Microsoft Launched Vista on Tuesday

[galstaph]

I still couldn't justify it. Even if I can get the student edition for 120$. there is only ONE program I cannot use on my mac that I use almost daily... autocad... and WHEN I get my new intel mac eventually.... i will use xp most likely...

 

[bzeh1976]

I upgraded to Vista And I am happy with it so far

A few points

-As a prevous poster said it is "eye candy." It is nice to finally see a new look.

-It definately copies several things Mac OS has first such as gadgets, mail, calendar, contacts, search, and photo. However it is nice to see these things on a pc.

-If it ends up being more secure it will definately be a worthwhile upgrade.

-It is definately much less cluttered.

-It only cost $99

 

[dernhelm]

It will probably take a few weeks for the prices to come down, but it will happen soon.

It didn't drop much when XP replaced 98. I remember more than a year later still seeing 98 on the shelves for the same price as XP. You could get it cheaper of you didn't go to a COMPUsa (or wherever) to purchase it, but at the stores, Microsoft made sure they kept that price as high as possible for as long as possible.

 

[stephenli]

The funny part is that they don't even have a Mac nor a iPod... I guess the marketing guys at Apple did a good job!

You mean our dearest Mr. Steve Jobs? Yes, he did!


Well, since I am using Quad G5 with VPC 7... I guess my only choice is to use Windows 2000, forever.
I did try to install Vista Beta 2 but it just a nightmare of endless restart, restart and restart...

 

[wmmk]

Ummm no they aren't. Longhorn is Vista's code name. The two are the same. Sometime in 2003 Microsoft relized that using XP's code base for Vista wasn't going to work and they literally started from scratch with Server 2003's code. In the next 2 years MS dropped several major features of Longhorn and then finally announced the official name in 2004, I think it was '04, as Vista. If you are going to talk Vista get the story straight. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Vista

I understand. What I mean to say is that the original Longhorn concept was a hell of a lot cooler than the final release of Vista.

 

[wmmk]

Oh just so others know.....


T mobile is having a nice promo for anyone running Vista. 3 free months of WIFI service at any of their access points scattered around the US as long as you are running Vista. How are they authenticating that you have Vista? Through your browser's user agent of course. And away we go......


1. Download the firefox extension for spoofing user-agents: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/59/

2. Restart firefox and goto: Tools > User Agent Switcher > Options > Options...

3. Click "User Agents" and then "Add"

4. Fill out the window with following info:
Description: Internet Explorer 7 (Windows Vista)
User Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0)
App Name: Microsoft Internet Explorer
App Version: 4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0)
Platform: Win32

5. Save it, goto Tools > User Agent Switcher > Then click the newly added one. Browse over to http://hotspot.t-mobile.com/vista/ and you should be redirected to a trial sign-up page. (NO CCARD REQUIRED.)


Hmmm does this break the rules on Macrumors? Technically I guess it is stealing. I'll let a moderator decide that one and see if the post goes poof.

FWIW, this is easily done on safari by enabling the debug menu.

Oh, and could I start the trial later and still get 3 months, or is this only available until 3 months from the Vista release date.

 

[ezekielrage_99]

A few points

-As a prevous poster said it is "eye candy." It is nice to finally see a new look.

-It definately copies several things Mac OS has first such as gadgets, mail, calendar, contacts, search, and photo. However it is nice to see these things on a pc.

-If it ends up being more secure it will definately be a worthwhile upgrade.

-It is definately much less cluttered.

I completely agree with your points however Mac OSX look pretty enough, Mac OSX does everthing I need, Vista has similar looks/stuff to Mac OSX and my work isn't looking to upgrade for sometime (6 months at least) so I really can't see any justifiable points to hand out the cash for a Vista upgrade.

All realtime tests I have seen so far (look at Tom's Hardware) Vista is 8% to 15% slower than XP. I have CrossOver and Cider which runs all my Windows software rather well without the need for Bootcamp and therefore I don't really have to use XP (well only at work).

I'd rather save my money and wait for Leopard because I know when Leopard is released I wont be thinking like this.

 

[fustercluck]

Let me say I like macs, I like all tech related things, I could care less who makes the OS as long as it works.

Appearntly alot of you are already MCSE's on Vista and know the OS inside and out, enough to make statements to general that if someone outside this forum asked you a question and you answered in the same form you'd be a complete ass..

