The More I Use Vista the More I Dislike It

Thu Jan 25, 2007 3:14AM EST

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I was about to sit down to write a post about all the things that bug me about Windows Vista... but Steve Wiseman beat me to it. His "Five Sins of Vista" is essential reading... but I'm going to add my commentary to his penance.

My biggest complaint with Vista is Steve's #3: Windows Networking is a mess. Mess is putting it lightly, and while Wiseman points out that the Windows "Network and Sharing Center" is one of the OS's most confusing features, he didn't mention the nightmare that is attempting to network a Vista computer to a network containing XP or Windows 2000 PCs. Frankly, I've been trying to figure this out for a week and still can't get what ought to be a simple printer share working.

Wiseman's #4 involves Windows Search, which is a complete joke. Remember how Vista was supposed to take those cool desktop search apps like Yahoo! Desktop and Google Desktop and integrate them seamlessly into the OS. Well, guess what, searching is faster with Vista... but you can't search inside a file using Vista's so-called "advanced" search system (which comes up when you hit F3). Oddly, the search system integrated into the Start Menu appears to be completely different and works much better, at least for data files. You can't easily search for system files and non-document files with it.

My other big agreement with Wiseman is his #1 complaint about the file browsing system. Windows is trying to move away from the C:\folder\folder\folder... heirarchy, I suppose because less savvy users were confused by it. I find the Vista method much more confusing, mainly because you have to end up delving into that directory structure frequently in order to get anything but very basic file operations done. Wiseman has other complaints about the way it works (and fails to work), too.

I've found other nagging problems in Vista—like help files that were obviously imported from Windows XP and never updated with Vista's changes—and I'm sure I'll be complaining about them on this blog in the weeks that come. Hopefully those complaints will be followed by thoughtful explanations on how to fix those problems... but for the issues listed above, there's not much you can do aside from learning to live with it.

Comments on The More I Use Vista the More I Dislike It

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  • 6 Posted by jsbudda@verizon.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have been a pc owner since the late 1980s'. I started off with msdos 5.0 and progressed through Windows 95, 98, and XP. I will no longer pay Microsofts' prices to be a beta tester for their new bug ridden products. It would have been nice to be the guy who installed the roof on Mr. Gates' house so that when he called to say that the new product that he bought from me was leaking I could tell him to wait 6 months or so and then stick his phone onto the roof so I can then issue him a patch. Then suggest that he should have bought roof 2.0!!!

  • 7 Posted by quicksurf20 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:24PM EDT Report Abuse

    lucky for me i have a mac so i don't have to worry about vista which looks like a copy of Tiger OS apple's operating system

  • 8 Posted by jgray44@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:34PM EDT Report Abuse

    I see where the first service pack is already being put together...I am going to wait on the second service pack. I can't justify moving to Vista when even people that like it say..."I like it but..." "This is cool...but" and on and on...

  • 9 Posted by riverwest2 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    I wish they would realize that to a lot of people out here it doesn't matter that much if the software is cool - it matters if it works. I have to work for a living (yes, on a computer). When I come home, I don't like to have to fight with the software on my home computer in order to get it to do simple things like cleaning out the cache or printing something I see on the screen without cutting the edges off. And I wish they'd come up with something that wasn't such a memory hog. No, I'm not looking forward to Vista.

  • 10 Posted by xtremegamr11 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    Wow. All of this, and it's somehow worth $400. Will someone explain this to me?

  • 11 Posted by justinbeyler on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:44PM EDT Report Abuse

    Like the Microsoft Zune is a poor attempt at copying the Apple iPod, Microsoft Vista is a poor attempt at copying the Apple OSX operating system. Don't waist your time and money on Vista...buy a Mac instead. Unfortunately, Chris Null doesn't use a Mac on a regular basis and therefore can't offer any helpful advice like: "Buy a Mac!"

  • 12 Posted by efetech2003 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    I think it better MS look into the new OS so as to help users. u know XP have been amazingly helpful in many ways, and the features are great. if MS want to bring out sometins better, that should be built on XP, features like Search, directory, etc. rate of upgrading should also been look into, at least be faster and...

  • 13 Posted by bluestone_studio on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:09PM EDT Report Abuse

    No one should EVER rush for a MS Windows upgrade or new OS...EVER! Hasn't history shown over and over that it will be pure misery trying to get the "new" one to work with the 'old" one and on and on....These new "advances" are always a disapointment. Word to the wise.....stay w/ XP....don't try to be cool by going with Vista...you will regret it!

