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My Great Vista Experiment

C

ClassicBean

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 20, 2004
642
3
Torontoland
So I obtained a copy of Microsoft Vista Ultimate Edition and decided to install it on my MacBook Pro in Parallels to replace XP. I need Windows to run two specific programs that don't work in OSX. So far, seems to work.

Since Aero doesn't function in parallels, I ALSO decided to install it on my MacBook which I haven't really been using much lately (I use it primarily for travel). I used Bootcamp to install it which was a flawless experience. There was no reason for this other then to experience Vista the way PC users experience it from a speed, performance, GUI and everything-else perspective.

Since it's installed natively, Aero works great. Vista is pretty quick and snappy.

What does suck, however, is the design of the OS. I don't understand why anyone would want to pay such a large sum to upgrade from XP. I understand that it makes sense when upgrading computers, but to just upgrade the OS? Not worth it.

I am also surprised by how people are comparing it to OS X and saying that Microsoft copied Apple. Yes, there are some similarities in some of the features and icons. But overall, Microsoft failed in trying to imitate Apple. While the transparency effects are cool, Microsoft didn't refine it enough. For example, the text at the top of a window (name of program name of site you are visiting) has a very amateurish photoshop-like glow.

I am also shocked by the security of this thing. When I saw that Mac commercial with the PC bodyguard, I thought it was a bit over the top. But in reality, it's accurate. Every time you download a program, every time you visit a website, every time you do something that you want to do, Vista asks you if you really want to do it. Yes, you can turn that function off, but the point is that it's a pretty ridiculous feature.

So, why am I running this natively on one machine? Primarily, it's so that I can legitimately defend OS X as a vastly superior operating system against the naysayers.
 
ClassicBean said:
I am also shocked by the security of this thing. When I saw that Mac commercial with the PC bodyguard, I thought it was a bit over the top. But in reality, it's accurate. Every time you download a program, every time you visit a website, every time you do something that you want to do, Vista asks you if you really want to do it. Yes, you can turn that function off, but the point is that it's a pretty ridiculous feature.

So, why am I running this natively on one machine? Primarily, it's so that I can legitimately defend OS X as a vastly superior operating system against the naysayers.
Click to expand...

While I agree that OSX is a superior platform over Vista i fail to see where or what you are running that is triggering the UAC when you surf the internet or when you DL a file. Last time i checked the UAC only trigger is you are trying to execute a program that is accessing anything in the system folders.

I have been testing and evaluating vista for about 4 Months now both at home and at work and I have to say that vista is a pain in the neck more than anything. Login scripts at work do not work unless you manually execute them with admin rights or assign them to execute in the security policy. Most of the applications do not work mainly due to the UAC.

To be honest I do not think that SP1 will fix this OS to make it a viable replacement to XP. Sad truth is that in the end we all gonna have to adopt vista (IT /work).

Now I find my self switching to mac and I'm doing this not due to vista, but because I want something different, because i want to work on Digital photography and because I use/fix PC's at work all day.

One thing I can say that i hate equally from both sides is fanboy. In the end you either use a PC or a mac nobody cares if you think one is better or the other is. Nobody cares what you do at home with your copy of Vista or your brand new iMac. Just like anything else Vista and OS X are just 2 options.
 
pcorajr said:
One thing I can say that i hate equally from both sides is fanboy. In the end you either use a PC or a mac nobody cares if you think one is better or the other is. Nobody cares what you do at home with your copy of Vista or your brand new iMac. Just like anything else Vista and OS X are just 2 options.
Click to expand...

Wow. Probably the most thoughtless statement I've ever read. I'm merely trying to offer my opinion on a forum for people who are looking for advice and like to share their experiences. That doesn't make me a fanboy. That makes me part of this community.

Thanks.
 
Thank you ClassicBean for sharing your experience of Vista with us. I'm of the same ilk as you, however I can't use Parallels because I have Home Premium.

Don't be too concerned about the nay-sayers to your post, some people who venture into this forum may not read too well. :D
 
I bought Vista a while back and let me say this I AM SOOOOO looking forward to buying a macbook, Vista is a nice program but it has nothing over OSX IBM need's to do ALOT of HOMEWORK before throwing Vista out like a bone to the Public alot of people got burned buying Vista I was one of them, that is why i am switching over to a Mac again they just WORK:cool:
 
seahawk09 said:
Vista is a nice program but it has nothing over OSX IBM need's to do ALOT of HOMEWORK before throwing Vista out like a bone to the Public
Click to expand...

IBM has nothing to do with Vista...they don't even have a personal computer business anymore. After OS/2 I don't think IBM would have wanted to associate much with Microsoft anyway....

pcorajr said:
Just like anything else Vista and OS X are just 2 options.
Click to expand...

Sure, just like "gang member" and "upstanding citizen" are just 2 lifestyle choices...no reason to make judgments, it's all the same, right? ;)

--Eric
 
ClassicBean said:
Wow. Probably the most thoughtless statement I've ever read. I'm merely trying to offer my opinion on a forum for people who are looking for advice and like to share their experiences. That doesn't make me a fanboy. That makes me part of this community.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I never called you a fanboy, point out to me where in my post do you see me calling you a fanboy. What i did say is that Both sides have fanboy's.

ClassicBean said:
Sure, just like "gang member" and "upstanding citizen" are just 2 lifestyle choices...no reason to make judgments, it's all the same, right?
Click to expand...

Right can we please be realistic here, last time I checked choosing between platforms was not a Moral Issue. No its not the same, nowhere in my post did I state they where the same. They are options to just like linux is a option. they are very different options also.

The OP makes Valid points but to be honest after reading this board for 2 months i have yet to find any nay-sayers post. What I have found is a community that closely resembles the Ubuntu community. Alwasy ready to help.
 
I used Vista for 2 months and went back to XP.

It's not that Vista is "dog-slow" or plain nasty, it's just that it has a lot of visual fluff that serves no purpose, some things I like, some things I don't.
In my personal experience (I only use Windows for gaming) XP is a very solid OS compared to Vista and right now it's a much safer choice.

I still think OSX easily beats these two OS's, it's a whole different level of stability and integration.
 
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