Microsoft Launched Vista on Tuesday

[73CortinaV8]

Uh, do you have a Radeon 9200SE in that thinkpad? (hint: it's a desktop card, so no you do not) So... unless you have the exact same computer setup of the user that got the solitaire error message, there's no way you can say it's "total BS". Vista works nicely for you and that's great for you. But don't assume that because it works on your computer that everybody everywhere will have the exact same experience.

I find it exceedingly hard to believe that a machine that was able to boot vista at all would not be able to run a simple program like solitaire.
And your anecdote is 2nd hand. "I've read a report from one Vista user..." Got a link?

For all the bluster here, how many people have actually here tried vista? 2 or three?!
I'm no microsoft apologist (msft has never gotten 1 cent from me (barring some unknown msft licenses in the mac software I run)), and I wouldn't use vista except maybe on work PCs where I have to use windows, but I'm amazed at all the people talking out their a**es here and forming opinions on hearsay.

Flame away.

 

[Seasought]

I think Vista will get bought just like all the other Microsoft operating systems. People will gasp and awe at how amazing the OS looks despite it being an obvious copy of OS X. Next, we'll hear complaints about how bloated and unstable it is but the sheep will keep installing it and using it any way.

As for it being more "secure" we'll see, won't we?

 

[Stella]

I didn't hear about long line ups in stores at midnight like previous microsoft releases.

Seemed like a non event though on Tuesday I did see a Vista tent on Dundas square, it looked quite full.

But, at the end of the day, Apple would dearly wish to sell as many copies of OSX as Vista will in its life time ( read: significantly more copies than OSX ).

 

[HailToTheVictor]

My first post

I saw something today that made me register finally after reading posts nearly every day for two years. I was walking by my school's ITCS office and they a computer with a slidshow of all the great new features of Vista, several pages worth in fact and I stopped to watch for a while. Oh yeah, it was displayed on a iMac. I love this campus more Macs then PC'.

 

[janitorC7]

I saw something today that made me register finally after reading posts nearly every day for two years. I was walking by my school's ITCS office and they a computer with a slidshow of all the great new features of Vista, several pages worth in fact and I stopped to watch for a while. Oh yeah, it was displayed on a iMac. I love this campus more Macs then PC'.

thats awesome.....

a complete waste of an imac, but whatever

 

[QuarterSwede]

But, at the end of the day, Apple would dearly wish to sell as many copies of OSX as Vista will in its life time ( read: significantly more copies than OSX ).

I think you meant, "Apple would dearly wish to sell as many Mac's as copies of Vista in its life time."

I just think it's funny that most people are waiting till they buy a new computer to get Vista. I finally used it at Best Buy yesterday and have to say that it is a nice improvement over XP. BUT, it still isn't nearly as polished as OSX. Little things like minimizing a window can still sometimes cause the graphics to hiccup. I figured they would have gotten rid of that when they let the videocard handle the GUI.

In the end, I do think it's a bigger upgrade than most people seem to let on.

 

[Lynxpro]

Hmm, Vista was huge at our store today.
I guess its because we were giving away 512MB of RAM, Live Onecare, and Taxcut to anyone who bought the Home Premium, Business or Ultimate versions.

You must work for BestBuy. Got any Macs at your store location?

TagTV....the horror...the horror...

 

[jettredmont]

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, OS X is based on BSD, not GNU (are you talking about the legendary Hurd? Or are you talking about Linux, which really has nothing to do with Gnu other than that it uses the Gnu toolset generally?). It ships with the BSD toolset along with a handful of gnu tools (gcc obviously; several others).

As for a majority of apps in OS X being bought or ripped off of smaller developers, I'd like to see some accounting of that. I can see iTunes 2.0 having that claim (although iTunes 7 can no longer claim that it is primarily or even substantially the code bought for iTunes 1). iPhoto? iCal? Mail? Spotlight? Expose?

Yes, as in all industries one maker will build off the advances of another maker. That's good for everyone. However, when one maker tends to do nothing more than incremental improvements over the other while the other makes leapfrog advances (Cocoa, Core Video, Quartz Extreme, etc), well, that first maker is open for ridicule as nothing more than a copycat.

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.

I am very glad that Vista is an improvement over XP. XP was a huge improvement over Windows 9x (Me was an abomination so I'm not going to mention it further). The thing is: after five years, the features don't seem substantially better than what we've gotten with multiple Mac OS X releases over the same time period. It appears to have caught up with Tiger, at long last.

