Poll: For the record, how many are planning to buy Vista?
 

I certainly am not buying. I know its true for many of you too, but lets just get some numbers here.

TIA

It really depends. I use Windows for gaming (mostly), so it will depend how well game developers will adopt Vista. It will also depend what kind of games are going to come out. The latest wave of games were pretty disappointing.

What I really want to see, however, is how much more functionality we will get with Vista compared to previous operating systems. For example, Windows XP has added practically no functionality over Win2k. It has a new (and awfully ugly) UI, with no new features added to it at all and run noticeable slower than the previous UI. This, so far is what Vista looks like to me: A brand new, system hog, UI.

I just will not say that I will "never" get into Vista. I remember when WinXP came out and many were afraid to upgrade from the "nothing-but-horrible" Win98. Today, most Windows users are XP users.

To sum up: It depends :D

Face it: you will buy it. Every time said companies comes out with a new release, the populus says they aren't going to get it. Then, when it hits the stores, everyone all rushes to get their hands on a copy. The release is cool to own for the next couple of weeks and everyone feels they can finally give up Linux. Week 3: everyone starts complaining about what a crappy program this is, how this will be the last version they will buy... (repeat)

General made a good point. I have actually been stuck in that loop myself :D. Oh yes, another thing that may happen is, when I buy a new PC, I will get it pre-installed with Vista. That is also fine. I don't want to build any more computers myself ^_^;. Dell started to actually sell PC's without Windows installed, but with "FreeDOS" instead? Dual-core machine with FreeDOS.. that is great :S. I think some Linux distro should try to make a deal with Dell. It should certainly spread Linux a bit more.

But I'm not planning to upgrade my PC yet. I am very happy with its performance, thank you very much. The only game which I have FPS issues is Neverwinter Nights 2 (what disappointing release by the way. Horrible graphics, incredibly high system requirements for the little we get, insanely buggy and Atari decided to drop OpenGL entirely to create a DirectX-based game. Remember NwN1 ran on Linux and Mac too. Well, they get what they deserve for choosing a crappy API. I liked the OC though... most of it anyway)

never even thinking about vista for a long time ...


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*-+You are certainly describing a subset of our society, but it does not include me or--I suspect--a fair percentage of LQ members.

I have not bought any Microsoft products in many years. Windows 2000 was the last big purchase--then it was just some keyboards and mice. (They've gotta go...) I have never been able to quite get "Microsoft-free", but I have resolved never again to pay for their products.

At home, I expect Win2k will continue to serve the occassional Windows needs. At the office, I have to sort of roll with the punches. The good news is that they do support Linux (Only RedHat Enterprise). If I have a choice, there will be no Vista on my work machines.

Wouldn't buy Vista even if it was the only OS on Earth.

I am certainly NEVER going to buy of Microsoft's Windblows as long as I live.
I have had a helluva lot of bad experiences with windows. (shudder)

(It took me three months to install Win98 on my Mum's PC so that she could use it to print things. Then I found out that it has no other resolutions except 640*480 in 16bit colour. And the printer install prog. won't run witout at least 800*600.)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Just one of the bad experiences.

Plus I can't afford it, even if I wanted it. :D

Speak for yourself. I've not bought a single Microsoft Operating System till date and I don't expect the situation to change. Yes, I use Windows 2000 now but I didn't pay for it. It is my cousin's discarded copy after he switched to Windows XP. ;)

I have bought Microsoft Train Simulator, but that's a whole different story :D

None for me.

I'm hoping that 2k will run most of my games, which it should, and that's all I'm ever going to use from MS from here on out. Vista is bloated and filled with DRM. If anyone is even stupid enough to preinstall it on a PC I'm going to use, it's getting wiped. Unless it's a public PC, in which case, I can't be mean so I pop in a liveCD instead.

I honestly pity the fool who buys Vista. Alot of people may say that, but they mostly want a cheap laugh, but it's seriously sad to see someone waste their money like that. 200$ for an OS? Requires 300$ in hardware upgrades?!! 500$ for new software!?!?! Not allowed to play my legally (up here at least) downloaded music?!?!?!?

