Microsoft still hoping consumers see 'Wow' in Vista

**Iria** · Nov 14, 2007, 04:05 PM

Source: Beyond Binary Blog (News.com)
__________
Microsoft is hoping that with some of Vista's wrinkles ironed out, customers will start noticing more of the advantages the year-old operating system has over its predecessor.

In an interview Wednesday morning, Corporate Vice President Mike Nash acknowledged that the initial experience for many consumers was a frustrating one as they found their old software might not work right or that their hardware lacked the proper drivers.

Mr cairo · Nov 15, 2007, 12:26 AM

it may come but after 3 months of frustration i have given up and i am heading back to XP

Judas · Nov 15, 2007, 01:25 AM

that's highly unfortuneate

BlueMak · Nov 15, 2007, 01:36 AM

Hey Microsoft, how about you cut the price for Vista in the EU to a similar price range of them in the USA?
Paying 2 and 3 times the amount for the same product doesn't help you, or customers says WOW!

Judas · Nov 15, 2007, 01:41 AM

Wasn't part of the price jackup due to the european requirements for implementing "N" edditions?

Zelig · Nov 15, 2007, 05:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueMak

Hey Microsoft, how about you cut the price for Vista in the EU to a similar price range of them in the USA?
Paying 2 and 3 times the amount for the same product doesn't help you, or customers says WOW!

While I agree that the pricing differences in Europe are disappointing, especially for English language versions, Vista home basic seems to be selling for the same price as XP Home, so Vista prices aren't inconsistant with XP prices.

BlueMak · Nov 15, 2007, 07:40 AM

I don't see how Vista basic is the same as XP Home.

Zelig · Nov 15, 2007, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueMak

I don't see how Vista basic is the same as XP Home.

Why not? They've got similar features, doing a quick check, I don't see any features that XP Home has that Vista Basic doesn't.

BlueMak · Nov 15, 2007, 02:56 PM

But XP is not Vista.

LeanWolf · Nov 15, 2007, 05:51 PM

i certainly saw the wow effect: wow, i've never had so many BSODs in one day!

actually true but none recently.. knocks on wood

Erroneus · Nov 15, 2007, 06:39 PM

After some work with crappy drivers (thanks Intel) in the start, everything is running smoothly for me, on both my gamer and laptop machine, but i doubt there ever will be a woooow effect, but there is defiantly a "hmm thats nicely done" effect

Zelig · Nov 15, 2007, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueMak

But XP is not Vista.

No, but XP home is comparable to Vista Basic, in both features (except 5 years older) and price. My point was that MS hasn't suddenly jacked up European prices for Vista, they've been higher for Windows for years.

jp306 · Nov 15, 2007, 08:01 PM

I use both XP Pro and VistaU(dual boot system) and both have their advantages IMO... Vista gets better every month IMO, but I still need to use XP too... I'm a PC Tech though and am a very needy user...Vista is over priced ATM though...

BlueMak · Nov 15, 2007, 08:51 PM

I never said that just Microsoft steals from european customers. Most software companies do.

CJLMTLCA · Nov 15, 2007, 09:59 PM

I've been thinking weather or not to join the Vista club for a while now, but one thing for sure, i'm not letting go of XP. So i thought "dual boot is the way to go!" but i'm having doubts. I got a copy of ultimate 64bit and have been using it for a few weeks and still can't make up my mind.

At first i was going to get premium 32bit retail, then ultimate retail but no way i'm spending 600$ on an OS, after much thought i ordered ultimate oem along with a q6600, an extra 2 gigs of ram and a bigger psu. I have buyers remorse. So while i'm waiting for my order i'm still experimenting and find using vista frustrating. I'm sure the 64bit doesn't help. A lot of programs that i paid for have to be repurchased or are not supported under 64bit, my canon mp600 which has 64bit vista drives gave me a hard time, my plextor dvd drive worked for a few days then i kept getting 'new hardware found' pop-ups and vista couldn't load any drivers and yesterday it just decides to work, my 1600$ sony camcorder is not recognized, sony's fault really, and from what games i was able to install, they ran good, but who knows about the dozens i have left to install and play.

My computer is a one stop shop for everything... a flick of the wrist and a few mouse clicks and i'm running stuff. With a multi-core cpu, gigs of ram, large hds, dual monitors, i can uber-task. But then what if i want to load photoshop for a quick edit? oh, doesn't work in vista. So shut everything down, reboot, load up xp, do my thing, shut down, load vista, start all over...

There are many things that i like. UI, although a little ugly, is smooth. Windows update, tab preview on the taskbar are cool. Media center is what made me say wow! Finally something better than that MMC9.16 garbage. I can freaking schedule a recording and it will record! X-Fi sounds flawless with my tv wonder elite, no cracks and pops in vista even with many things open. But the constant popups are horrible, click allow all the time. I've heard of 1:1 cpu ram ratios, but 1:1 security warnings for everything i click on??????????

Not to mention the popup that tells you, you will be getting a popup!