Face the facts, Aero (the "clear glass") runs on DirectX, Microsoft doesn't care if you don't have the hardware to run it, disable it or don't use it. We test Vista and have been for 5 months on every type of hardware configuration we can think up at our offices and it is snappy as can be. If you can't afford a gig of ram, you can't afford a computer let alone the powerbill to run it.

I like how alot of you claim that Microsoft steals all of "Apple's" innovations, let me tell you a little thing. Apple's OS is based on a GNU distro of Unix, Apple has since then given nothing back to the open source community from there OS. A majority of the apps in OS X are all purchased and or ripped from small time developers. Is this wrong? NO! Why re-invent the wheel? Are you telling me if Ford comes out with a new power steering tomorrow that requires no power steering pump no one else in the industry will try and mimic this? Its competition get over it.

I can tell you right now, Vista is a great OS. It is what XP should of been and more. The GUI is more then enough, what the hell more do you need, do you guys just sit and open and close apps to watch the effects instead of using them to get work done? The developer tools are amazing and years ahead of any other os. The longhorn server / Vista features are again outstanding, have a look for yourself. Windows update actually works, no more issues with drivers it finds 99% of everything.

All I am saying is try it out, and it is not as expensive as you think www.newegg.com and grab yourself an OEM version for $149 - $199....

If you like macs thats fine, but don't bash something you know nothing about.

I posted this earlier, but you should take a look at this article.

http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.html

 

[SiliconAddict]

I understand. What I mean to say is that the original Longhorn concept was a hell of a lot cooler than the final release of Vista.

Ahhh. Very much. so. But that has always been the case with MS's OS's. From Chicago to Whistler to Longshot.

 

[Columbo]

50 % of CNET users use/plan to purchase a Mac?

There was a poll on the CNET article linked to on the first post. Asked if you've already got Vista, will be getting Vista, plan to stick with XP, or use/plan to switch to a Mac. The latter is the #1 vote, at over 50% (and over 11000 votes tallied). Are CNET readers traditionally Mac friendly, or could a paradigm shift be starting...?

 

[Chundles]

Scathing report on the radio news this morning.

Early this morning there was a bulletin on the half-hourly news saying that Vista sales are much slower than expected and that consumers were unlikely to be moving over as the OS can't run properly on over 95% of the computers in the country.

I've been in a stack of big department stores and nobody - NOBODY - was buying it. No-one was even looking at it. These were your top of the line department stores well known for their computer departments and I've seen one - ONE - computer running Vista.

It's been reported that whilst more copies of Vista will be shipped than copies of XP purely due to momentum (there are simply more people around to buy Vista or have it pre-installed) sales are exceptionally slow for a release retailers expected to be huge.

It's really not going all that well and I don't expect it to until at least SP1 when it's had some bug fixes and the software developers are on board.

 

[Peace]

It was actually that way when XP first came out too.

 

[seashellz2]

It was interesting-here in Seattle-spitting distance from Microsoft,
the ususally 'local booster' press announced "VISTA's Launch:
more of a yawn than a circus"

 

[hulugu]

...
Face the facts, Aero (the "clear glass") runs on DirectX, Microsoft doesn't care if you don't have the hardware to run it, disable it or don't use it. We test Vista and have been for 5 months on every type of hardware configuration we can think up at our offices and it is snappy as can be. If you can't afford a gig of ram, you can't afford a computer let alone the powerbill to run it.

Wow. I do consulting work for a small business and they have a number of computers which will not run the 'aero' interface because of their limited video cards. The problem isn't just a gig of ram, but rather the entire requirements of Vista which are fairly large. Compare this to OSX which gave older machines a speed boost.

I like how alot of you claim that Microsoft steals all of "Apple's" innovations, let me tell you a little thing. Apple's OS is based on a GNU distro of Unix, Apple has since then given nothing back to the open source community from there OS. A majority of the apps in OS X are all purchased and or ripped from small time developers. Is this wrong? NO! Why re-invent the wheel? Are you telling me if Ford comes out with a new power steering tomorrow that requires no power steering pump no one else in the industry will try and mimic this? Its competition get over it.

