Vista question

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gerryr

gerryr

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I need to replace my 5 year old laptop since it has a tiny HD, slow processor and a failing keyboard. I see some laptops with Vista Home Basic and some with Vista Home Premium. I would rather have XP, but I guess I can't. So, which of these should I get? What's the difference?
 
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I've heard that vista home basic is crap. I believe that getting the premium OS is better to get now than decide that you need it later. I agree, XP is a better choice, but it isn't available much anymore.
 
I have heard, mind you only heard, that some PC are still available with XP. However you have to ask, or maybe insist, that XP be used as the OS. Might not hurt to ask/insist/demand your new machine has the OS that you want.
Vern
 
You can get XP from Dell outlet (refurbished machines). Warranty, IIRC, is same as their new models.

Several years ago, my wife bought a new Dell - paid over $1k. Less than a month later, I bought the same machine on Dell outlet for $300. Both are still running strong.
 
Hey Gerry,
You can still get XP from any of the bigger vendors and I'm sure you can still get a local store to put it on also. To get it from the D, GW or HP you need a higher end, more robust model. PM me if you want some more info. I'll help you look if you want.
I've owned 2 Dell computers I purchased from their outlet store. One was refurbished (2 1/2 years) and the other was a discontinued model (6 months). Both came with 3 year warranties as well. I'm happy.
 
Originally posted by jckossoy
<br />The Home Premium has a few more bells and whistles than the basic. Like the Media Center.

Kol Tov,
Click to expand...

& aero glass desktop. I've been running vista for a few months now and it's really starting to grow on me. It takes a bit to get used to but when you do you might just find out you like it better [:0]
 
Originally posted by Mudder
<br />
Originally posted by jckossoy
<br />The Home Premium has a few more bells and whistles than the basic. Like the Media Center.

Kol Tov,
Click to expand...

& aero glass desktop. I've been running vista for a few months now and it's really starting to grow on me. It takes a bit to get used to but when you do you might just find out you like it better [:0]
Click to expand...

I have heard this from more than one person. After using Vista for awhile people tend to look at XP as "clunky". Since I have never seen Vista in person I can not comment to it's feel.
 
IMHO Vista is the new ME, remember that POS? Be aware that there are still a lot of drivers that are not available for Vista.

Dan
 
I've got vista on my personal laptop, as well as linux on my shop machine, and XP on my work machine. I think vista's a little nicer than XP - but avoid basic like the plague- it's the windows ME of Vista.
 
Originally posted by dfurlano
<br />IMHO Vista is the new ME, remember that POS? Be aware that there are still a lot of drivers that are not available for Vista.

Dan
Click to expand...

Yep,

Remember how long it took to get drivers for win2K? How about how many flaky XP drivers were out there in the beginning? Have you used Vista for any length of time? Like I said before, My wife's computer was a win ME machine and she did web surfing, ebay, word documents and spreadsheets without a single hitch until we bought a new machine last year.
 
I used it and didn't like it. I get involved with a lot of MS product testing. I just got this notice today from MS about the Home server software that I have been running.

-----------
Announcing Windows Home Server RC!

We have arrived at another major milestone, Windows Home Server Release Candidate. You can get the RC at the following link:(removed)

The RC (Release Candidate) release is a feature complete build of Windows Home Server.

Here are the details:

Install options
As we stated in a mail earlier in May, we are only supporting one installation option with this RC release: New Installation. Server Reinstallation is not supported. Server Reinstallation will be supported from RC to RTM.

The New Installation option will wipe out all drives including drives where your backups and shares reside. Please be sure to backup any critical data off of your Windows Home Server installations prior to installing the RC build.

Enable Customer Feedback
We ask that you enable providing customer feedback information to Microsoft when you go through setup (or enable it later in Server Settings). We received VERY valuable data from Beta 2 and CTP via this mechanism and it is extremely important that any crash or failure you encounter get reported to us. For privacy reasons we cannot enable this feature by default now that we are this far along in our release schedule.

Things we want you to test:
Run every app you can think of on your client machines accessing files on the server via SMB.
Copy stuff on, copy stuff off, delete stuff, move stuff.
Run lots of backups.
Do single file/folder restores.
Restore full PCs.
Remote Access configuration
Password policy
Password reset
OOBE from a home PC (the OEM experience)
Full system restore of a home PC (test on a spare box)
Adding and removing hard drives through the Windows Home Server Console

Again, we thank you for all the great testing and feedback you've given us so far, and look forward to you helping us insure this RC is really ready for release!

Thanks,
--------------

Real problem with XP drivers is that it gave an excuse to low end peripheral manufacturers to no longer support separate drivers - every thing was in Windows. So people that upgraded and owned older printers had to either live with limited functionality, like no longer being able to banner print, or buy a new printer. That was pleasant but not many people remember that minor fact.

The problem MS faces is that XP is a solid product. Unlike the ME or 95 blue screen of death XP is very stable so the real question is why bother. If you really want something different go buy and Apple.
 
Originally posted by dfurlano
Unlike the ME or 95 blue screen of death XP is very stable so the real question is why bother.
Click to expand...

The metaphor here that I would use is buying a newer vehicle of the same make and model (which many people do).

Q: Why buy a 2007 Chevy Tahoe when you own a 2001 Tahoe?
A: Because there is more to the 2007 then a new look.

Vista has a lot of new stuff going on "under the hood" that the average user does not see.

To continue on with the metaphor, I agree that there is no need to upgrade until your old vehicle wears out.
 
The only reason I upgraded was that my old laptop decided it was time for a multi-system failure[xx(]. Once you get used to the new features of Vista, you'll see that it is easier to use than XP. I also got Office 2007 (was able to get the full version through my office). That take more getting used to than Vista because they changed the toolbar to ribbons. But even then, once you get used to using it, it becomes easier and more user friendly.

Kol Tov,
 
Originally posted by dfurlano
<br />I used it and didn't like it. I get involved with a lot of MS product testing.
Click to expand...

So I guess yours is the only opinion that counts and I would also guess that your the only one who gets involved with a lot of product testing.

Ever heard of the Microsoft partner program?


Originally posted by dfurlano
<br />

The problem MS faces is that XP is a solid product. Unlike the ME or 95 blue screen of death XP is very stable so the real question is why bother. If you really want something different go buy and Apple.
Click to expand...

Yes,

XP is a solid product but I think your forgetting that it took until SP2 before it got that way.

I use Vista and I like it; of course I never had the blue screen problems that you speak of with either WIN 95 or WIN ME so I cannot comment on that. One point you do make that is right on the money is low end peripherals; you always must expect to get what you pay for. My HP deskjet does banner printing in XP if you can still find the paper to do it.

I started computing in the days before CP/M and I have used every version of windows since it's inception and I've also used Linux and the Mac. Your opinion might differ but I'm confident that Vista is the most stable platform that Microsoft has ever produced. If your happy with what you have then don't bother upgrading.
 
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