Lately it sure seems like a day does not go by where I don’t run across at least one or two news stories about how annoying Microsoft’s Windows Vista is. A recent article on CNN is a prime example of how bad the reception of Vista has been from folks who simply know better. Talk of limitations on virtualization and media playback combined with hardware and software compatibility problems are making Vista look very bad in comparison to even Windows XP. Of course some of these issues might be addressed over the next few months but I think I have three good reasons why Vista is making for the bottom faster than you might think.
Technorati Tags: microsoft, virtualization, vista
Unless you have been living under a rock you may have already read some of the early impressions of Windows Vista. Even those early reviews reminded everyone that Vista was still a very new product and it would have some rough edges. What many seemed to have missed was just how annoying Windows Vista really is. Here are just three examples of why Windows Vista is destined to be compared to Windows Millennium and why Microsoft is already directing significant efforts on producing something to replace it within the next two years.
1. DRM problems and lack of anything even remotely demonstrating an understanding of how users want to use digital media.
Although there has already been a significant amount of bad press regarding DRM (Digital Rights Management) features and limitations under Windows Vista I think it is worth noting just how unrealistic Microsoft really is in thinking folks are going to go quietly when forced into such restrictions. Seriously, as people become more accustomed to using digital media they are going to expect greater freedoms not more restrictions. Windows Vista imposes (and has the capability to do much more) in some cases severe restrictions on how people can use media they already own. Most of the folks I know are going to dump Vista the second they get even the slightest indication that they can’t play something that used to work just fine under XP. Not that I advocate piracy but going to extremes to prevent a tiny number of users doing something wrong is almost as bad as the piracy itself. Of course you can expect that someone will write a work-around any day now for most of these restrictions anyway but just having them there to begin with is adding insult to injury.
2. Limits on how Vista can be used under Virtualization and activation requirements are chasing away users.
Like the CNN article indicates, the lack of support for virtualization in the cheaper versions of Windows Vista is definitely a marketing tactic. In fact, after thinking about this issue a bit I am willing to even claim that this is really a defensive move by Microsoft. The intent here is to prevent folks from running Windows Vista under other operating systems (virtualized) since this would erode existing Microsoft partnerships with PC makers. I also suspect they don’t want this to happen for several other reasons, not the least of which might be how quickly users of Mac OSX (or Ubuntu) might discover just how bad Vista is and forget they ever installed it.
UPDATE!!! Looks like the NY Times is weighing in on the virtualization issue…
3. Lack of stable drivers for key features is scaring both gamers and power users away from Windows Vista.
Like I myself discovered, Vista lacks the kind of stable driver support that we all had come to expect from Windows XP (did I say “stable” and “XP” in the same sentence!). Recent problems with video drivers has many early adopters who expected to be able to play common 3d games up in arms. Other problems with performance on even brand new hardware have driven many power users to uninstall Windows Vista in favor of XP for the time being. Given that Vista is very new some problems were to be expected, however the sheer number of complaints has been growing and with many corporations starting to impose temporary bans on Vista purchases I can’t see things getting better anytime soon.
Of course Windows Vista will eventually get better, but very much like Windows Millennium I suspect that by the time most of the issues have been resolved many folks will have moved on. Perhaps to whatever Microsoft comes up with to replace Vista, or maybe to other competing operating system.
simply put, vista is a over Bloated monster.. the memory and resource requirements
are astonishing.. 512 megs just for Basic functionality.. memory isn’t cheap in rural areas.. over $100.00 for a 512 meg stick close to $200.00 for 1 gig.. hd’s over $100.00
os also $100.00 – $300.00..that’s $700.00 to $1,000.00 to upgrade.. Linux = free for
most distros and will run on existig hardware.. windows = no usB B oot.. linux can usB Boot.. usB hard drives are somewhat cheaper.. also linux low hardware overhead means you don’t have to Buy expensive memory.. I’m going with linux, having used vista, vista sux…
It’s not so much the DRM and Virtualization scheme itself that bugs the hell out of me, it’s the principle behind it: “guilty before proven innocent”. I pay a ridiculous $399 for an OS, and I STILL have to goddamn activate the POS? Microsoft, please take this shit thou hast spouted, and ram it back up your fat ass.
