This will instill your Vista Confidence!

[jono_3]

My girlfriend was sent this letter from the head of the IT department at her univeristy.


To: University of xxxxxxxxxx Faculty and Staff
From: Information Technology

Information Technology (IT) has spent the past few months testing and evaluating the new Windows Vista operating system that Microsoft officially released January 30th, 2007. While the news media will be promoting the new ‘features’ of Vista for the next few weeks, IT would like to inform University employees that there are many technical issues and concerns with the new Vista operating system that could impact your ability to run software and access some services available on the University network.

IT’s current plans (subject to change) for Windows Vista are to upgrade office, classroom, and student lab computers in late spring/ summer 2008. While current concerns with Windows Vista may be resolved before the summer 2008, we need to schedule the bulk of the upgrade with our summer computer lab rotation to avoid changes mid semester. IT will be unable to offer full support for Windows VISTA until it is officially implemented on campus.

We advise researchers and other employees who may be purchasing individual computers for offices, labs, and home to purchase new computers with Windows XP, or downgrade to Windows XP after purchase, to avoid problems. (Any computer bought with Windows XP over the next year can be upgraded to Windows Vista for FREE at a future date through IT.)

IT has asked Materials Management to flag all new computer purchases from people requesting Windows Vista to ensure that they have been informed about the compatibility issues before proceeding with the order. We do not want to prevent anyone from using Vista, but IT currently can’t guarantee a fully functioning system.

More information about compatibility issues and other concerns with the new Windows Vista operating system will be posted on the Notice Board and IT web site to allow you to make an informed decision.

Please address any questions or concerns to the Help Desk:
xxxx@xxxx.ca (xxx-2490).
--
xxxxxx xxxxxx
Executive Director, Information Technology

 

[cwedl]

Thats understandable, It the same where I work, if people upgrade to Vista ip support (aka "me") will not be able to support it because of the lack of knowledge of that operating system. XP works with all it systems in place, third party companies may not have updated their software to work with vista either so until they do there is no point.

 

[xparaparafreakx]

Your not the only one with that message. I work in the IT department.

(UC Davis)

Microsoft's new operating system, Windows Vista, offers many new features. But Information and Educational Technology (IET) recommends that UC Davis departments and technical staff postpone installing it on existing campus machines.

UC Davis is not alone in advocating a slow rollout. A recent CDW Corp. survey of information technology decision-makers found that 86 percent plan to upgrade their systems to Vista, but only 20 percent intend to make the change during Vista's first year.

The UC Davis campus has to consider such factors as integration and compatibility with major campus applications and systems, plus software and compatibility with third-party hardware and software.

Also, Vista requires more processing power, more memory, and a more powerful graphics card than the Windows XP operating system, its predecessor. A report released by Softchoice Corp. revealed that half of North American business computers don't meet the minimum requirements of Vista, and 94 percent can't support the full premium configuration.

Microsoft released Vista to business, government, and education users in late November, and expects to release the system to the general market in late January.

Because the campus will eventually use Windows Vista, IET advises departments purchasing computers during the next several months to buy machines with Vista already installed. Any computer that meets the campus computer ownership standards will support Vista.

Early Vista users might experience some compatibility issues with campus uses, and IET is testing Vista to see how well it works with major campus applications. Information and advice about Vista will be posted here and will include test results, frequent questions, discussion of enhanced Vista security features, documents, and other resources.

Windows XP remains supported by Microsoft Corp. and IET, so campus users don't have to start using Vista to meet campus cyber-safety standards. If you have questions, please contact the IT Express Computing Help Desk at (530) 754-HELP (754-4357).


And as I sit here, I keep telling people that we do not support Vista. Some demand that they get Vista and the KMS server is ready and the ISO is here. Its going to a be a long year for me. Not all is lost since Leopard will be a quick and painless transition for the mac users we support.