. It might be the school's connection though.
In the summer or over spring break, I will be transforming it to a dual boot system though.
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graeme said 7:02PM on 2-19-2007
No Zone Alarm yet! Only discovered this after I thought I had checked on everything. You think the Upgrade Advisor thingee would have caught that one... :(
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Streak said 4:50AM on 2-21-2007
As a new mac user, i was skeptical as to weather or not I shold even bother with my old PC, but I decided to go for it, and I think I made the right choice.
I like vista, Alot. I running a Pentium 4, 3Ghz with a gig of ram and a new (I bought it for vista) AGP version of the GeForce 7600GS, it runs well. I really like areo, despite it resource whoring, WMP really shouldn't slow down my system when resizing the window. A basic list of Pros and Cons follows.
Pros:
a useful search function compared to XP
no more dog/paperclip etc
Areo
Sidebar
Media Center and my Xbox 360
being able to use a native photoshop again!
the new windows explorer is better then finder in my opinion.
Cons:
Flip 3D, I think its useless, Expose is better, so is Alt-Tab
Media Center and my Xbox 360 (it stopped working)
mediocre game performance (HL2 barely runs better then my old FX 5700LE, although that may not be vista's fault)
ctrl-alt-deleting brings up that annoying menu
security features are annoying, as Im to lazy to disable them
Basically I like vista, It made me finally get around to fixing my computer, and made it more comfortable to use, but I still miss quicksilver.
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Jason said 7:18PM on 2-19-2007
I have been running Vista since the Beta's as well and I have to say Vista Ultimate is AWESOME! I work in the computer field and dont go a day without working on my laptop... the new look to Vista is GREAT! You really need to use it for a while to appreciate everything... Here are some of the "cooler" things I have noticed and really like about Vista:
1.) Now supports HUGE icons.
2.) Icon thumbnails are GREAT... if a folder contains docs or photos, etc the folder shows a couple of items inside it and they actually have previews of the items inside the folder! Really cool!
3.) Instant search ROCKS
4.) Media Center is the best media application I have ever used and works seamlessly with my XBOX 360
5.) The new start menu it truely MUCH MUCH better than the one in XP...
6.) I don't use virus scan anymore! I make it a point not to go to any "bad" sites and don't click on links in emails that offer free stuff, etc... you really DONT need virus scan in Vista if you are careful about where you go.
7.) IE 7... The best browser out there!
8.) Flip 3D
9.) Thumbnails when mousing over the items in the task bar.
10.) It supports EVERY application I ran on my old system
11.) Much better backup
12.) Better mobile decive syncing/setup
12.) much much more!!!
Really if you dont notice the differences and dont think its worth upgrading then you haven't used it enough... it is truly a totally different product than XP... there are lots of people out there who constantly knock Windows for being so "boring" compared to OSX but MS adds the "flair" into Vista and everyone says its not worth the upgrade... if that is the case then XP really isn't that bad compared to OSX...
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Ford Wannup said 7:17PM on 2-19-2007
I've been running Vista Business on my ThinkPad X40 (1.3 GHz, 40GB 4200rpm HDD, 1.3GB RAM, and the integrated 64MB Intel 82852/82855 GM video) for a few days. My observation, pros:
1. I maybe crazy, but, Vista is definitely snappier than my previous XP Pro install), especially after the OS finished indexing the HD.
2. Very quick CLEAN install (less than an hour, if I have to guess)
3. Navigation is more intuitive...definitely.
Hates:
1. Damn OS treats you like a dumbass. Turning off UAC helps tremendously.
2. Following the dumbass theme: OS decided that I shouldn't decide for myself whether Aero's performance is acceptable for me. Can't even try it. My master, Vista OS, says I'm not worthy.
3. Even worse, as far as I know, I can't change the default colors of Vista Basic. The default colors look horrendous, especially when contrasted against some dark colors themed applications. For example, WMP11 looked retarded under Vista Basic. If you've tried it, you'll know what I mean.
How the hell does it make sense, that I can run run glass-like themes, such as WMP11, under XP without any problem, but not on Vista?
Anyone who know how to hack enable Aero, or at least tweak Vista Basic a bit, PLEASE share.
NOTE as well that "Force Enable Aero" registry hacks that were widely googled are no longer working in Vista RTM, even if they worked during beta.
At this point, I am still uncertain whether to keep or revert back to XP.
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