When I see talented programmers spending their time contributing to an OS that’s dedicated to freedom (most GNU/Linux variants), I can think of no other way to describe Microsoft than to call it a PIG. I dunno about you, but $399 is more than my monthly salary, and where I live, I’m already pretty well off.
Oh please, even OS X, with all its evils, costs only $129. Even taking account its proprietary hardware, that’s WAY better than Vista. What the heck is M$ thinking?
People in this debate/opinion forum seem to be lacking focus on one very important area >> COST!!
XP, one can buy a full retail version under 150 bucks, OEM under 100!! Now Vista Ultimate? retails no less than 350!! THATS 2 times the cost of XP..
Media center integrated into Ultimate? Big fk’n deal, ATI all in wonder card in XP BASICALLY the same thing..
VM’S? basically the same as XP..DRM’S please, this is all BS non factors really. The greater issues I beleive I am covering here
People have not dicussed the horrific networking of Vista here either. Forcing TCP/IP and dumping IPX was not a good idea.
Network configuration over simplistic to the point I consider it a security hole as do allot of other network experts.
XP frequently locks up when using IE7 for some reason. I have seen this on various machines.
But ok sure, its a new OS, we can expects bugs, THE PRICING FOLKS is the sole reason NOT TO MAKE THE MOVE TO VISTA!!
Their anti piracy WPA is a joke, making it much harder on legit users to reinstall and change HW around.. AND>>> HACKERS have already created virtual SLIC channeling, so now a pirate can activate any version of vista simply by emulating the OEM bios along with the cert key. BRAVO MS, your so called new anti piracy shit has already been defeated!! Not to mention spoofed KMS and the old SRM-REARM trick.
Bottom line, XP is better because it is stable, has full driver support and most importantly, IS OVER HALF THE PRICE OF VISTA ULTIMATE!!..
Did I also mention the NSA admits to helping MS develop Vista?
May I ask why a government intelligence agency helped develop an os for a private corporation?
People remember about 2 years the US government, some people were dicussing laws to allow the Gov to monitor everyone on the internet? Remember it was shot down publically?
now ask yourself again “why did the NSA help develop Vista”?
Here is the answer for you simplitons;
They are using Vista to monitor everyone, channeling a backdoor to the NSA.. Can I prove this? NO, can we see the source code, NO!!
last time, WHY DI THE NSA, a public government branch help a private corp, Microsoft, DEVELOP VISTA?
Peace, out!!
is the answer obvious enough to you yet?
I bought a new laptop the had Vista on it. Bought Vista office to get Powerpoint. Worked up a presentation presentation. Hooked up my Optoma video projector and… nothing. The projector searched but never found the signal. Then I went to Windows Vista website and found out that there are only about 8 projectors that are Vista certified! All the presentations on laptops that are done and now almost none of them will work with Vista? BTW, the new Vista Powerpoint is not backward compatible so all my work cannot be transfered to my XP machine and look the same. WOW!
Over all the years, while not a Microsoft apologist, I have generally liked Microsoft products. I have installed Beta versions of Windows 95, NT4.0, 98, Me, 2000 and XP. Every time, I couldn’t wait for the release date.
But with Vista, for the first time, I went back to my previous OS. I actually stopped using the Beta, because there were too many problems and I didn’t feel like trying to solve them all (turns out a couple aren’t solvable anyway because there are still no drivers). In fact, all of my computers will have driver issues with Vista of one kind or another.
Sure, there were some cool features like using a spare USB key for extra memory, but there was just something about the constant UAC popups and the fact that some software doesn’t work that just made me feel very uncomfortable.