The things that scare me about Windows are the "Genuine Advantage" bits (I don't need Microsoft re-validating my licensing on a weekly basis, especially as it has a record of getting the answer wrong far too often) and the general usage restrictions (I can not move a bought copy of Vista to more than one computer, ever).

You mention developer tools. Is Microsoft now shipping Visual Studio free with Vista? I wasn't aware of that. As a full-time developer on both platforms, I appreciate the extras built into Visual Studio (although I don't like how recent versions have become significantly slower and more burdensome from release to release). Still, I really like the XCode/CHUD tools for fast, fun development, so much so that for the past two years I've done all my primary development in XCode and then ported back over to Visual Studio for Windows validation.

That having been said, when the developer tools cost many hundreds of dollars, they can hardly be said to be a factor for the majority of users.

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.

Good advice. Do know, however, that OEM copies are absolutely, 100% tied to the motherboard on which they were first installed, and offer no tech support from MS if you find you need it. So, if you get a new Mac or Dell you'll have to buy the OS again. Still, the non-OEM version only allows one transfer to another box over its lifetime, and costs twice as much, so no big difference. Just realize that what you're getting for $149 from Microsoft is not the same as what you might be used to, and you'll have to re-buy for the next machine you purchase as well.

 

[Xyl]

I really like Apple's 1 OS model.

I was just looking at some Vista prices (just because I might want to get it) for all the editions I could buy:
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Upgrade Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Business Upgrade Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Edition 32BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Edition 64BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 32BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition 32BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition 64BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition 32BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition 64BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate UPGRADE Limited Numbered Signature Edition (Signed by Bill Gates)

 

[WildPalms]

That has got to be a joke....releasing so many ...erm...releases...

 

[SiliconAddict]

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.

Huh. No installer for me....odd.

 

[princealfie]

Why can't Steve Jobs sign my Tiger to make it a limited edition?

 

[Lynxpro]

Not quite true - those waiting for the long-awaited demise of MS care, because they are eager to see if this will create a sea change in the whole PC market whereby we can return to the more progressive and creative era that was quashed so many years ago and is now in its revival. Dust off your Atari ST and your Amiga 1200 the good times are here again.

Atari ST representin' here. ;0

I really wish Apple would buy up the rights to Atari and set about to make "Atari" branded Mac computers focused on gaming. Make it into Apple's version of Alienware or Falcon Northwest. That would improve the gaming front for the OS X platform as a whole, without allegedly dilluting Apple's brand.

 

[Lynxpro]

Why can't Steve Jobs sign my Tiger to make it a limited edition?

Do it like the comics industry and put out multiple covers for the same release and pack in a "collectible" hologram.

 

[Lynxpro]

"Of course you know that Microsoft own 45% of Apple" he said, "that's why OS X is so good" at that point I grinned and went back to work

So....you went to lunch with Steve Ballmer?


Geez...what happened to all of those alleged IQ tests that Microsoft gave to their job applicants? Are they now hiring the lowest-of-the-low MCSE certificate holders?

 

[Shadow]

I really like Apple's 1 OS model.

I was just looking at some Vista prices (just because I might want to get it) for all the editions I could buy:
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Upgrade Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Business Upgrade Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Edition 32BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Edition 64BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 32BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition 32BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition 64BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition 32BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition 64BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate UPGRADE Limited Numbered Signature Edition (Signed by Bill Gates)

But wait-there's more! Thats excluding the N and K versions for Europe and Korea!

 

[Lynxpro]

Agreed, but sooner or later having single supplier of operating system (mono-culture) will break or whole concept of OS will become obsolete.

I vote to a return of multiple platforms where each computer manufacturer championed their own OS. It was a more vibrant industry back then when we had the IBM PC (and compatibles), the Apple Mac, the Commodore Amiga, and the Atari ST all vying for marketshare.

I'd really like to see Microsoft merge with Dell, Apple stay with OS X, and HP and Sony either embrace Linux (probably a co-branded Google distribution) or drop out of the market.

The gaming industry should get wise and start donating to keeping OpenGL viable and then make games that support it so it can be platform agnostic and easily port to the consoles as well. Or...how about an id Software distribution of Linux that optimizes for their latest gaming engine?

 

[aranhamo]

Developer Tools

You mention developer tools. Is Microsoft now shipping Visual Studio free with Vista? I wasn't aware of that.