Actually, I'm "option 4". I have an upgrade coupon, which means that I can get Vista for the cost of the postage (at least if they'll give it to me - see explanation here). Given this, I think I will give it a go, but I can't see myself using it much.

I'm in a bit of a bind, at the moment. I am taking course in Maths and IT, and am required to use software that works only in Windows (at least, I had a complete lack of success in getting MathCad working via Wine). This, and the fact that I have to check regularly that changes to the website I maintain work in MSIE, are the only reasons I use it (although I have been thinking of getting Myst III).

Rob

I never go to the store and by a Windows OS but I've had PC's that have it preinstalled. It is just stupid to have to buy an OS that costs as much as the hardware that it is supposed to run on.

I plan to buy a new Toshiba laptop with the 64-bit version of Vista sometime this year. Probably later this year when SP1 comes out, actually. And will probably buy another copy of same to dual boot on my current 64-bit FC6 desktop computer. I don't plan on upgrading any of the three XP computers I already have to Vista, however.

2007 will finally be the year 64-bit computing goes mainstream, IMVHO. The lowly Celeron and Sempron going 64-bit set the stage, and the latest OS upgrade cycle will make the migration happen on a large scale.

Can't believe it took this long actually. Windows 95 marked the transition from 16-bit to 32-bit and that was a VERY LONG TIME AGO (in computer time, which is like the opposite of geologic time...) :D But I guess Intel and AMD had to milk the market dry selling overpriced 64-bit server chips first (Xeon and Opteron). :o

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase...sta_ff_x64.asp

sometime i think the real "meat" is from the home user and their pc ... and a x86 pc is suppose to be a free architecture for them ... probably ms knows their "weak point" and thats why they are trying to transform the x86 into a somewhat "proprietary" architecture which conforms only to whatever ms thinks is the correct and right desktop experience ... and during the "proprietary" transformation of the free x86 , vendors of softwares and hardwares are suppose to benefit form it too ... something viral actually ...

its a bad trend actually ... and this depends on what are actually usefull and are actually indispensable from the viewpoint of x86 pc desktop home user ...

if ms started out as a revolutionary in computing for the masses , i think they have the responsibilty to maintain that stance ... but , as usual ... its something "viral" when you are in buisness i think ...


apart form "protecting" my pc , i did rather go for buisnesses that go the other way round ...


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Wait, wait, wait....what's a Vista?!?!

:D

vista is everything ... practically everything i'm afraid , its even inside everybody's dreams whether they know it or not ... its the Trend thing ...


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Wtf? A zillion is the longest amount of time I can choose? :(

Anyway, a lot of people are lieing (or ignorant) here. They ARE going to buy it, just Not in a box. They are going to buy it preinstalled. And for the "but I have a coupon" people, don't be a dipwad... you paid for it when you bought the system.

You're not fooling anyone but yourselves, get over it!

no plans to buy vista...

erm... and... about this buying thing... ;)

Seriously: Isnt it in some strange sense astonishing how hard MS works today to hinder people from using illegal copies of windows as much as possible? I mean, years ago, we had copy protection done by code wheels (remember Monkey Island?) or by this encumbering "Enter seventh word from manual page 8, paragraph 3, line 5 to start" stuff. Windows had its serial.

But: Compared with windows installation nowadays this appears so easy :) Has anyone ever done windows activation by phone? You have to enter one footlong key at install time and get back another one thats even longer. Call MS, enter that even longer key (via phone!!!). Get back ANOTHER EVEN AGAIN LONGER KEY and type that one back in.

Stuff like that really drives me crazy. I did that for my grandmother. Now imagine a 76 year old lady to do THAT! (Yeah, she's 76 and got herself a nice little sempron about a year ago :D)

And a few weeks ago a friend of mine had not by desire (but by windowsupdate) installed the MS Genuine Advantage "Tool" and now found herself with a nice little warning from MS every time she booted.

Even though it was quite easy to work that out, I have to say that I guess with her next computer she will definitely pay attention to have a nice Vista bundled with it.

I know a lot of people using legal windows versions (xp mainly) today, but earlier always used serialz that probably >200 other people used too (to put it friendly :D).

I think MS is once again setting a negative standard with all that. Imagine what happens if this spreads (which it probably will). But what I find most interesting is that it seems to work.

