Vista - VISTA feels like going back to the Stone Age (in nice colors) [Edited]

I've been waiting a long time to install Vista. Now that I've been so close
to buy it and install it, I've been discovering all kinds of oddities. I
have also been looking for a new laptop, but unless it's the very high-tech
laptops, a lot of new models come with downgraded video-cards.
It actually feels like going back to the Stone Age of computing. Please tell
me I'm wrong. Here are just a few points:

- Most new notebooks come now with video cards with UMA ( Shared Video
Memory ). Just like way back in the DOS days, the computer's RAM is shared
with the video card. I was reading a disclaimer on the HP website that said
not to allocate too much memory for video and to keep the resolution low;
otherwise performance loss would occur.
I saw a really nice HP notebook at SAM's club, with a very high Windows
Experience score on all their functions, except for video ( with UMA, of
course), which dropped the final score to 3.1 (it also said that it would't
give a good enough experience for Aero. And this is a NEW model notebook!!!

- Also, a few years ago, Winmodems were considered a bad choice.
Now suddenly, Winmodems are back. Even audio cards are now more
software-oriented
than they used to be. I remember spending a ton of money on my Sound
Blaster Platinum
just because of its great hardware implentation.

- The implementation of DRM has crippled hardware. My ASUS P5AD2-E has HD
Audio, Dolby Digital, S/PDIF i/o, and more. Vista upgrade advisor says that
HD Audio is not supported. Also, when playing HD protected content, audio
and video output would be degraded to a much lower resolution. And it is
uncertain if I will be able to watch any movies on my HP projector using the
DVI-D port. I'm not sure if it supports the DRM technology Vista uses, so
that could be the end of watching movies off my PC with High Quality audio
and video. That would definitely be a waste. But I do want to watch movies
and listen to audio
with the best possible quality using my PC.

- OpenType fonts no longer work.

- There's an unresolved issue related to copying files: very slow
performance, even before the actual copy takes place (during calculating
time required...)

Vista's integration of DRM is killing this new Windows OS. Making the OS
slower and
requiring us to spend more money in DRM-compliant hardware (Monitors, TVs,
Projectors, Audio, etc.).
This has to stop. The industry needs to understand that no matter how much
they try to protect their movies,
if a hacker wants to copy them, he will get the job done faster and cheaper
than it costed them to implement
their copy-protection. At this point, it's cheaper (or about the same price)
to buy a BlueRay movie rather than
making a copy of it to a BlueRay blank disc (if such is currently
available). Same goes for HD-DVD.

DRM doesn't really make sense. And the good thing is that some people in the
industry are getting to understand this:
http://www.macrumors.com/2007/04/02/...ence-coverage/
http://www.macrumors.com/2007/04/02/...pple-emi-deal/

There are other issues and you are welcome to comment about them. I'm just
looking for advise.
Right now, I'm staying with XP and carefully considering to switch to MAC
OSX as it seem like a better
alternative; but I would prefer to stay with Windows.
The only problem is that if Microsoft doesn't do something good about Vista
and eventually decide to drop support
for Windows XP, I would have no choice left.

Linux is another option, but I use Adobe Software and I need good
performance and support.

Some people I know have purchased Vista, and had a ton of problems with it;
one of them is planning to return his Vista Ultima to Circuit City and
re-installing XP Pro (would they take it back??? I'm not too sure about
that). His PC wouldn't run Vista nicely (of course he had no clue it
requires high-end hardware to actually run in a way it won't drive you
insane). His PC's specs were all above minimal specs as outlined by
Microsoft.

I feel very disappointed right now. Such a long wait for nothing, it seems.
I hope I'm just wrong. I have good the hardware that would run in Vista; it
would be
a waste to let Vista cripple it. I feel bad for all those people who bought
those really good Sound Blaster cards (like I did at some point).
A Google search returned a lot of comments regarding the fact that those
high-end
cards may never be supported (maybe just basic functionality drivers; all
the high-end
features such as S/PDIF high bit rate sampling, etc. would be crippled).


-The Amazing Iceman

I bought an HP dv9288ea in the UK on the 30th January 2007. It is slick,
fast and very nice to work with. I know that it is not great for high end
gaming but it is fine for video editing and working generally. I am VERY
happy with the laptop and with Vista Home premium.