First, OSX is based on FreeBSD. Second, Apple has given back to the OS community, but they're not required to do so. But, this is a red herring. Microsoft has taken its competitors' ideas (again) and incorporated them into their own while claiming to be innovative. Ford doesn't claim to have an innovative power steering pump and Microsoft shouldn't claim that Aero is an original idea when Quartz does the same thing and has been around for years.
It's the pretense that bothers me. It's not that Microsoft incorporates ideas from others, including Apple, but rather that they turn around and proclaim it new and original.

I can tell you right now, Vista is a great OS. It is what XP should of been and more. The GUI is more then enough, what the hell more do you need, do you guys just sit and open and close apps to watch the effects instead of using them to get work done?

So why is aero so great then? What other thing does it do besides make really cool 'glass' effects and 3D stacks?

The developer tools are amazing and years ahead of any other os. The longhorn server / Vista features are again outstanding, have a look for yourself. Windows update actually works, no more issues with drivers it finds 99% of everything.

You need to look at a few Linux distros, there's everything including the parts and instructions for making the kitchen sink. And there have been some problems with Nvidia drivers with Vista, so let's not proclaim Vista perfect just yet.

All I am saying is try it out, and it is not as expensive as you think www.newegg.com and grab yourself an OEM version for $149 - $199....

Help me out, should I buy the Home Basic, Home Premium, or the Super Ultra Maximus Server for 64-bit Power version? And, what is the deal with charging per processor?

Just saying, Vista's got potential but it's not the second-coming.

 

[allanmac]

I have a new 20" iMac and run XP Pro on Bootcamp when I need Windows. I dont really need Vista, but it would be nice to have the latest OS running just for the sake of it being new.
But prices in the UK are ridiculous. I saw Bill Gates on UK TV this week, he explained that MS prices should be similar in the UK to those in the USA. How little he knows.

So, if I want Vista now, I pay ( from Amazon.co.uk) £99.99 ( $200) for the basic Home edition upgrade or £353.99 ( $700) for Vista Ultimate! And, if I wanted to really update my MS products and buy Office 2007 Ultimate, it would cost me £579.99 ($1160)

I dont think Mr Gates is going to get any more of my money!!

Roll on Leopard.....now that, I`d pay for

Allan

 

[weg]

Perhaps people can get Vista help from the Mac Geniuses?

According to the majority of posters in this thread, the Mac Genius won't be able to tell the difference between Vista and Mac OS X ;-) (since Microsoft allegedly made a carbon copy of OS X).

 

[mdelaney123]

I agree. Retail OS X copies aren't upgrades, so it's only fair to count the full priced versions of Windows.

I own both Macs and PCs... I like both.

Just thought I would chime in on some of the "math" that is being thrown around here.

Back when XP came out you could upgrade to it for $149 (I don't remember the exact cost.) Now, 5 years later, you can upgrade that version of XP to Vista Home Premium for $159. (Less if you consider the free-bees most stores are throwing in.)

During that 5 years, XP had SEVERAL free upgrades, most significantly SP2.

So, I have to agree that Apple making us pay $129 for these small updates (Full Versions) to OSX every 1.5 years is a rip-off.

I just installed Vista on our Family PC and it is VERY nice. We have noticed no slow-down in games (WOW, AOE3, Oblivion).

 

[mdelaney123]

Agreed. Ultimate is very slow, and things that took three clicks to do in XP now take 5 clicks in Visa. No run option from Start, hard to reach tcp/ip settings, etc. I hope they fix the performance issues :/

Don't know what verison you are using, but my start menu has a Run command. I also have not noticed "more clicks"...

 

[mdelaney123]

However, I also strongly expect Leopard to be more advanced than Vista on a number of levels. So interesting times ahead!

Really? Like what?

Not trying to be a smart-a, I would really like to know. I have read up on Leopard and watched the Keynote. From what I can tell, it only adds incremental updates. I know there are some super-secret features, but from what has been shown, I can live without Leopard.

 

[mdelaney123]

I've been in a stack of big department stores and nobody - NOBODY - was buying it. No-one was even looking at it. These were your top of the line department stores well known for their computer departments and I've seen one - ONE - computer running Vista.

I bet MS has sold more copies of Vista right now than Apple has sold of Tiger. All the stores in the DC area seem to be selling plenty of copies of Vista.

