Vista: Why Most of Us Should (and Will) Wait

Mon Jan 22, 2007 6:33PM EST

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There is nothing I have read about Vista yet that makes me want to run out and upgrade our current computers with Microsoft's long-awaited new operating system. And I'm sure I'm not alone.

Why? Because like many consumers, I'm not in the immediate market for a new computer, and even though my Dell Inspiron laptop is just about a year old, all signs point to waiting. Chris Null advises against installing Vista on current, even new computers, no matter how appealing the upgrade coupons and deals. And if your computer is more than a year old, he says it's strongly recommended you wait and buy a new computer with Vista preinstalled.

If you're still sure you want to upgrade your existing computer, even if it has all the Vista requirements, wait. You know there will be kinks and flaws that Microsoft will need to work through. It's no fun being a guinea pig, especially one that ends up spending hours installing a huge operating system onto a computer, which is not something many of us do, ever.

Even if you've got the recommended up-to-date processor (minimum: 800MHz 32-bit [x86] or 64-bit [x64] CPU), 1GB of RAM, and 15GB of free space on your hard drive, the common wisdom seems to be upgrading to Vista from Windows XP will not be smooth going. Stephen Wildstrom writes in BusinessWeek, "Based on the troubles I've had in tests, I'd warn against upgrading if you have old accessories, such as printers, or if you run any custom or obscure business software."

Just as many businesses won't upgrade to Vista until they buy new hardware, home computer users probably should do the same. Wait. For the kinks to be worked out, then, when you're in the market, buy a computer with Vista preloaded.

The New York Times' David Pogue points to a SoftChoice survey that says only 6 percent of existing corporate PCs have enough power to run Vista. At home, you'll also need a powerful graphics card in addition to the other requirements. "Moving to Vista means hunting for updated drivers for your printer, audio card and so on, not to mention troubleshooting incompatible programs," Pogue writes.

I don't have time for that.

Walt Mossberg at the Wall Street Journal also says the full benefits of Vista, including its new look and interface (called "Aero) can be experienced only on "a hefty, new computer." He writes in his review, "The vast majority of existing Windows PCs won't be able to use all of Vista's features without major hardware upgrades. They will be able to run only a stripped-down version, and even then may run very slowly."

That's plenty of expert advice for me. I'm waiting until we upgrade to a new computer. What about you?

Related links: 

Vista: Buy a PC Preinstalled or Upgrade Yourself? 
Vista: To Upgrade or Hold? 

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  • 66 Posted by onthelake4854 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    Why would ANYONE buy Microsoft's newest disaster in the making right away??? Hello - does anyone remember Windows ME?? Many Errors? The system that Microssoft contracted with all the manufacturers to pre-install in 2000-01? The system that was SO-O-O-O BAD that Microsoft had to roll out Windows XP and block it so it won't interface with ME??? Of course, then there was XP in the beginning - took the Service Pack 2 to finally get it stabilized a couple of years after the intro. If Microsoft Operating Systems were instead cars, there would be a massive recall for a defective product. I use Windows - not a lot of choice since the most easily obtainable hardware & software are designed for Windows. Also, I HAVE to use Dragon Naturally Speaking Voice Dictation after a shoulder/neck injury and when I got that system, it was ONLY designed for Windows. (Yeah, yeah yeah - apparently Mac finally now has a Voice dictation program 10 years later but why toss out EXPENSIVE equipment and software just to get something else when this is working?) Buy Microsoft's latest problem child product? It will take them 2-3 years after the release to make it work right. Buy a NEW computer just to have it? Why? My 2 GHZ, 1.2 G RAM laptop does all I need it to do.

  • 67 Posted by organizerhouston on Tue Jan 23, 2007 1:59PM EST Report Abuse

    Wow. I just bought a new PC (fully-Vista-compatible down to the graphics card & memory) but now I feel like I should have waited for one that was pre-shipped with Vista. I wish I could have waited but my old PC was giving me too much trouble. (So I'll probably never pull off a Vista install on my own).