I do not find this acceptable as a potential (well, not really, in fact, but theoretically, yes :D) customer. I have to ASK THEM AFTER I BOUGHT THEIR OS to allow me to use it for more than 4 weeks or so AND if I change hardware? Go away with Windows. And Vista especially.

Just my :twocents:. Euro cents in fact ;)

I was (and still am) against M$ proposed Trusted computing where only Windows is allowed to run on Intel processors.

I belv this is gonna to be opportunity for AMD(If AMD chooses not to be part of TC) or other processor/chip manufacturer (say how about china) to come up with something refreshing - anything which is done purely for FOSS.

I know MS or other chip vendors are really not gonna to like that.

But again thats me.

Yeah, when Microsoft was a small company barely selling enough software to get by, Windows/386 2.11 cost $99. Now that they're huge and selling tens of millions of copies the software costs $200. That leaves me with only two possible explanations:

1) All my economics professors were wrong about economies of scale.
2) Micorsoft is using monopolistic practices to gouge consumers.

And since the government (state and federal) have essentially allowed Microsoft to buy their way out of antitrust trouble, I also have to choose between believeing either:

1) All my economics professors lied about their being such a thing as a "free" market.
2) Our political and legal systems are completely corrupt.

Take your picks.

Unless I've been lied to, Vista isn't true 64-bit.

Linux should just need a recompiling to be 64-bit. I'm not sure if EVERYTHING in GNU/Linux can just be recompiled to work, or if some stuff might start causing problems.

@Asimba: AMD is part of trusted computing. But that could easily change. AMD is a more reasonable company that's been wronged before, by Intel's anti-competitiveness. I don't think they'd like to do the same to others.

Vista is:
Viruses + Infections + Spyware + Trojans + Adware

:)

Purchasers of boxed copies will get both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. It's unclear how fast OEMs will switch over, however, as Windows is dependent on component manufacturers providing 64-bit binary drivers. But by the end of the year everyone should be on same page, in that regard, I believe.

Oh, and I'm running Fedora Core 64-bit BTW and everything seems to work fine. ;)

All I see here is a opportunity for rebels. With that crap draconian TPM - I belv should heed this wakeup call.

I'd probably buy it at that point... But not before.

Yep, and it's galling to pay for Windows at all. However, if you have cause to, it is perfectly possible to buy an OEM version of the OS at less than half the price (see here). It is expected that it will be supplied with a complete PC system, or a piece of non-peripheral hardware that will form an integral part of a complete system (e.g. a RAM module, floppy drive, even a mouse).

The only downside is that you will be responsible for your own support*.

Rob

well I use Linux and i does every thing for me so no need to buy vista

this is a Linux forum, do you really think that the majority of people here will BUY A MICROSOFT product?

unless i can get my hands on a legitimate vs of Vista Ult. for roughly $150 USD, there is no way i am buying Vista.

I'l by as soon as possible!

i think microsofts is ok ... its just the "business" thing and its hard just stop for a moment and "pondering" over it ... btw , how i wish i got 10% of his intelligence and luck ... that will be heaven ... ^_^

ok , lets get serious in our linux and let other do their business for fun ...

my verdict is why the hell people need windows when there is linux ... especially for home desktops ...



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Well in a word, no. :D

I'm not astonished. And I don't think they're working that hard on it either, actually. Just making harder on the normies maybe.

na no buying vista never bought any ms os always had pirated versions :-)

OT - Wattdattdenn?
 

slantoflight: Whats a normie?

Why choose? Have both!

Yes, Microsoft is using monopolitistic practices to gouge its customers. As for economies of scale, why pass on the benefits to customers, if you don't have to?*

Also, the free market and its supposed benefits, it is simply blind ideology. Such a principle may work when all parties are of roughly equivalent strength. However, with the levels of inequality that currently exist in the world (in terms of economics and power), it is akin to a football match where one team consists of highly trained athletes at the peak of their condition, and the other side has a tank.

As for the idea that our political and legal systems are completely corrupt, does anyone seriously think otherwise? Granted its not yet quite like Frederick Pohl's The Space Merchants, but it won't be long before the choice on the ballot papers is between the candidates from Microsoft and Coca Cola.