Dual boot on paper is a good idea. But maintaining 2 oses, having to acquire software you already paid for, wasting time reloading stuff twice because you launch a program and try to save a file on another hd on another partition and you're denied access???? Close the program, reload with admin, start again...

Maybe i would have had some better luck with 32bit. XP just works. Have to give it time i guess. The last version of the old technology is better than the first version of the new technology.

Sorry, had to get that off my chest...

BlueMak · Nov 15, 2007, 10:42 PM

I am still trying to find out if Vista 64bit is less compatible with pre Vista games or not.

jp306 · Nov 16, 2007, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJLMTLCA

I've been thinking weather or not to join the Vista club for a while now, but one thing for sure, i'm not letting go of XP. So i thought "dual boot is the way to go!" but i'm having doubts. I got a copy of ultimate 64bit and have been using it for a few weeks and still can't make up my mind.

At first i was going to get premium 32bit retail, then ultimate retail but no way i'm spending 600$ on an OS, after much thought i ordered ultimate oem along with a q6600, an extra 2 gigs of ram and a bigger psu. I have buyers remorse. So while i'm waiting for my order i'm still experimenting and find using vista frustrating. I'm sure the 64bit doesn't help. A lot of programs that i paid for have to be repurchased or are not supported under 64bit, my canon mp600 which has 64bit vista drives gave me a hard time, my plextor dvd drive worked for a few days then i kept getting 'new hardware found' pop-ups and vista couldn't load any drivers and yesterday it just decides to work, my 1600$ sony camcorder is not recognized, sony's fault really, and from what games i was able to install, they ran good, but who knows about the dozens i have left to install and play.

My computer is a one stop shop for everything... a flick of the wrist and a few mouse clicks and i'm running stuff. With a multi-core cpu, gigs of ram, large hds, dual monitors, i can uber-task. But then what if i want to load photoshop for a quick edit? oh, doesn't work in vista. So shut everything down, reboot, load up xp, do my thing, shut down, load vista, start all over...

There are many things that i like. UI, although a little ugly, is smooth. Windows update, tab preview on the taskbar are cool. Media center is what made me say wow! Finally something better than that MMC9.16 garbage. I can freaking schedule a recording and it will record! X-Fi sounds flawless with my tv wonder elite, no cracks and pops in vista even with many things open. But the constant popups are horrible, click allow all the time. I've heard of 1:1 cpu ram ratios, but 1:1 security warnings for everything i click on??????????

Not to mention the popup that tells you, you will be getting a popup!

Dual boot on paper is a good idea. But maintaining 2 oses, having to acquire software you already paid for, wasting time reloading stuff twice because you launch a program and try to save a file on another hd on another partition and you're denied access???? Close the program, reload with admin, start again...

Maybe i would have had some better luck with 32bit. XP just works. Have to give it time i guess. The last version of the old technology is better than the first version of the new technology.

Sorry, had to get that off my chest...

Most of your frustrations can be cured, like popups warning of popups and being denied access of partitions can also be changed, but you just have to learn how customize Vista. It is a PITA at first, but just do some reading in the Vista forums and a lot of it will clear up for you.

Most games should run fine for you, because you're an ATI user. I have a X1900XT and have had no problems running games in Vista, in fact most games run smoother in Vista for me. Nvidia users have had a lot of trouble with Vista, but from what I understand things are getting better for them now.

**dj_stick** · Nov 16, 2007, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJLMTLCA

Dual boot on paper is a good idea. But maintaining 2 oses, having to acquire software you already paid for, wasting time reloading stuff twice because you launch a program and try to save a file on another hd on another partition and you're denied access???? Close the program, reload with admin, start again...

you should try running Mac OSX and Windows on the same machine - there's no way the same programs going to work on both without an upgrade

CJLMTLCA · Nov 16, 2007, 04:15 PM

jp,
I know i'm bitching about something that can be shut off. I just turned off uac, it already feels more user-friendly. That won't however fix my h/w related issues. Only updates/fixes from microsoft and better drivers from manufacturers will. Gaming is about 50% of what i do on a pc. Everything from calculator to crysis, has got to work.

dj,
Those are two different oses. Both windows are similar. It's not like going from 95 to xp.

Anyways, i'll live...

jp306 · Nov 16, 2007, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJLMTLCA

That won't however fix my h/w related issues. Only updates/fixes from microsoft and better drivers from manufacturers will.

That's the whole point of dual booting OS's. I hated Vista at first, but I had to learn it because of my profession and I grew to like it and I actually prefer it now. That said I still need XP, because of compatibility with certain programs and hardware. That's why I dual boot and once you get everything setup it's easy to maintain.

CJLMTLCA · Nov 16, 2007, 10:16 PM

I understand the point of dual booting. I have no choice now, i paid for vista, so i guess i will be doing that for the near future. I on the other hand, liked vista when i first tried it. That's why i'm torn. Do i keep going with xp because i have many things installed, configured, working and feel comfortable? or do i start all over with vista because it's shiny and new?

Zelig · Nov 16, 2007, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueMak

I am still trying to find out if Vista 64bit is less compatible with pre Vista games or not.

Sure is, same way XP is less compatible with pre-XP games.