  • 68 Posted by elroireigns on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    I'm new to computers and I bought an E-machine with 512 MB that will upgrade to the basic Vista experience. I'm excited to be part of something historical---even if my computer runs so-so until the first service pack. My experience with the computer so far has been that anyone can operate it. I have faith that Microsoft has gotten good at all this after all these years. Of course I'm not running a lot of peripherals, and I am studying this in college. Just sign me a willing guinea pig! P.S. The new Office 2007 free download is available,and is beautiful. I was able to figure out Word and Access in less than ten minutes. www.microsoftdownloadcenter.com Let's get excited! In a few years you can say, I helped work out the kinks with my feedback.

  • 69 Posted by umrebel6 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:27PM EDT Report Abuse

    I've heard that Vista is a memory hog, and there will inevitably be lots of patches to fix things. The best advice is to wait. I switched to Mac this past summer and hold no hard feelings towards the PC. I also run XP Pro on my Mac (gaming and some MS only programs). XP has been and continues to be upgraded (let's hope that MS doesn't pull the plug on continued security fixes, etc.). I have not been disappointed in the least by my switch, and I just like the ability to run both and get the best of both worlds.

  • 70 Posted by krhaydenjr on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have Vista RC1 installed and have no problems with software compatibility. I am only running 512MB and only have problems with the media center. I am positive a memory upgrade will solve that. The user interface is much more comfortable than XP. Installation was a breeze. If you're scared just say you're scared,it's okay. I use my computer around the clock. I rely heavily on my PC for Work and School and Vista has not let me down.

  • 71 Posted by xtreme51103 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    Vista was by far the easiest OS to install...even better then mac. I would still wait until they work the bugs out just like an company making anything new for the first time. I hate MACs.. all they are are teacher friendly bad proof machines for people who have no idea how to use computers. If your a real tech, you use windows... Macs were nothing until the ipod came out.. Talk about money hungry.

  • 73 Posted by shoebag22 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:21PM EDT Report Abuse

    I've been running vista business for the past 3 weeks and have yet to find anything within Vista that allows me to do anything better or more efficient. I'm an IT professional and there are several times in a day that I want to go back to XP. netmeeting is not supported, connecting to network printers is a crap shoot... and office 07 isn't any better. Big learning curve for both products... big!

  • 74 Posted by norsewarrior185 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:41PM EDT Report Abuse

    I went to the roll out convention for Microsoft partners.Vista was a nice MAC clone OS. Most of the bells and whistles that they showed only came with the Ultimate edition. The OS will have multiple problems in the near future. I have been using Vista since RC1 and it has been getting better with each release. I now have three versions of it that I am using for certification and Ultimate is much more compatible than RC2. There are still programs that I have tried to keep on the system (Cain/Able) that Vista just plain will not accept. In my field these things are needed for security not play. Most of the apps you will want (gadgets) will be downloadable only and this was dissapointing also. Within the presentation a medical program was being shown I asked the presenter if these gadgets will come pre loaded I was told that almost all of the gadgets will be downloadable not pre installed. The best thing I can say about Vista at this time besides the visually stunning programs are the trouble shooting applications they either built in or improved upon from XP. The ability to install swapable external memory and the Bit Locker feature was very impressive, but then again only available on the top two OS releases. Office '07 and Exchange Server '07 with all the extened apps (Groove) were very nice and I see Office '07 being the top seller for MS not Vista. At this time I can only recommend using Office '07 it is a great improvment to the family.

  • 75 Posted by kissthecamel on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    well my computer is actually my mom's boss' spare computer when he doesn't have his, and at IBM they all need the same stuff. The harddrive crashed in July and I got a new one with everything "ghosted" from my mom's computer, which made it have Windows XP for free. My desktop which I've had since 2002, has XP but before this computer I had 2000, so I just got XP on this computer and if the boss needs this in the future, he can't really work on it since it won't be the same. plus I ain't paying for new Windows, this computer was ghosted twice for free so yeah plus, you don't really need Vista, think about it

