How can anyone justify Vista being such a resource hog?

Question

It's a freaking operating system.

Yes, it has some flashy features, none of which are necessary to boot the PC and run programs, yes eventually you will probably have to switch to it in order to use the latest stuff (i've heard direct X 10 is supposed to only run on vista --though i doubt it) why give more money to uncle bill - just to impress your geek friends?

To Lucee - No, I didn't buy Vista (and don't plan to). Thanks for all of your ::wrong:: assumptions - but don't worry - I don't report abuse (unless it is plain nasty).

To Guenther: Thank you for your detailed (if snobby) response - you are the first person to actually convince me that there is more to Vista than $$ in Bill's pocket.

You have to keep in mind though, that the average person has absolutely no clue - and a lot of them will run out and buy Vista, thinking that they 'have to have it' and won't know how to upgrade their system, and even with hardware being 'cheap as free' (Senor Cargage anyone??) they won't realize any advantage from using Vista, since they aren't even taking full advantage of the features from Win98 much less XP or Media Center.

I've spent years dealing with various 'bloatware' progs, and have always held to the philosophy of 'simpler is better'. Not to mention that I've watched as people willingly beta-tested software that they paid good money for.

As for your analogies - imagine if Microsoft made car tires or dams - patches anyone?

Oh, and by the way - God uses Linux

Answer 1

First go read the latest release of "Window Internals" and then take a series of exams to be certified by Microsoft to talk about operating systems. Then you can discuss the capabilities of the system.

Since I've already done that, I can say that Vista is NOT merely "eye candy", but rather it is a complete redesign of how the OS manages the information it deals with.

Windows XP is ancient technology. 2001 for God's sake. Microsoft tried to fix all the XP flaws by adding patches and patches. But you cannot fix an old dam with a roll of duct-tape. You have to knock it down and build a new one, learning from the mistakes of the past.

Vista does take up more memory, but the reason WHY it takes up more memory is what makes it FASTER and MORE EFFICIENT. While XP would manually "call on" a program or file when requested and go through the initialization and verification processes, Vista already has everything running IN IT. There is no wait for the OS to call on the program that runs the file, wait for a response, initialize the process, verify the process, etc, etc. It is already running and ready to go. It takes up more RAM, but with sufficient memory it makes the experience much faster and fluid. And in this day and age, 1 or 2 GB of RAM is not outrageous by any means. Extra RAM cards are cheap-as-free on Ebay.

Also, note that Microsoft will NOT install Vista while Norton or other such programs are installed. This is because Microsoft believes that if THEY do the Spyware and overall system protection, it will be a smoother experience. In analogy, if 4 different companies make the 4 wheels of a car, the car is not going to ride correctly, because there will be slight deviations. Likewise, if you have a different company doing every system-process, it will cause a lack in performance. This is why Windows Defender is such a novel idea, it is part of the OS itself rather than another piece of software to install.

As for the features, nothing can touch Media Center or the voice command function. I write all of my reports for work and research topics without touching my keyboard or mouse. And once you use Media Center for your TV, there is no going back. Media Center is the way God watches TV.

Answer 2

The onus side is that most computers used today won't be able to work with Vista. I've seen a feature on CNN about the market launching of Vista. While it's got superb features, it requires the top-of-the-line components from your PC (huge memory, very fast processor, very fast video card, etc.). If you bought your PC earlier than 2006, the chances are Vista won't run on your PC. Most future Vista users are advised well in advance to buy a new PC first.

Answer 3

So what's your rant really about? You bought Vista and now don't like it? You bought Vista and feel you paid too much for it? Who twisted your arm and made you buy a Microsoft product? And Bill Gates is not your uncle, or mine. Bad mouthing Bill Gates only shows your lack of intelligence in buying a highly hyped operating system that requires more resources than the buyer is willing to get.

And you will probably file an abuse complaint about my answer, but if you do, remember that roads runs both ways!

Answer 4

Yes it's true- only Vista will have DX10 support. So when more DX10 video cards hit the market, that's supposedly a selling point.

As for the resource gluttony- I guess they hired the same programmers who created the recent versions of Norton Antivirus :) All that eye-candy will put most PCs into a diabetic coma....

Answer 5

You got it, it's basically eye candy for those that like 3 D stuff. Chow