It is about £1200 so not cheap, but huge drive 320GB, Geforce go 7600 512Mb,
2Gb RAM etc.....

Billy


"Amazing Iceman" <NOSPAM@HERE.COM> wrote in message
news:1Kidnbcd24dayo_bnZ2dnUVZ_qOpnZ2d@comcast.com...
> I've been waiting a long time to install Vista. Now that I've been so
> close
> to buy it and install it, I've been discovering all kinds of oddities. I
> have also been looking for a new laptop, but unless it's the very
> high-tech
> laptops, a lot of new models come with downgraded video-cards.
> It actually feels like going back to the Stone Age of computing. Please
> tell
> me I'm wrong. Here are just a few points:
>
> - Most new notebooks come now with video cards with UMA ( Shared Video
> Memory ). Just like way back in the DOS days, the computer's RAM is shared
> with the video card. I was reading a disclaimer on the HP website that
> said
> not to allocate too much memory for video and to keep the resolution low;
> otherwise performance loss would occur.
> I saw a really nice HP notebook at SAM's club, with a very high Windows
> Experience score on all their functions, except for video ( with UMA, of
> course), which dropped the final score to 3.1 (it also said that it
> would't
> give a good enough experience for Aero. And this is a NEW model
> notebook!!!
>
> - Also, a few years ago, Winmodems were considered a bad choice.
> Now suddenly, Winmodems are back. Even audio cards are now more
> software-oriented
> than they used to be. I remember spending a ton of money on my Sound
> Blaster Platinum
> just because of its great hardware implentation.
>
> - The implementation of DRM has crippled hardware. My ASUS P5AD2-E has HD
> Audio, Dolby Digital, S/PDIF i/o, and more. Vista upgrade advisor says
> that
> HD Audio is not supported. Also, when playing HD protected content, audio
> and video output would be degraded to a much lower resolution. And it is
> uncertain if I will be able to watch any movies on my HP projector using
> the
> DVI-D port. I'm not sure if it supports the DRM technology Vista uses, so
> that could be the end of watching movies off my PC with High Quality audio
> and video. That would definitely be a waste. But I do want to watch movies
> and listen to audio
> with the best possible quality using my PC.
>
> - OpenType fonts no longer work.
>
> - There's an unresolved issue related to copying files: very slow
> performance, even before the actual copy takes place (during calculating
> time required...)
>
> Vista's integration of DRM is killing this new Windows OS. Making the OS
> slower and
> requiring us to spend more money in DRM-compliant hardware (Monitors, TVs,
> Projectors, Audio, etc.).
> This has to stop. The industry needs to understand that no matter how much
> they try to protect their movies,
> if a hacker wants to copy them, he will get the job done faster and
> cheaper than it costed them to implement
> their copy-protection. At this point, it's cheaper (or about the same
> price) to buy a BlueRay movie rather than
> making a copy of it to a BlueRay blank disc (if such is currently
> available). Same goes for HD-DVD.
>
> DRM doesn't really make sense. And the good thing is that some people in
> the industry are getting to understand this:
> http://www.macrumors.com/2007/04/02/...ence-coverage/
> http://www.macrumors.com/2007/04/02/...pple-emi-deal/
>
> There are other issues and you are welcome to comment about them. I'm just
> looking for advise.
> Right now, I'm staying with XP and carefully considering to switch to MAC
> OSX as it seem like a better
> alternative; but I would prefer to stay with Windows.
> The only problem is that if Microsoft doesn't do something good about
> Vista and eventually decide to drop support
> for Windows XP, I would have no choice left.
>
> Linux is another option, but I use Adobe Software and I need good
> performance and support.
>
> Some people I know have purchased Vista, and had a ton of problems with
> it;
> one of them is planning to return his Vista Ultima to Circuit City and
> re-installing XP Pro (would they take it back??? I'm not too sure about
> that). His PC wouldn't run Vista nicely (of course he had no clue it
> requires high-end hardware to actually run in a way it won't drive you
> insane). His PC's specs were all above minimal specs as outlined by
> Microsoft.
>
> I feel very disappointed right now. Such a long wait for nothing, it
> seems.
> I hope I'm just wrong. I have good the hardware that would run in Vista;
> it would be
> a waste to let Vista cripple it. I feel bad for all those people who
> bought
> those really good Sound Blaster cards (like I did at some point).
> A Google search returned a lot of comments regarding the fact that those
> high-end
> cards may never be supported (maybe just basic functionality drivers;
> all the high-end
> features such as S/PDIF high bit rate sampling, etc. would be crippled).
>
>
> -The Amazing Iceman
>