  • 76 Posted by suze12 on Tue Jan 23, 2007 2:40PM EST Report Abuse

    I have used both Mac and PC for 20 years. Here is my opinion. Windows 98 was bearable, fixable and fairly stable. Windows XP has been a nightmare and caused me to lose all my email 3 times and pay a lot in repairs. Mac system 7 (ten years ago) was a dream; I could fix anything that went wrong by myself. (It was intuitive. It was perfect). They began to ruin Mac with system 8 and today, the mac with OS X is just annoying in all its fluffy and useless features that don't work. Windows which used to be a cheap imitation of the mac interface actually became more usable for a time. Right now I don't have love for either one. They both became too bloated with garbage that makes computer use a chore. All PCs are meant to be obsolete and self destruct within a couple years (the longest one lasted me was 5 years). When the time comes - when this one dies - I'll buy a brand new pc with Vista installed and get used to it. I don't foresee that happening for a couple more years. Whether it's fabulous or not, I'll find out then. The trouble is you can't go back in time. You can't use the stable older systems because the newer applications won't work on them and you can't even hook up high speed internet to them. So you live with today's operating systems, or you live without the new software or games you want, and play a 90s game or do 90s design work on a stable machine that has 28mb hard drive.

  • 77 Posted by ride_colorado on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:40PM EDT Report Abuse

    I am in the market for a new laptop and i still have reservations with this new operating system. I dont want to go out and buy a new laptop with the new vista and have there be a bunch of problems with it a week later. I'd rather buy a decent computer in a few weeks with XP and upgrade later when they release the service packs or whatever is needed to work out the bugs. I just think that there are going to be problems with this os even if you have a 3000 dollar laptop with plenty of everything. Its just the way Microsoft rolls. My advice is even if you have the money and the specs to do the upgrade, WAIT....

  • 78 Posted by waytooangry on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    Being one of the 12 people on the planet who were prefectly happy with Windows ME, I am dreading the eventual necessity of upgrading everything again. Now that Turbotax requires at least an XP installation, I know the clock is ticking....

  • 79 Posted by sed9020 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:12PM EDT Report Abuse

    If you must buy a new computer, try a Mac. You can run your windows programs using the parallels program and have all the benifits of of Mac stablilty. Plus, if you are worried about abandoning MS, don't. Apple is a HARDWARE company and MS is a SOFTWARE company. Running a MS OS on your Mac doesn't hurt MS one bit. You can really have the best of all worlds. I don't know why you don't mention this in your article.

  • 80 Posted by danimal_ncsu on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:35PM EDT Report Abuse

    I love my pc too much to install this questionable software, even if bill gates says so. long live windows xp.

  • 81 Posted by thebiggw04 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:03PM EDT Report Abuse

    Why trust MS when they have extended no trust to the public that is forced to buy their junk??? MAC has been secretly owned by MS for quite some time. freeware is the best way to go. New pc's would be affordable if MS wasn't throwing their weight around!! I tried a trial copy of winxp64 bit on a 64 bit capable machine and it crashed after 1.5 days......how can we expect Vista to be any better when XP still isnt worth the plastic cd its printed on??

  • 82 Posted by pcdoctor@snet.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:04PM EDT Report Abuse

    If you need to buy a computer buy it NOW. Why? You will get 2 operation system for the price of 1. buy win XP Pro and extra $10 get Vista once problems have been solved on vista go for the move, want to go back to xp you have the cd just do it. I did it, for now running XP pro with Vista on the mail for only $10 great deal. Because in about 1 year everybody that get's new pc will have vista and guess what you don't like it, you are out of luck. Me I just install XP pro.

  • 83 Posted by skrempp on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:26PM EDT Report Abuse

    I am going to upgrade. I have run the original beta and the second one. Except for my on-board sound not working, everything else was fine. When I built my main computer a year ago, I used parts that were top of the line about a year earlier. That let me have far better components than I was running, at a far better cost. I do run two gig of ram and a couple of 10,000 rpm drives and a good processor. I might as well go ahead and get Vista so that I may start figuring it out so I can help others down the road. Someone has to, so it might as well be someone who knows a little about it.

  • 84 Posted by ltgeneralsnow on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:59PM EDT Report Abuse

    Vista is fast if your computer surpasses the minimum requirements but the software and hardware that need drivers to be installed are hard to find because of compatability issues. And for the problem upgrading XP to Vista you should just wipe the HD or use a "clean" drive.

  • 85 Posted by sparky6520 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:35PM EDT Report Abuse

    I won't be running out to buy Vista. I learned my lesson from buying Windows ME when it first came out. Worst OS ever!!!!

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