Rob

*Consider also that, once the developement costs have been met, Microsofts main products cost virtually nothing to produce.

@Crito: Microsoft enjoys a natural monopoly, where customers actually get better benefit the more people use their systems. That's why they can pull such a ridiculous money.

@Robhogg: Supposed benefits? You are talking about marxist zero-sum theory! "When someone wins, someone else has to lose". Am I right? Ok, then kindly explain who we the humans have been ripping off the last 50 years when free market economics and globalization truly kicked in and lifted more people out of misery and absolute poverty than in the last 500 years (according to UNDP, 1997). Who did we rip off? Martians? Vulcanians? Borgs?! Oh no, not the Ewoks?!!

EDIT: oh and the question of this thread! No, not gonna buy it. Have it already. Has have it for 2 months.

I never bought XP... so why would I buy Vista? It's not like I was thinking of suddenly switching back after 7+ years without Windows. I think the last version of Windows I honestly used on my own computer was 98... and that came with the computer (which I won in a drawing) so I didn't actually pay for it.

My (debian) desktop system is a 800Mhz Pent3 with 512MB SDRAM (no graphics card). I haven't used Microsoft Operating Systems at home since about 2003. Do you think my hardware will be ok to switch from Debian to Vista?

I mean, I DO have 512mb ram. (That's what required right?)

Sep

>> "Am I right? Ok, then kindly explain who we the humans have been ripping off the last 50 years when free market economics and globalization truly kicked in and lifted more people out of misery and absolute poverty than in the last 500 years (according to UNDP, 1997). Who did we rip off? Martians? Vulcanians? Borgs?! Oh no, not the Ewoks?!!"

it can be more and way way more than that but people like you and me will be having slightly(just slighty) lesser ... ^_^

>> "My (debian) desktop system is a 800Mhz Pent3 with 512MB SDRAM (no graphics card). I haven't used Microsoft Operating Systems at home since about 2003. Do you think my hardware will be ok to switch from Debian to Vista?

I mean, I DO have 512mb ram. (That's what required right?)"

give me the best proper pc/s and i will just install common systems like linux , bsd and solaris ...


//is it really that hard for a home desktop ??


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Slightly (OK, very) OT, but: Marxism is not a zero-sum theory.


Marx (Lenin, Trotsky...) accepted that technology leaps forwards under capitalism, and believed that it was a better system than feudalism. However, the benefits of this technology are increasingly unequally distributed, so that the global ruling class becomes obscenely rich, while the poorer layers of the world working class live in apalling poverty. Marxism's aim is to bring the means of production under democratic control, so that its benefits can be used for the good of the whole of society, and the effort of each person will benefit all.

In the world today, approximately 30,000 children die every day from easily preventable causes, people starve while enough food is produced to adequately feed anyone (and vast amounts are wasted), and a small fraction of military spending would provide clean water for everyone.

And before you mention Stalin, the system he ushered in was a betrayal of the revolution.

Not a chance!
 

XP already does everything I need from a Windows OS. All vista does is try to refine look and feel. No interest here at all.

In a word, no.

Windows 2000 is enough, I still haven't seen the advantage of XP...

Haven't ypu noticed, that global inequality is dwindling as global capitalism is spreading? Sure, globalization and international trade mean that some people can get richer than ever thought possible, but it has a price: average lifespan of succesful companies has decreased thanks to international competition. Nowadays to be successful in your hometown equals being succesfull globally.

I should really point out, that poverty and misery are "normal". Welfare and abundance is not. That is if we look it historically. Why whine, that 30 000 children die every day when the same toll was in the 80's during LiveAid closer to 100000? Shouldn't we be celebrating about the historical feat? Extreme poverty has been reduced dramatically, and that has nothing to do with world becoming more "socialized". Exactly the opposite! Borders are opening, Berlin wall is crushed, Vietnam is reforming, China is reforming, India has reformed etc. But then there are shitheads like Mugabe the marxist leader, much praised for his reforms by leftist media when seizing power: now poorest country in sub-saharan africa.

Not at all. Stalins system was based on Lenins heritage. It was Lenin who betrayed the revolution. As well as Kim Sung Il, Che "the Banker" Guevara, Pol Pot, Hugo Chavez, previously mentioned Robert Mugabe, Saddam Hussein, Evo Moralez, Fidel Castro and many more lesser dictators. Not to mention that modern leftist debate circles pretty much around national-socialistic thought, only wording is different.