"Pulse" <billynicol@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:%232%23w%23WfdHHA.4516@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>I bought an HP dv9288ea in the UK on the 30th January 2007. It is slick,
>fast and very nice to work with. I know that it is not great for high end
>gaming but it is fine for video editing and working generally. I am VERY
>happy with the laptop and with Vista Home premium.
>
> It is about £1200 so not cheap, but huge drive 320GB, Geforce go 7600
> 512Mb, 2Gb RAM etc.....
>
> Billy
>
>
> "Amazing Iceman" <NOSPAM@HERE.COM> wrote in message
> news:1Kidnbcd24dayo_bnZ2dnUVZ_qOpnZ2d@comcast.com...
>> I've been waiting a long time to install Vista. Now that I've been so
>> close
>> to buy it and install it,
Snipped

Ditto Billy on an HP 9292.... Had a bit of luck only £790
Basil

An acquaintance just purchased a Toshiba laptop 4 weeks ago. It came with 2
gig of RAM, 256 meg of onboard video RAM, good sound and a 17 inch wide
screen LCD panel. Cost = $1299

Vista runs fine. Just do your homework.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban MVP
Microsoft Windows Shell/User


"Amazing Iceman" <NOSPAM@HERE.COM> wrote in message
news:1Kidnbcd24dayo_bnZ2dnUVZ_qOpnZ2d@comcast.com...
> I've been waiting a long time to install Vista. Now that I've been so
> close
> to buy it and install it, I've been discovering all kinds of oddities. I
> have also been looking for a new laptop, but unless it's the very
> high-tech
> laptops, a lot of new models come with downgraded video-cards.
> It actually feels like going back to the Stone Age of computing. Please
> tell
> me I'm wrong. Here are just a few points:
>
> - Most new notebooks come now with video cards with UMA ( Shared Video
> Memory ). Just like way back in the DOS days, the computer's RAM is shared
> with the video card. I was reading a disclaimer on the HP website that
> said
> not to allocate too much memory for video and to keep the resolution low;
> otherwise performance loss would occur.
> I saw a really nice HP notebook at SAM's club, with a very high Windows
> Experience score on all their functions, except for video ( with UMA, of
> course), which dropped the final score to 3.1 (it also said that it
> would't
> give a good enough experience for Aero. And this is a NEW model
> notebook!!!
>
> - Also, a few years ago, Winmodems were considered a bad choice.
> Now suddenly, Winmodems are back. Even audio cards are now more
> software-oriented
> than they used to be. I remember spending a ton of money on my Sound
> Blaster Platinum
> just because of its great hardware implentation.
>
> - The implementation of DRM has crippled hardware. My ASUS P5AD2-E has HD
> Audio, Dolby Digital, S/PDIF i/o, and more. Vista upgrade advisor says
> that
> HD Audio is not supported. Also, when playing HD protected content, audio
> and video output would be degraded to a much lower resolution. And it is
> uncertain if I will be able to watch any movies on my HP projector using
> the
> DVI-D port. I'm not sure if it supports the DRM technology Vista uses, so
> that could be the end of watching movies off my PC with High Quality audio
> and video. That would definitely be a waste. But I do want to watch movies
> and listen to audio
> with the best possible quality using my PC.
>
> - OpenType fonts no longer work.
>
> - There's an unresolved issue related to copying files: very slow
> performance, even before the actual copy takes place (during calculating
> time required...)
>
> Vista's integration of DRM is killing this new Windows OS. Making the OS
> slower and
> requiring us to spend more money in DRM-compliant hardware (Monitors, TVs,
> Projectors, Audio, etc.).
> This has to stop. The industry needs to understand that no matter how much
> they try to protect their movies,
> if a hacker wants to copy them, he will get the job done faster and
> cheaper than it costed them to implement
> their copy-protection. At this point, it's cheaper (or about the same
> price) to buy a BlueRay movie rather than
> making a copy of it to a BlueRay blank disc (if such is currently
> available). Same goes for HD-DVD.
>
> DRM doesn't really make sense. And the good thing is that some people in
> the industry are getting to understand this:
> http://www.macrumors.com/2007/04/02/...ence-coverage/
> http://www.macrumors.com/2007/04/02/...pple-emi-deal/
>
> There are other issues and you are welcome to comment about them. I'm just
> looking for advise.
> Right now, I'm staying with XP and carefully considering to switch to MAC
> OSX as it seem like a better
> alternative; but I would prefer to stay with Windows.
> The only problem is that if Microsoft doesn't do something good about
> Vista and eventually decide to drop support
> for Windows XP, I would have no choice left.
>
> Linux is another option, but I use Adobe Software and I need good
> performance and support.
>
> Some people I know have purchased Vista, and had a ton of problems with
> it;
> one of them is planning to return his Vista Ultima to Circuit City and
> re-installing XP Pro (would they take it back??? I'm not too sure about
> that). His PC wouldn't run Vista nicely (of course he had no clue it
> requires high-end hardware to actually run in a way it won't drive you
> insane). His PC's specs were all above minimal specs as outlined by
> Microsoft.
>
> I feel very disappointed right now. Such a long wait for nothing, it
> seems.
> I hope I'm just wrong. I have good the hardware that would run in Vista;
> it would be
> a waste to let Vista cripple it. I feel bad for all those people who
> bought
> those really good Sound Blaster cards (like I did at some point).
> A Google search returned a lot of comments regarding the fact that those
> high-end
> cards may never be supported (maybe just basic functionality drivers;
> all the high-end
> features such as S/PDIF high bit rate sampling, etc. would be crippled).
>
>
> -The Amazing Iceman
>

