Vista, We Have a Problem - The Defection of a Major Vista Supporter


I'm in good company if those that believe Vista is not going well for Microsoft. I've been one of those PC users who decided to stick with Windows XP for the time being instead of switching to the new Windows Vista. My reasons include the cost of upgrading my several PC's, not wanting to increase my hardware capabilities as needed by Vista, wanting to wait until the kinks are worked out and older devices are made more compatible etc. After helping my father-in-law try to get a printer and his networking working with his new Vista, I think its safe to say I'm really happy with my decision to wait this one out.
There have been many who have given Vista a chance and either gone back to XP, Mac or even to Linux. This week one of the most pro-Vista people I know of, Jim Louderback the (now former) head of PCMagazine has come out saying he is disappointed with Vista and will be switching to another Operating System soon. Here is his conclusion:


"I could go on and on about the lack of drivers, the bizarre wake-up rituals, the
strange and non reproducible system quirks, and more. But I won't bore you with
the details. The upshot is that even after nine months, Vista just ain't cutting
it. I definitely gave Microsoft too much of a free pass on this operating
system: I expected it to get the kinks worked out more quickly. Boy, was I
fooled! If Microsoft can't get Vista working, I might just do the unthinkable: I
might move to Linux
."
He also mentions his Media Center PC and the problems he has experienced with it on Vista:
"Take my media center PC, for example. It's supposed to serve up photos, videos,
and music. Instead, it often simply drops off the network for absolutely no
reason. Chip Van Winkle might be able to see it, but Compuccino [his new name for his notebook PC on Vista] can't."

Jim Louderback admits he was a big proponent of the Vista OS and explains his change here:



"Maybe it was something in the water? I've been a big proponent of the new OS
over the past few months, even going so far as loading it onto most of my
computers and spending hours tweaking and optimizing it. So why, nine months
after launch, am I so frustrated? The litany of what doesn't work and what still
frustrates me stretches on endlessly
."

All I can say is, Microsoft must be realizing by now that they better do something fast to fix all of the problems they have with Vista. If they don't, and they drop support for Windows XP they will soon be losing Windows users in large numbers and Mr. Gates will be saying "Vista, we have a problem!"

Comments:

Anonymous said...

The problem with Vista is that MS let big business and the gov't have too many backdoors to invade our privacy. After all, corporations and gov't are merely quid-pro-quo whorehouses sold to the highest bidder. When the gov't needs illegal wire-taps, Verizon and Sprint allow them secret rooms to listen in on calls. When Haliburton (and KBR) need more revenue, the gov't hands out no-bid contracts. When the gov't dislikes literature, Amazon and Wikipedia ban the book America Deceived (book). We The People had our gov't (and our PC freedoms) sold out from beneath us.

Anonymous said...

I switched to Linux when Windows 98 was still the most used OS on PCs. For the www and email this already worked great back then, but there wasn't yet an viable office replacement (staroffice made its first baby steps ), media playing support was far worse than windows, and the desktop was little more than a couple of buttons that ran some scripts you had to customize yourself.

Boy, things have changed!

Within a few years there was a full office replacement, a fully featured, integrated desktop (two actually), an explosion of applications of all sorts and media playing now works much better in linux than in windows. Hardware detection during installation almost always just works and the whole installation process is much easier and faster than windows.

By definition, free software only gets better. Apple did well with MacOS 10 (but with lots of open source infusions), but for Windows it seems the opposite is true. time almost stood still since '98. It just got a new skin.

Anonymous said...

Any software created by underpaid, abused (Ergo heartless) programmers, who have to submit to "schedules" set by so-called managers is bound to be *SHIT*. People buy *SHIT* , of the same reason people eat at McDonald's: Brainwash-style advertising + cartel-style market manipulation.

Micro$oft cannot build anything *GOOD*, cause they don't even *CARE* about the users they sell their *SHIT* to.

I am a serious software developer, system administrator, guru, who administers over 150 systems for several companies, and I haven't used any micro$oft stuff since 1996, and I feel SO FREE.
At least I *KNOW* for a fact, that all my passwords stored in my computer are not public domain.

BTW, any company which comes along for some consulting work, the first thing I do is say: 1. DUMP ALL THOSE MICRO$OFT-based apps and servers.
2. GET READY for increased productivity and INHERENT security.

BobX

Anonymous said...

I'd not hold the breath for old drivers support. That's not what the hardware companies want.

I'd not hold the breath for vista fixes either: Microsoft is selling vista through deals with hardware makers, not because the user is choosing, so functionality is something you get stuck with. Users that choose leave MS for mac and even linux whenever they can.

I personally feel the mac user experience is the best, but i feel great when i'm running on free software (debian linux or ubuntu w/o proprietary drivers), and next laptop will be either MS free and with full support of the hardware under linux, or there won't be at all. I get along pretty well with 512 megs and 1.7 single core linux converted laptop.

Frank said...

I've made similar experiences with Vista -- initially, I liked it (except for that horrid background graphic, that made me sick from the start, but changing it was easy enough), but the more I tried to actually get my work done with Vista, the more I hated it.

I finally made the jump - first I installed Ubuntu because everyone was talking about it, but I didn't really like that either -- it didn't play my media files without tweaking, packaging my own software was a pain, the interface wasn't really consistent, etc.

Then someone recommended Ark Linux, and I tried that - and it's what I'm using for almost everything today. It plays my videos and mp3s out of the box, it's easy to switch to if you know how to handle XP, it generally just works, and you can even get free realtime support right from its developers, which is what ultimately kept me there twice when I was getting confused by things not being what a Windows pro would expect.

blog comments powered by Disqus

Designed by Posicionamiento Web | Bloggerized by GosuBlogger | Blue Business Blogger