So, I tried a Ubuntu Live CD to see what all the fuss was about. I have to admit, I am more intrigued by Ubuntu than I was by Vista. And it’s not like I have far to go since I already use Firefox, Thunderbird and OpenOffice on XP anwyay. I am now eagerly awaiting the Feisty Fawn release of Ubuntu and reading how to make things compatible with it.
In psychology, they talk about how emotional divorce precedes the actual divorce in a marriage. I think I’m there with Microsoft. I don’t think there’s anything they could do at this point to change that fact. I want a divorce!
And if Ubuntu lives up to the hype, I will start helping others to install it and use it, the way I used to when Windows was still hard to deal with.
“Umm…dude, have you even installed Vista? Oh wait, you’re an MCSE…suddenly this makes sense ”
Enough said: My personal favorite on this blog!
Vista sucks, period. I have used it on several machines at work, and by tomorrow, it will be gone from all of them. I wiped it off my computer yesterday and replaced with XP. Have an HP, pre-installed Vista, on our internet-isolated R&D network; today, it tells its user that it needs to “re-activate,” and gives choices of buying a new license, running with reduced functionality, etc. There were no hardware or software changes made to this machine, Vista was factory-installed and activated. I can’t run an OS that wants to “phone home” on a network with no net connection.
Oh yeah, during the several months I tested pre-installed Vista on my desktop, it cxrashed a MINIMUM of 3 times per day. I installed XP, wiped Vista, and reclaimed 50 GIGS of HD space (Vista wrote lots of stuff to disk when it crashed . I already run FreeBSD and OpenBSD servers, and I am trying to talk mnanagement into minimizing the number of Windows servers, moving to Linux and OS X on the desktops, and using a thin client approach for Windows-based server software. No way I can work with a product this flaky.
this blog rocks i love reading about how crappy vista is aint no way i’ll ever go near that os and i tell everyone i know to stay away from it also. Try out vector linux its sweet very fast and easy to use fastest linux i have used anyway.
When i first heard of vista i was really looking forward to it because of the visuals. Now after reading these reviews and actually trying vista i am now going to stick with my dell with xp until i have enough money for a MacBook Pro. if there are any Microsoft employees posing here tell bill gates to go FUCK HIMSELF and not put consumers through this shit he calls vista!!!
Microshit is definitely not the consumers friends and never was…I am HIGHLY suspect of any code written with the help of the NSA…we are living in the New World Order and the people who are in control will be the ultra-rich..such as Gates..how will they stay in Control? by cooperating with Goverment agencies desighned to limit and control freedom..where is most freedom expressed..on the internet…DRM…and all these other contraptions will be used under the hood if possible to fuck the worlds free and poor…
Hmmm, I can see that there are a lot of M$ spindoctors here who are still determined to force-feed the crappy-excuse-of-an-OS that Vi$ta is down people’s throats. Oh please, your slick marketing lingo isn’t fooling anyone Nick Rice–the Wow moments people are having over Vi$ta are “Wow, what a load of crap!” and “Wow, what a waste of money and time”.
It is simply not worth it to spend that much money and effort for an OS that is unstable when you can buy better alternatives for half that price. You can save yourself a lot of money–and headaches–by using XP, Linux or a Mac OS: aside from being cheaper and more stable than Vista, these operating systems also run more efficiently than the power and hardware-hungry Vi$ta. So you don’t have to chuck out all that hardware and buy more expensive parts, because your computer already works just fine with these operating systems.
M$ should just focus its time fixing crappy Vi$ta, and then work on creating a truly useful OS that really delivers–instead of exerting all its efforts hyping up and making sorry excuses for its products that do not give consumers what they paid for.
Vista sucks, I have to press the power button too many times because of program not responding. And it is their own software like MSN live and their own explorer. On XP all I do is bring up task manager, kill and start a new one. On Vista the power button seems to be the only option. What a piece of shit!!!
would anyone recommended Sony Dual Core laptop with Mac OS X? I also need to run XP as a virtual Machine so I can play some of the DirectX game. Right now I bought the laptop that come with Vista and I install VMWare/XP. I would love to give Mac OS a shot.
we live “down under”, I bought vista for the promises of a “better system”..