Mostly answered inline. I'll preface the answers by saying that newsgroups
and online forums give you a distorted sense of how a program works. It
would be like hanging out at a TV repair shop and then extrapolating that
you don't want to buy a TV because too many have cold solder joints.
Microsoft has sold over 20 million copies of Vista. If there were major
problems it would be headlines by now. It is a new OS and there are problems
with compatibility with older hardware and programs. This is normal. If you
have some older hardware or programs that aren't compatible and you need
them then Vista shouldn't be your OS of choice. If you can live with the
incompatibilities then Vista is one of several good choices.

"Amazing Iceman" <NOSPAM@HERE.COM> wrote in message
news:1Kidnbcd24dayo_bnZ2dnUVZ_qOpnZ2d@comcast.com...
> I've been waiting a long time to install Vista. Now that I've been so
> close
> to buy it and install it, I've been discovering all kinds of oddities. I
> have also been looking for a new laptop, but unless it's the very
> high-tech
> laptops, a lot of new models come with downgraded video-cards.
> It actually feels like going back to the Stone Age of computing. Please
> tell
> me I'm wrong. Here are just a few points:
>
> - Most new notebooks come now with video cards with UMA ( Shared Video
> Memory ). Just like way back in the DOS days, the computer's RAM is shared
> with the video card. I was reading a disclaimer on the HP website that
> said
> not to allocate too much memory for video and to keep the resolution low;
> otherwise performance loss would occur.
> I saw a really nice HP notebook at SAM's club, with a very high Windows
> Experience score on all their functions, except for video ( with UMA, of
> course), which dropped the final score to 3.1 (it also said that it
> would't
> give a good enough experience for Aero. And this is a NEW model
> notebook!!!
>

On board graphics is a compromise between price and performance. If you want
to play games or do 3D modelling or anything that needs high performance
graphics then you need a grpahics card with it's own RAM. This has nothing
to do with Vista. It's true with any OS. For normal use any graphics card
that supports Aero will work fine. I'm typing this on a laptop with ATI
X1100 shared graphics. This is quite a low end integrated graphics chipset.
The performance is fine for it's intended use which is business related.
Aero works. I can watch DVDs. I wouldn't be playing Flight Simulator. My
desktop has a much better graphics card because I do play the occasional
game on it.