When we talked to Microsoft about getting licenses for Visual Studio .NET 2005, the version they recommended we use was $15,000 per seat. For our team of 5 developers, that's $75,000! Plus they wanted us to buy architect and project manager versions, which I forget how much those were. I think they were probably just trying to rip us off, since we're part of a large company, they probably figured we have deep pockets. We're probably going to just buy VS at retail and ignore MS's recommendations, which I think ends up around $500 per seat. And then my boss says that we can't afford to switch to Macs.

As far as the story about Solitaire not working, our in-house stuff all works great on 2k and XP, but exactly zero of our applications work on Vista, which means we won't be buying Vista anytime soon. By not working, I mean they don't even launch; and these are mostly just regular, nothing special Win32 apps built in VS. So the company won't be laying out the money to migrate beyond XP until we're absolutely forced to.

 

[Episteme]

I vote to a return of multiple platforms where each computer manufacturer championed their own OS. It was a more vibrant industry back then when we had the IBM PC (and compatibles), the Apple Mac, the Commodore Amiga, and the Atari ST all vying for marketshare.

I preferred it but we'll not likely ever return to it...

Few could compete with the juggernaut that was PC Compatibility, and Apple, Atari and especially Commodore all suffered some pretty major mismanagement...

I'd really like to see Microsoft merge with Dell, Apple stay with OS X, and HP and Sony either embrace Linux (probably a co-branded Google distribution) or drop out of the market.

That's only serve to push hardware prices higher. Not that'd it'd happen, it doesn't suit Microsoft...

The gaming industry should get wise and start donating to keeping OpenGL viable and then make games that support it so it can be platform agnostic and easily port to the consoles as well. Or...how about an id Software distribution of Linux that optimizes for their latest gaming engine?

I'm at a loss as to why the gaming industry needs to care here. Their major platforms right now are PS2, Wii, Xbox360, PS3 and of course Win32 PC -- and all of those of devtools supplied by the makers. On top of that, there's a whole raft of middleware providers supplying engines etc. that makes the rest platform agnostic anyway.

 

[DeathChill]

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

I assume that's a joke, right? You know that Steve Jobs doesn't design or decide how to market the products. He introduces them, but he's definitely not responsible for 99% of the work that goes into them.

 

[Reverend Wally]

A buddy of mine got a new Vista OS PC a couple days ago, and he got up and took a picture of it after 2 days.

Here is the photo....:

Bad stuff

 

[FadeToBlack]

I really like Apple's 1 OS model.

I was just looking at some Vista prices (just because I might want to get it) for all the editions I could buy:
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Upgrade Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Business Upgrade Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Edition 32BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Edition 64BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 32BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition 32BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition 64BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition 32BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition 64BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate UPGRADE Limited Numbered Signature Edition (Signed by Bill Gates)

That's the crap I was referring to in my post. I just don't understand why they have to make everything so ridiculously confusing.

Gotta love the 1 $129 version approach. Oh yeah, I forgot about the family pack for $199. Still, that's nowhere near as confusing as Microsoft's 20 different versions of Vista.

 

[SheriffParker]

I really like Apple's 1 OS model.

I was just looking at some Vista prices (just because I might want to get it) for all the editions I could buy:
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Upgrade Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Business Upgrade Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Edition 32BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Edition 64BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 32BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition 32BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition 64BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition 32BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition 64BIT OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate UPGRADE Limited Numbered Signature Edition (Signed by Bill Gates)

Gotta catch 'em all!

Go Picachu! Lightning strike Limited Numbered Signature Edition! It's super rare!

 

[danvdr]

From a generally positive Singapore review of Vista:

"Should you upgrade now?
If you are happy with your current Windows XP system, and fear your computer may not be fast enough, stick with it.

But if you've always wanted a smoother, sleeker and more Mac-like Windows experience, go for Vista."

 

[iW00t]

From a generally positive Singapore review of Vista:

"Should you upgrade now?
If you are happy with your current Windows XP system, and fear your computer may not be fast enough, stick with it.

But if you've always wanted a smoother, sleeker and more Mac-like Windows experience, go for Vista."

I am fairly surprised it is that "favourable". Everything IT related in Singapore is probably a Microsoft solution. Kids program in Visual Studio, games programming is taught in DirectX, government agencies are suckered wholesale into ASP...