I have owned personal computers for the last 10 years. Started out with Win95 then 98, ME, Win2000, XP and now vista. I never have had any major problems. If you stay up to date with the Hardware and software you have less problems. My most major problem was replacing a bios battery on an old Winbook and I haven't used an anti virus program since WinME.

Patches are not always fixing the problems they ignored, some are though. Mainly it's about staying ahead of hackers to avoid security problems and avoiding virus's and worms.

 

Couple of corrections for you:

Microsoft didn't, and still doesn't, make/build computers. They sell operating systems and software. Bill Gates created MS-DOS v1.0 for use on the IBM PC.

As for computers being obsolete in 2-3 years, they are if you have the need to have the latest and the greatest of everything. My old computer was killed by a power surge about a month ago. That machine had been running pretty much non-stop for the past 6 years. I started on it with Windows 98, then upgraded to Windows XP when it was about 2 years old. After the operating system change, the only thing I did to it was to change out the hard drives (they were too small).

The laptop I'm on now will hopefully give me 3-4 years of use. Of course, I'm guessing on that because this is the first new laptop I've ever bought. I replaced an OLD IBM ThinkPad that was about 5 years old when it was given to me, and it lasted about a year in the truck.

As far as "new programs from Microsoft", there are only 2 MS programs on my computer, aside from the operating system: Microsoft Office 97 (which I only use Word and Excel on) and Microsoft Streets and Trips 2007. I upgrade the S & T yearly for the map updates. I can pull out my old copy of S & T 98 and I guarantee that it'd run on both this XP laptop and my Vista home pc.

As for Microsoft (or any company) giving support for old products, what do you expect? This isn't 1907, where something was meant to last for the life of the person using it. Things are updated constantly. I download an average of 3-4 updates per week for XP, and 1-2 per month for Vista.

If all you're going to use a computer for is basic web browsing and e-mail, no, you don't need a great machine. Hell, you can buy a internet appliance that hooks directly to your tv. Then you don't even need a monitor. If you're going to use the computer for other things, such as most people do, you're going to need a better machine that's fairly new. If you're going to run high-end CAD, create your own DVDs, play the newest games, then you need a top of the line, constantly updated computer. It's just how things work.

We'll use something else as an example:
I used to own a 1979 Subaru 4 door sedan with 4 wheel drive. To engage the 4wd, you had to come to a stop, push the clutch and pull a lever to engage the 4wd. Sure, it was 4 wheel drive, but is it the same as my mothers brand new Subaru Outback? Hell no. I tried to get that car to spin, but it refuses to do so. Why? Well, it's updated. It has true all-wheel drive, traction control, wheel sensors on each wheel that will send the power to the tires with traction, etc etc.

 

For now, everyone should stick to XP. When microsoft releases there first service pack (slated for november) that is when the Vista system will be at release quality and could be considered for use. Dont buy a mac, unless your going to edit video it isnt worth having, no games, no software, not much of anything at all, and for you microsoft haters, bill gates owns a controling interest in it, look it up..... So if you like bill gates a lot, buy a computer from him, otherwise get a nice dell with the complete care warranty(where if you drop it intentionally its covered) or a good HP or Gateway, they will not steer ya wrong.

 

Yeah, got Dell... :roll: Got Windows too... :roll:

What I meant before about all I said about Microsoft is that, you shouldn't put something on the market that your need a college degree to be able to operate... :roll: :lol: :shock:

Bill Gates the creator of the computer science degree... :lol: :shock: :x

I own a car, I know how to use it. I have appliances, I know how to use them. What I don't need is, to have to have a college degree to be able to use a stupid computer!... :roll:

The one theory Bill Gates didn't learn was, the "KISS" theory... Which is, KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID!...

I've got a lot more important things to do wtih my life, then to waste my valuable time having to read through pages, and pages of instruction manuals.

Gates should have made his software easy to use, and leave all the complications for the computer to figure out for itself.

Example; If you do get a computer glitch, there should be a simple button, icon, whatever that you can ckick on, that will run a screening process of your computers system function, and program status, and when it finds a problem to "SELF" repair the problem, without you having to go from one place to another to figure out the problem, then go to another location to find a solution for it. Or, have to buy firewall, virus, and whatever other stuff to have to add to your computer.

Like I said before, if you keep it simple stupid, you'll sell more product, and make it more USER friendly... It is common sense. But, the geeks at microsoft are not truly interested in what the public wants.

How are you going to sell your product around the world if it isn't user friendly. Especially if you want to ship these things to countries that don't have a highly educated population, yet you want to improve the lives of the people there. Makes no sense... :roll:

 

If your car breaks down, is there a button to press on it that will "Repair" itself?