> - Also, a few years ago, Winmodems were considered a bad choice.
> Now suddenly, Winmodems are back. Even audio cards are now more
> software-oriented
> than they used to be. I remember spending a ton of money on my Sound
> Blaster Platinum
> just because of its great hardware implentation.

Again this is cost vs. performance and doesn't have much to do with the OS.

>
> - The implementation of DRM has crippled hardware. My ASUS P5AD2-E has HD
> Audio, Dolby Digital, S/PDIF i/o, and more. Vista upgrade advisor says
> that
> HD Audio is not supported. Also, when playing HD protected content, audio
> and video output would be degraded to a much lower resolution. And it is
> uncertain if I will be able to watch any movies on my HP projector using
> the
> DVI-D port. I'm not sure if it supports the DRM technology Vista uses, so
> that could be the end of watching movies off my PC with High Quality audio
> and video. That would definitely be a waste. But I do want to watch movies
> and listen to audio
> with the best possible quality using my PC.

If you want the best quality possible then presently Vista is the only OS
that supports DRM enabled high definition media. I'm not arguing for DRM. I
hate it. It is however a reality. No other OS can play DRM enabled high
definition media. Vista with the right hardware at least has a chance.

>
> - OpenType fonts no longer work.

As far as I know OpenType fonts are supported.

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...fc63f1033.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en

>
> - There's an unresolved issue related to copying files: very slow
> performance, even before the actual copy takes place (during calculating
> time required...)

Many people have reported this. I have seen it. Changing to a different
router fixed it for me. It does however appear to be ongoing for some
people.

>
> Vista's integration of DRM is killing this new Windows OS. Making the OS
> slower and
> requiring us to spend more money in DRM-compliant hardware (Monitors, TVs,
> Projectors, Audio, etc.).
> This has to stop. The industry needs to understand that no matter how much
> they try to protect their movies,
> if a hacker wants to copy them, he will get the job done faster and
> cheaper than it costed them to implement
> their copy-protection. At this point, it's cheaper (or about the same
> price) to buy a BlueRay movie rather than
> making a copy of it to a BlueRay blank disc (if such is currently
> available). Same goes for HD-DVD.
>
> DRM doesn't really make sense. And the good thing is that some people in
> the industry are getting to understand this:
> http://www.macrumors.com/2007/04/02/...ence-coverage/
> http://www.macrumors.com/2007/04/02/...pple-emi-deal/

That's very funny. Apple pioneered DRM with iTunes. Now they are saying DRM
is bad. It's the pot calling the kettle black. I agree that DRM is bad and
causes unecessary complexity for an OS. It is a reality and must be taken
into account when writing programs for multimedia. Personally I don't buy
any DRM encoded media. I feel that's where the only possibility of stopping
it lays. Are you also complaining to Panasonic, Sony, etc. about their
hardware players that implement DRM?

>
> There are other issues and you are welcome to comment about them. I'm just
> looking for advise.
> Right now, I'm staying with XP and carefully considering to switch to MAC
> OSX as it seem like a better
> alternative; but I would prefer to stay with Windows.
> The only problem is that if Microsoft doesn't do something good about
> Vista and eventually decide to drop support
> for Windows XP, I would have no choice left.
>
> Linux is another option, but I use Adobe Software and I need good
> performance and support.

OSX and Linux are both viable alternatives to Windows of any flavour.

>
> Some people I know have purchased Vista, and had a ton of problems with
> it;
> one of them is planning to return his Vista Ultima to Circuit City and
> re-installing XP Pro (would they take it back??? I'm not too sure about
> that). His PC wouldn't run Vista nicely (of course he had no clue it
> requires high-end hardware to actually run in a way it won't drive you
> insane). His PC's specs were all above minimal specs as outlined by
> Microsoft.
>
> I feel very disappointed right now. Such a long wait for nothing, it
> seems.
> I hope I'm just wrong. I have good the hardware that would run in Vista;
> it would be
> a waste to let Vista cripple it. I feel bad for all those people who
> bought
> those really good Sound Blaster cards (like I did at some point).
> A Google search returned a lot of comments regarding the fact that those
> high-end
> cards may never be supported (maybe just basic functionality drivers;
> all the high-end
> features such as S/PDIF high bit rate sampling, etc. would be crippled).
>

Vista is a new OS. It has teething problems. I've seen several new OS'. I
don't see anything so far that says to me that Vista has more problems than
any other new OS. If anything it has less problems than XP or OS X when they
first came out.