I am glad I am not hanging by my nuts for the valid system to arise…
I am totally pissed off, because not only with all the driver problems that were every way you turned for 95 % of my existing programs, but the imbeciles, won’t allow me to run my Visual Studio Pro 6, on the machine, nor will Visual Studio 2005, run the Visual Studio projects, unless I convert all my code.
WTF are they doing, do they sell a product, supposedly “advanced”, which does not have backward compatability with 99.99% of my existing software and in some instances hardware..
Typical Microsoft arrogance, a law unto themselves, legends in their own minds, arrogant deceptive thieves.?, I wonder.
They can shove their Vista,”down Under”, up theirs..
When they develope an acceptable attitude towards their clientelle, and produce a more valid and viable os , in the name of vista, then maybe they will gain back some of their loyal clientelle that abandoned them for the act of being abandoned by MS… Bend over Bill, and u betta brace yourself…
Vista is the most annoying os I have ever had, XP ME 95 etc. I have had very little luck installing any of my commonly used software on it. I wish there was a valid, strong competitor out there! Maybe it is time for a MAC
Well, people are clearly pissed. When people feel a real sense of loss or a lack of options, they tend to lose some of their perspective and grace. Many people feel like Vista is being crammed down their throats and that there is something terribly wrong with it, and perhaps even that there is “no going back” if MS gets away with it.
I will never personally purchase a copy of Vista, because I object to the company which I have given A LOT OF MONEY over the years treating its users like criminals or morons who need to be kept in line by force. The whole relationship of the user to the OS is wrong.
When you stop to consider the digital millennium copyright act, you will see the kind of junk law that never would have held up historically when we were a nation of laws, for the people, dedicated to a democratic world view. In effect, whoever produces content has usurped the right to legislate without appeal or over site or even explanation. In the case of the music industry, they have also usurped the authority to execute judgment. In other countries, there are agencies dedicated to protecting consumers existing fair use rights and interests. No more here. Junk law has been rammed through which considers only the interest of special interest lobbyists, with no checks or balances upon it. MS was never able to win in court what they have imposed by technical constraints. In time this becomes precedent and accepted. Consumers – you have to look out for yourselves now, because nobody else is minding the store. The fuddy dudies who make the law are clueless or corrupt.
DRM has become offensive, intrusive and compulsory. It interferes with legitimate use. Pay attention and make good choices. Blue ray disk? Just like the CD ROM itself, it did not take over the market because it was the best product or choice for consumers. It was introduced as a copy protection scheme. Yes, people get together and have meetings about these things and then tell us (the consumer) what we want. Educate yourselves.
Mac is an excellent (if expensive) alternative. Linux is an excellent alternative (if more geared towards the techies). A careful analysis of the costs involved in going Mac might surprise you though. It may just end up as a net savings.
The best software was developed in academic environment, as collaborative exercise, with peer review. This has been historically true and it is still true. Would mandatory DRM be included in such an open source project, especially if it interfered with legitimate use and made the system run like crap? Clearly not. Consumers are paying a price and business is paying a price, and furthermore democracy is paying a price. There is an unnoticed crisis brewing in US business today related to the expense and return on expense associated with IT. Companies like Microsoft are making this problem much worse. Other side effects include outsourcing. We need to think hard and carefully about how we are going to protect intellectual property, because clearly those who have been running the show thus far haven’t done an acceptable job.
After upgrading to vista from xp you can’t revert back because xp will not validate? What the hell is that about? Looks like you better have your mind made up once you take the plunge! Microsoft what your selling I ain’t buying!
I am looking to buy a new laptop so goodbye microsoft hello Mac! Oh by the way your an asshole!
Tahnks for posting