Can you put a chicken in the microwave and hit "Start" (no other buttons) and it come out as a perfectly cooked meal?

Some people just aren't "made" to use computers. My brother is one. He's bought probably 15 computers in the past 10 years. When he screws them up, he buys a new one. Other people can use them, however.

If you think Windows is hard to use, I'd hate to see you trying to use Linux, or worse yet Unix.

 

I can imagine the one button idea for computers and the internet and making everything so simple.

You would have buttons like:

push here to steal this persons personal information
push here to steal credit card numbers from this corporation.
push this button here to add $100 to your saving account.

Then we would have the "osama" button: click here to knock down all power grids in the United States to destroy the US economy.

Simple is not always better.

But back to the thread, if your not sure about buying Vista, just wait 2 years for Microsoft's next OS "Vienna". It should be out in 2 years and then you can ponder, should I upgrade or keep XP?

 

hi mapleleaf!

i have 11pc's running everything from xandros (linux) win server 2003 up to winxp and vista. i personally like vista and found that i use that box as my personal machine more and more over a dual opteron win xp pro. mostly becasue of the graphics, i love the aero look, and being as this machine has 2 gigs of memory and a 256 mb video card i don't see any slowdown that others report. my only problem is it's slow to update a monitoring program i have installed for my dc project, but that's a minor annoyance.

as to your question of which is better? neither one is better, they both are OS's (tools) and will do the job for what you've stated. as for what you should use, save yourself some heartache and look at your list of software programs, then see if they're compatible with vista. it might be that some of your favorites aren't and the developers won't be willing to upgrade them. you say you want to have faxing, but if you can't find a fax program compatible with vista what good is it? here are 2 listings for hardware and software compatibility.

tom's hardware vista list

iexbeta


you can always buy one with vista installed and then if you don't like it, wipe it off and put xp on it for @ $80. and save vista for the future. add in how adventerous are you? do you have the time and temperment to experiment with it? it's different in how functions are arranged, so you can spend some time looking for things that aren't where you thought they were in xp. that part has been enjoyable for me, but it might not for you. there are more wizards than in the past, for example there's a vista easy transfer wizard that with a special cable that will let you transfer your files and folders automatically. so in other words it's your personal preferences that will determine your decision and no one else's.

if you do go with vista, don't get home basic, either premium or ultimate and get the most ram memory you can afford (at least a gig and 2 if you can) or make sure there's open slots so you can add later. and get a seperate video card, DO NOT go with onboard video. HTH.

 

Most likely wouldn't address his needs for the trucking-related software he said he needed though.That comment doesn't make any sense at all. It used to be a computer with a 4-color, 14" display, a 32 MB hard drive, a 10 MHz CPU and 640K of RAM cost in the neighborhood of $4,000.

This computer has a 16.7-million color, 19" LCD display, 600 GB worth of hard drives, the equivalent of something on the order of 4 GHz of CPU power, 4 GB of RAM, and it cost in the neighborhood of $1,000 (a little hard to pin down because of rolling upgrades.)

Hardware has gotten staggeringly cheap, and if you run Linux, your total cost for software is $0. I haven't spent a dime on software since 2001. (But Linux wouldn't address the original poster's needs for trucking-related software any better than a Mac would. All of that stuff, indeed tons of stuff, is only available for Windows. Blah.)
I'll agree with you there. I remember one CD I didn't buy in the '80s because it was too expensive at $12. I wanted to buy that same CD again a few years ago, the SAME disc, not some new special gold edition, and it was $28. CDs didn't get cheaper. Their prices rose at a rate higher than inflation.

But anyway, back to topic. XP vs. Vista. XP is hideously ugly after you've used Vista for a little while, but Vista has huge problems everywhere. In the end, I didn't get the job I was trying to get which would have required me to use one or the other, so I went back to no Windows at all, and I like that the best. If I had to use one or the other, I'd rather look at Vista, because it looks vaguely close to as slick and eyecandyful as the Linux or OSX desktops, but I'd much rather be responsible for maintaining the integrity and continual functioning of XP.

 

What are the problems that Vista has?

 

Thanks Vavega for your input. Thanks to all others as well. I appreciate all the help, information and ideas. Lots to contemplate and I understand what you meant Vavega about my programs being compatible with Vista. I hadn't thought about that at all.
To Silvan...I am a she not a he. LOL I realize you can't tell by my username.

Drive safe everyone Have a safe and happy Memorial weekend.