If you have a well running XP system that does what you want I wouldn't
recommend upgrading until some program or hardware that you want to use
requires Vista or XP is no longer supported. In other words if it ain't
broke don't fix it. If you are purchasing a new computer then Vista is a
consideration as are OS X and Linux. I've used all three and Vista is my
choice. You'll have to decide for yourself which is best for you. My opinion
is that going forward Vista will have more support from mainstream hardware
and software companies than any of the alternatives.

--
Kerry Brown
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User
http://www.vistahelp.ca

>sold over 20 million copies of Vista

POLITICIAN! Another freakishly distorted view of reality by Kerry!

I see it now, hanging out with G.W Bush and Kerry... hanging out or on
branches like the rest of the monkeys that is!


Lets see, Kerry , Kerry... hmmmmmmm



"Kerry Brown" <kerry@kdbNOSPAMsys-tems.c*a*m> wrote in message
news:uUeN%23rfdHHA.4868@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Mostly answered inline. I'll preface the answers by saying that newsgroups
> and online forums give you a distorted sense of how a program works. It
> would be like hanging out at a TV repair shop and then extrapolating that
> you don't want to buy a TV because too many have cold solder joints.
> Microsoft has sold over 20 million copies of Vista. If there were major
> problems it would be headlines by now. It is a new OS and there are
> problems with compatibility with older hardware and programs. This is
> normal. If you have some older hardware or programs that aren't compatible
> and you need them then Vista shouldn't be your OS of choice. If you can
> live with the incompatibilities then Vista is one of several good choices.
>
> "Amazing Iceman" <NOSPAM@HERE.COM> wrote in message
> news:1Kidnbcd24dayo_bnZ2dnUVZ_qOpnZ2d@comcast.com...
>> I've been waiting a long time to install Vista. Now that I've been so
>> close
>> to buy it and install it, I've been discovering all kinds of oddities. I
>> have also been looking for a new laptop, but unless it's the very
>> high-tech
>> laptops, a lot of new models come with downgraded video-cards.
>> It actually feels like going back to the Stone Age of computing. Please
>> tell
>> me I'm wrong. Here are just a few points:
>>
>> - Most new notebooks come now with video cards with UMA ( Shared Video
>> Memory ). Just like way back in the DOS days, the computer's RAM is
>> shared
>> with the video card. I was reading a disclaimer on the HP website that
>> said
>> not to allocate too much memory for video and to keep the resolution low;
>> otherwise performance loss would occur.
>> I saw a really nice HP notebook at SAM's club, with a very high Windows
>> Experience score on all their functions, except for video ( with UMA, of
>> course), which dropped the final score to 3.1 (it also said that it
>> would't
>> give a good enough experience for Aero. And this is a NEW model
>> notebook!!!
>>
>
> On board graphics is a compromise between price and performance. If you
> want to play games or do 3D modelling or anything that needs high
> performance graphics then you need a grpahics card with it's own RAM. This
> has nothing to do with Vista. It's true with any OS. For normal use any
> graphics card that supports Aero will work fine. I'm typing this on a
> laptop with ATI X1100 shared graphics. This is quite a low end integrated
> graphics chipset. The performance is fine for it's intended use which is
> business related. Aero works. I can watch DVDs. I wouldn't be playing
> Flight Simulator. My desktop has a much better graphics card because I do
> play the occasional game on it.
>
>> - Also, a few years ago, Winmodems were considered a bad choice.
>> Now suddenly, Winmodems are back. Even audio cards are now more
>> software-oriented
>> than they used to be. I remember spending a ton of money on my Sound
>> Blaster Platinum
>> just because of its great hardware implentation.
>
> Again this is cost vs. performance and doesn't have much to do with the
> OS.
>
>>
>> - The implementation of DRM has crippled hardware. My ASUS P5AD2-E has HD
>> Audio, Dolby Digital, S/PDIF i/o, and more. Vista upgrade advisor says
>> that
>> HD Audio is not supported. Also, when playing HD protected content, audio
>> and video output would be degraded to a much lower resolution. And it is
>> uncertain if I will be able to watch any movies on my HP projector using
>> the
>> DVI-D port. I'm not sure if it supports the DRM technology Vista uses, so
>> that could be the end of watching movies off my PC with High Quality
>> audio
>> and video. That would definitely be a waste. But I do want to watch
>> movies and listen to audio
>> with the best possible quality using my PC.
>