  • 14 Posted by youngxela on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:58PM EDT Report Abuse

    Microsoft has been looking over the shoulders of Apple for years...first windows now they are attempting to steal OS X as well. Pathetic but good for us Mac users I don't think Macs will be invincible for long. It seems as if Microsoft is forcing people to like Macs. To any future converts, the Mac is a much better system only problem is 3rd party software. Good luck with any future MS OS

  • 15 Posted by mrt14626 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:28PM EDT Report Abuse

    Bill Gates purposely left out how many toes vista is stepping on. Not only it stepping on other people's toe, it surely stepping on its own toe (did actually happen to me in the past when microsoft release sp4 for win2k - my visual basic application just stop working and take me weeks to fix it - it caused a lot of downtime and money for my customer). Unless MS releasing a new os built from scratch, I would not upgrade until at least 6 months or a year later (after about 50 patch and 4 sp later) ...

  • 16 Posted by troyrugg on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:21PM EDT Report Abuse

    why not just drop ms products all together and go with a system that we know works and has from the get....mac!

  • 17 Posted by jerricoverstone on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:33PM EDT Report Abuse

    Its like hydrogen and your car, people are not told they have alternatives! Its been a wile sence Linix was first introduced to the world, the largest problem it had was software companies did not produce there software to run on it. But now its practicaly perfect, and most new software you buy today is setup to be run on cumputer using any version of Linix for an opperating system! Yes There are many versions of linix, like Red Hat or Fedura for example and now any version is the best choice for running on new computers, using multi core prossesors! Oh by the way it is ether really cheap, or free, and you can put it on as many computers as you want without licensing restrictions! You know like Micorsoft is so worried about pirating, Linix encorages you to copy and distribute it. Alos how much more do you need to spend on Micorsoft word? One version of linux I use caled Ubuntu Linix came with Open Office word prossesing free, as well as Audicty audio editing tool, (I use it to edit music for games, It was free), and the best yet it came with "GIMP" Its a photo editing software that does everything and more then Photoshop, I mean its awsome, Im not kidding, and its free to. I can even go on and on on how safe Firefox is, but I will say Firefox still has problems displaying web pages correctly, but you know if thats an issue you can still use Internet explorer on a Linix machine if you want! I have already made up my mind, I will never spend any more money on Microsoft products ever again! I am tired of them crashing, or becoming virus infected evertime im online, and having to spend so much money on there junk! The next PC I build will be a multi core prossesor, and the opperating system ill put on it will be Linix

  • 18 Posted by frontierflyer1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:03PM EDT Report Abuse

    I've been using a PC since Windoze 3.11 and last year I made the jump to Mac. THANK GOD!! Its WONDERFUL!! NO crashes, re-boots, viruses, trojans, hiccups, its aesthetically pleasing, the OS is beautiful, its FAST, SIMPLE and IT JUST WORKS. I have seen the light and now I know why there is such a cult following. I LOVE MACS.

  • 19 Posted by great_value_2006 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:12PM EDT Report Abuse

    I tried Vista and HATED it. Its buggy, VERY slow and didn't really offer anything I didn't have with XP and 3rd party utilities. Vista seems like an updated version of XP and not worth the extra money. I tried a friends Macintosh over the weekend. I had always though I hated them, but you know what - they are actually really good. I just order a MacBook from Apple's web site. I will not miss Microsoft XP and will not miss Vista at all. I always thought Mac's were expensive and a niche. How wrong I was. I wish I had tried a Mac years ago. I just discovered what I have been missing.

  • 20 Posted by jer3217 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:32PM EDT Report Abuse

    This article just scraches the surface with the issues Vista yet has to iron out... as well as some that will probably never be ironed out in the name of "security". The biggest frustration is that gamers who want to take advantage of DirectX 10 are forced to do the upgrade to Vista. Has anyone heard any chatter about someone developing a DirectX 10 clone? Is that even possible or probable? If it were, I'd stick with XP or even another OS if they could play the games.

  • 22 Posted by vivian_smith_3d on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:36PM EDT Report Abuse

    I'm definately staying with XP Pro. I'm pretty happy with XP Pro, and from all I've heard, this is just not worth the hassle of getting my system compliant for a bunch of headaches. It's sounds as much fun as ME or Windows 2000...

  • 23 Posted by powerskull on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:18PM EDT Report Abuse

    I overheard Jim Alchin in a coffee shop saying he accepted money under the table from Jobs to make Vista so that people want to jump to a MAC - looks like it's working! I think I'll stick with Windows 98 and LINUX.

  • 24 Posted by nairbydarb on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:32PM EDT Report Abuse

    use XP Pro or Linux and dump the rest. Vista is a pain.

  • 25 Posted by nsydr on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    Why don't ppl do what they shold have done at least 7 years ago... LEARN how to operate a computer! Most just want to turn their computer on and POOF, magically everything works and they can be lazy in another aspect of life. Learn the basics like networking, OS settings, the registry, etc.! Take a class ppl, they're free at most community colleges.

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