Best Buy has a great deal: Buy Vista Home Premium Upgrade for $159, get Windows live One Care ($49), H&R TaxCut Deluxe ($29), and 512MB Ram ($40) all for free. No Rebates. Also, they have several other products HEAVILY discounted. I also picked up a Dlink Draft-N Wireless Router for $29, and a Kodak 7.1mp 10X Optical Zoom Digital Camera for $149.

 

[Nym]

Maybe, but the fact that it's selling doesn't make it a good product, guess I'll have to try it out for myself.
Still, as of this moment, I see no reason to upgrade from XP because I only use it for gaming and the occasional Illustrator CS2.

 

[hagjohn]

That's because they have an inventory of "XP" computers they need to sell.

I've been in a stack of big department stores and nobody - NOBODY - was buying it. No-one was even looking at it. These were your top of the line department stores well known for their computer departments and I've seen one - ONE - computer running Vista.

 

[princealfie]

Let me say I like macs, I like all tech related things, I could care less who makes the OS as long as it works.

Appearntly alot of you are already MCSE's on Vista and know the OS inside and out, enough to make statements to general that if someone outside this forum asked you a question and you answered in the same form you'd be a complete ass..

Face the facts, Aero (the "clear glass") runs on DirectX, Microsoft doesn't care if you don't have the hardware to run it, disable it or don't use it. We test Vista and have been for 5 months on every type of hardware configuration we can think up at our offices and it is snappy as can be. If you can't afford a gig of ram, you can't afford a computer let alone the powerbill to run it.

I like how alot of you claim that Microsoft steals all of "Apple's" innovations, let me tell you a little thing. Apple's OS is based on a GNU distro of Unix, Apple has since then given nothing back to the open source community from there OS. A majority of the apps in OS X are all purchased and or ripped from small time developers. Is this wrong? NO! Why re-invent the wheel? Are you telling me if Ford comes out with a new power steering tomorrow that requires no power steering pump no one else in the industry will try and mimic this? Its competition get over it.

I can tell you right now, Vista is a great OS. It is what XP should of been and more. The GUI is more then enough, what the hell more do you need, do you guys just sit and open and close apps to watch the effects instead of using them to get work done? The developer tools are amazing and years ahead of any other os. The longhorn server / Vista features are again outstanding, have a look for yourself. Windows update actually works, no more issues with drivers it finds 99% of everything.

All I am saying is try it out, and it is not as expensive as you think www.newegg.com and grab yourself an OEM version for $149 - $199....

If you like macs thats fine, but don't bash something you know nothing about.

Wait a minute! Accusing us of not knowing much about Vista eh? Just because we use Macs doesn't we haven't explored the dark side of humanity you know?

 

[mdelaney123]

Still, as of this moment, I see no reason to upgrade from XP because I only use it for gaming and the occasional Illustrator CS2.

You know, I am supprised MS is not advertising this more, but one of the features I am REALLY looking forward to with Vista is the Xbox Live Anywhere integration.

Games for Vista will integrate into the Xbox Live service (Which is awesome) and will allow you to post/accumulate achievements, play with Xbox 360 gamers, Easily Voice Chat, and bring a common interface to online gaming. (Among other things...)

You really don't hear too much about it, but I hear it should be active before summer.

 

[weckart]

Oh just so others know.....


T mobile is having a nice promo for anyone running Vista. 3 free months of WIFI service at any of their access points scattered around the US as long as you are running Vista. How are they authenticating that you have Vista? Through your browser's user agent of course. And away we go......


1. Download the firefox extension for spoofing user-agents: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/59/

2. Restart firefox and goto: Tools > User Agent Switcher > Options > Options...

3. Click "User Agents" and then "Add"

4. Fill out the window with following info:
Description: Internet Explorer 7 (Windows Vista)
User Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0)
App Name: Microsoft Internet Explorer
App Version: 4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0)
Platform: Win32

5. Save it, goto Tools > User Agent Switcher > Then click the newly added one. Browse over to http://hotspot.t-mobile.com/vista/ and you should be redirected to a trial sign-up page. (NO CCARD REQUIRED.)


Hmmm does this break the rules on Macrumors? Technically I guess it is stealing. I'll let a moderator decide that one and see if the post goes poof.

It also says in the small print that it requires an ActiveX control to be installed in order to validate. Not sure how that would work on OS X.