> If you want the best quality possible then presently Vista is the only OS
> that supports DRM enabled high definition media. I'm not arguing for DRM.
> I hate it. It is however a reality. No other OS can play DRM enabled high
> definition media. Vista with the right hardware at least has a chance.
>
>>
>> - OpenType fonts no longer work.
>
> As far as I know OpenType fonts are supported.
>
> http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...fc63f1033.mspx
>
> http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en
>
>>
>> - There's an unresolved issue related to copying files: very slow
>> performance, even before the actual copy takes place (during calculating
>> time required...)
>
> Many people have reported this. I have seen it. Changing to a different
> router fixed it for me. It does however appear to be ongoing for some
> people.
>
>>
>> Vista's integration of DRM is killing this new Windows OS. Making the OS
>> slower and
>> requiring us to spend more money in DRM-compliant hardware (Monitors,
>> TVs, Projectors, Audio, etc.).
>> This has to stop. The industry needs to understand that no matter how
>> much they try to protect their movies,
>> if a hacker wants to copy them, he will get the job done faster and
>> cheaper than it costed them to implement
>> their copy-protection. At this point, it's cheaper (or about the same
>> price) to buy a BlueRay movie rather than
>> making a copy of it to a BlueRay blank disc (if such is currently
>> available). Same goes for HD-DVD.
>>
>> DRM doesn't really make sense. And the good thing is that some people in
>> the industry are getting to understand this:
>> http://www.macrumors.com/2007/04/02/...ence-coverage/
>> http://www.macrumors.com/2007/04/02/...pple-emi-deal/
>
> That's very funny. Apple pioneered DRM with iTunes. Now they are saying
> DRM is bad. It's the pot calling the kettle black. I agree that DRM is bad
> and causes unecessary complexity for an OS. It is a reality and must be
> taken into account when writing programs for multimedia. Personally I
> don't buy any DRM encoded media. I feel that's where the only possibility
> of stopping it lays. Are you also complaining to Panasonic, Sony, etc.
> about their hardware players that implement DRM?
>
>>
>> There are other issues and you are welcome to comment about them. I'm
>> just looking for advise.
>> Right now, I'm staying with XP and carefully considering to switch to MAC
>> OSX as it seem like a better
>> alternative; but I would prefer to stay with Windows.
>> The only problem is that if Microsoft doesn't do something good about
>> Vista and eventually decide to drop support
>> for Windows XP, I would have no choice left.
>>
>> Linux is another option, but I use Adobe Software and I need good
>> performance and support.
>
> OSX and Linux are both viable alternatives to Windows of any flavour.
>
>>
>> Some people I know have purchased Vista, and had a ton of problems with
>> it;
>> one of them is planning to return his Vista Ultima to Circuit City and
>> re-installing XP Pro (would they take it back??? I'm not too sure about
>> that). His PC wouldn't run Vista nicely (of course he had no clue it
>> requires high-end hardware to actually run in a way it won't drive you
>> insane). His PC's specs were all above minimal specs as outlined by
>> Microsoft.
>>
>> I feel very disappointed right now. Such a long wait for nothing, it
>> seems.
>> I hope I'm just wrong. I have good the hardware that would run in Vista;
>> it would be
>> a waste to let Vista cripple it. I feel bad for all those people who
>> bought
>> those really good Sound Blaster cards (like I did at some point).
>> A Google search returned a lot of comments regarding the fact that those
>> high-end
>> cards may never be supported (maybe just basic functionality drivers;
>> all the high-end
>> features such as S/PDIF high bit rate sampling, etc. would be crippled).
>>
>
> Vista is a new OS. It has teething problems. I've seen several new OS'. I
> don't see anything so far that says to me that Vista has more problems
> than any other new OS. If anything it has less problems than XP or OS X
> when they first came out.
>
> If you have a well running XP system that does what you want I wouldn't
> recommend upgrading until some program or hardware that you want to use
> requires Vista or XP is no longer supported. In other words if it ain't
> broke don't fix it. If you are purchasing a new computer then Vista is a
> consideration as are OS X and Linux. I've used all three and Vista is my
> choice. You'll have to decide for yourself which is best for you. My
> opinion is that going forward Vista will have more support from mainstream
> hardware and software companies than any of the alternatives.
>
> --
> Kerry Brown
> Microsoft MVP - Shell/User
> http://www.vistahelp.ca
>
>

