Monday, February 05, 2007

Windows Vista Editions

This new Vista thing has my interest - right now, however, it is purely academic, and I can't truthfully say that I've played with it. This will change soon, I'm sure. In the meantime, I'll tell you why I've not run out and bought Vista:

  • It requires too much horsepower. If your computer is less than 2 years old, then you should be fine. The BIOS dates on my three desktop PC's are: 2003 (2.4G Intel laptop currently running SUSE Enterprise Desktop 10.1 and XP Pro), 2002 (1.8G desktop currently running OpenSUSE 10.0), and 1999 (750 MHz PIII desktop running XP Pro) - I'm pretty happy with all three's performance and can't see a reason to upgrade . However, a Macbook Pro 2.16G is about to join my herd, and I will be buying a copy of Vista Ultimate to go on it.
  • Currently no software that runs exclusively on Vista, and many current softwares (like iTunes) may have problems on Vista.
  • It's too new. Like any OS, the best time to get it is after the 1st service pack comes out.
  • No free stuff and no MS Mega-Promotions, just saw a totally disappointing interview of Bill Gates by John Stewart on the Daily Show, after which, Bill hustled out, not sitting and chatting like typical guests. When XP came out, I got as a premium for running out and buying XP on its release day: a 256MB DIMM, an MP3 player, and a cool mouse pad. What gives this time around?
So you have Windows 9x or 2000? Your computer is likely too lame to run Vista. On top of that, there is no in-place upgrade, you must start fresh if you have 9x or 2000, and if you have Pro Edition and want to move to the home edition, you also have to wipe out your current OS and start over. Still thinking about upgrading? Then use the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor that Microsoft has so thoughtfully provided.

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