Does this forum have any kind of private messaging...?:p

:p
Not really. From that journal of radical Marxst thought, The Times: Richest tenth own 85% of world's assets. (London Times, that is)

But we probably don't want to go on boring people with this OT argumnent here. It could be continued in another thread, or...

Only if you're a contributing member, but you can get at me via my MySpace page.

I would not take Vista unless a gun was being held against my head!

I will not be buying Vista. I have used Windows since the days of 3.11 for workgroups, and all I can say, of all the versions I have used, 3.11, 95, 98, nt4.0 workstation, nt5.0(2000), the best decent versions of windows I have ever come across were nt4.0 and 5.0. 5.1 XP, is not really much of an improvement, and I only now just started using XP when I got my notebook 5 months ago. Then I somewhat tearfully wiped away windows 2000, and my desktop no longer was a multiboot 2kpro/Slackware box, but just a Slackware box, it was all for the best. I have heard the obscene requirements of Vista, and a friend of mine acquired his own copy of Vista ultimate, and tried it out on his VMWare software. All I have to say is, why the hell does Vista need to reboot 3-5 times before it's installation is complete? The hell is that all about? Anyways, I plan to use XP until it's support is dropped, which is in 2011 I believe, which is probably a lot less time I have spent with such an os, because I have been using 2000pro since late 1999. "Time to move on to greener pastures," so to speak.

From now on it is Linux, though someday I really want to try FreeBSD and Solaris. I wouldn't mind using MacOS, but I sure as hell ain't paying Apple all that money. Apple needs to get their act together if they really want to compete, and as much as I hate Microsoft, Apple has worse vendor lock in. At least with Windows you can run it on ANY x86 hw, not with MacOS, which is just bs. I am not paying extra money just for a box that says apple on it, when its really just another x86 system with specs I could really build myself with much less money.

It really depends what you use it for. Most games today are released for WinXP only. Drivers for some hardware won't work in 2k either. As far as I remember, Win2K does not support anti-aliasing, so using it with my LCD monitor would look really crappy. MS is slowly dropping support for it as well. IE7 is not going to be available for Win2k (if you ever need that though... which I highly doubt :D).

It is a good OS. I am not trying to say otherwise. But there are advantages (or not) depending what you use it for...

option 4 "if I have money " why not I heard vista is powerful and will stand alone
IS it true>?

I don't play anymore. And I have a lame graphic card (radeon something, can't remember). Games are not my priority. But for those who play games, its probably ONE argument: games. Microsoft is to blame if they are not capable of backward compatibility for more than 5 years.
I never came accross this
Didn't know. The windows I have runs on a 15'' screen. Far enough for what I do (did a few years ago)
IE7, you mean MIE7? (see the difference). Well, firefox is ok, respect standards, and has a more reactive security team. The integrating of IE in the OS is very funny. Remove the browser and you break the OS. muahaha..
I remember when microsoft was saying: XP integrates security features blablabla. Then service pack1, then service pack2. SP2 integrates enhhhanced security features. Few days after it was cracked and as usual it takes them a long time to fix security breaches with bad information to the customer (really scares me this lack of info). Some things were patched without even microsoft mentionning anything (like apple does also). XPs firewall is (was? no clue I don't use it) a half firewall. A decent security engineer wouldn't have done this. Outgoing connections are as important as incoming connections.
XP needs a powerfull machine for nothing really more. It can't, by default search in files (I use cygwin for searching, better than editing the registry..)
XP is not better than 2000 to my mind. The features that microsoft integrated in XP that they could integrate in 2000 doesn't make it a better OS. 2000 is a good OS, it does its job.
Microsoft is not supporting anymore 2000, so I have a "good" firewall (does its job without too much cpu usage) and a good ghost image.

I wonder if Vista would run on my 700Mhz,256Meg and radeon. hum...
Linux runs amazingly well on it.
I will probably try vista on another computer to inform myself but will definetly not buy it for a try

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...21217782777472

"Dear Aunt, let's set so double the killer delete select all"