I'm running Home Premium on 3 machines with experience indexes of 2.0 (due
to integrated video), one of them a 18 month old Gateway laptop with an
integrated 200M chipset for graphics. It runs fine. It runs faster on the
laptop than Windows XP MCE 2005 did. All 3 machines run Media Center. One
of them acts as a PVR and streams video wirelessly. After taking all 5 home
machines to Home Premium I can say this:

Vista has been a good experience for me.
I planned each installation or upgrade.
I'm running 3 machines with 1 GB RAM and integrated video and it runs fine
(the only performance issue I've had is with Media Center on one older
machine but a little tweaking cleared that up).

I'm sorry your friend had so much trouble but Vista will indeed run well
with lower experience scores. Why it didn't for your friend I can't say.
BTW, DRM is not unique to Vista. I have 2 iPods and all the iTunes songs
come with DRM. Apple's actual recommendation is to burn them to CD for
backup (backing up to a network share, not so good). I think that's pretty
funny. I don't know what the answer is there, but I agree with you. It's
too hard to buy and maintain digital content.

Art


"Amazing Iceman" <NOSPAM@HERE.COM> wrote in message
news:1Kidnbcd24dayo_bnZ2dnUVZ_qOpnZ2d@comcast.com...
> I've been waiting a long time to install Vista. Now that I've been so
> close
> to buy it and install it, I've been discovering all kinds of oddities. I
> have also been looking for a new laptop, but unless it's the very
> high-tech
> laptops, a lot of new models come with downgraded video-cards.
> It actually feels like going back to the Stone Age of computing. Please
> tell
> me I'm wrong. Here are just a few points:
>
> - Most new notebooks come now with video cards with UMA ( Shared Video
> Memory ). Just like way back in the DOS days, the computer's RAM is shared
> with the video card. I was reading a disclaimer on the HP website that
> said
> not to allocate too much memory for video and to keep the resolution low;
> otherwise performance loss would occur.
> I saw a really nice HP notebook at SAM's club, with a very high Windows
> Experience score on all their functions, except for video ( with UMA, of
> course), which dropped the final score to 3.1 (it also said that it
> would't
> give a good enough experience for Aero. And this is a NEW model
> notebook!!!
>
> - Also, a few years ago, Winmodems were considered a bad choice.
> Now suddenly, Winmodems are back. Even audio cards are now more
> software-oriented
> than they used to be. I remember spending a ton of money on my Sound
> Blaster Platinum
> just because of its great hardware implentation.
>

<snip>

> Again with the name calling. Logic wins debates not who's loudest or most
> obnoxious.

Remember, those with NOTHING to say, say it the loudest.

Rich

Kerry is right - newsgroups are the very last place to get a balanced view
of Vista, or any other product.

FWIW, I've used Vista on a homebrew machine since the day it was released,
and although it isn't perfect (very slow file copying; rather finicky
networking), I'm very happy with it. The UI is a great improvement over XP.

Steve

> great, misguiding people and distorting the truth.

We'll just let that sit there like a golden ray of light from heaven,
shining all by its self on you.


Rich

Ah, the beauty of it all