Sidney

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few months, you probably know that the latest version of Windows--called Vista--is due to hit store shelves later this year (in time for the holidays, Microsoft tells us). The successor to Windows XP offers a little something for everyone, from eye-catching graphics and new bundled applications to more-rigorous security. In fact, there is so much in the new operating system that it can be tough to get a handle on it all......................

So why would anyone in their right mind stick with what they've got? Here are a few reasons: .......................

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lazyman

Opteron 165 (2) @2.85 1.42 vcore AMD Stock HSF + Chill Vent II

Rutar

those are pretty shitty reasons, most of them are already available for XP/2k by using 3rd party software

jmke

1. Security, security, security:
--- Sygate has a free firewall which does the same.

2. Internet Explorer 7: IE gets a much-needed, Firefox-inspired makeover,
--- FF is out NOW, also FREE

3. Righteous eye candy: For the first time,
--- eye candy, eye smandy, I don't care about fluffy stuff. it does not make your PC work better or faster. or increase your potential

4. Desktop search:
--- available from MANY sources, for FREE , now

5. Better updates: Vista does away with using Internet Explorer to access Windows Update
--- and that is a reason to upgrade? you're kidding right? - FYI if you enable automatic updates in XP you never get to see an IE window; just a small pop up which says that updates are ready to be downloaded/installed. no IE in sight.

6. More media:
--- again, that's no reason, plenty of freeware utilities which offer all the media support you need

7. Parental controls:
--- how will their Internet filters we updated/applied? the only services which offers this now are payservices.. this feature has little use for most people; only a select will benefit. buying the Inet filter software will be cheaper than upgrading to vista (software and hardware)

8. Better backups
--- plenty of cheap shareware apps with lost of custom control; ghost/dirsync to name a few

9. Peer-to-peer collaboration
--- uhm; you can already share all office documents over the network and work in the same one together, track changes etc.

10. Quick setup: Beta code alert: There are some Vista features I hope dearly for even though they haven't been built yet. This is one of them. Jim Allchin, Microsoft's co-president, says that Windows Vista boasts a re-engineered install routine, which will slash setup times from about an hour to as little as 15 minutes.
--- yeah that's a valid reason to upgrade.. for sure.



all in all from the ten points 0.5/10 remain (half a point for the parental control thingie if it is done right)

what a misinformational article; at least take the effort to include the currently available software & technology which can add all the functionality in Windows 2000/XP NOW

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wutske

1. Security, security, security: ...
Combo of virusscanner (avast), firewall (sygate), other browser (opera), regular spy-/adware scan (adaware, S&D, ...), good passwords (and also a router) result in a secure system.


2. Internet Explorer 7: ... Firefox-inspired makeover ... These features will all be available for Windows XP users
As they say, firefox kinda stuff. Only positive thing is the anti-phising method, but clear minds won't need it.
The "protected mode" sounds nice, but it'll probably have leaks anyway

3. Righteous eye candy... You need powerful graphics hardware and a robust system to manage all the effects.
You can have lots of eye candy on XP w/ the Uxthemepatcher. And as they say, you'll need some hefty machine to run it smoothly (+ it'll use lots of systemresources.

4. Desktop search
Never needed it, but there are tons of desktop search program for free (google desktop search).

5. Better updates
They'd better release there updates sooner, instead of once a month. It's like the birdflue. It's spreading quick, very quick, it's in Germany and France, but our Belgian birds can stay outside till 01/03.

6. More media: ... Windows Media Player ... update ... The Windows Photo Gallery ... photo-library-management functionality ... The DVD Maker application... new games tucked into the bundle.
WMP update will prolly be available for XP too, Photo Gallery has lots of alternatives.
The DVD Maker sounds great, if it has the same qualities as WMM, then it's going to rock (if it's free, because DVD codec for WMP9 had to be bought at first)

7. Parental controls
Parent will like it more than I do, but kids might hate it

8. Better backups: ... much-improved backup program ... System Restore feature--which takes snapshots of your system state so you can recover from a nasty infection or botched software installation.
Sounds great, but there are alternatives (Norton Ghost and other back-up software).

9. Peer-to-peer collaboration
I don't realy need it, companies may find it usefull, but if they realy needed it, they'd probably already bought software to do it.

10. Quick setup: Beta code alert: ... slash setup times from about an hour to as little as 15 minutes.
XP installation on my system, 15-20min (using nLite and install script so I didn't have to do a thing)

Conclusion:
Most things are (as rutar said) already available. The integration in Vista might make some of them more easy to do, so for leeks and noobs Vista might be usefull.
For the not noobs and geeks, Vista is nothing else but a gimmick.
Not to forget that DRM is going be a nasty thing (tough probably cracked after a month or 2-3 )

Sidney

If you care to read the last 5 points the writer indicated not to buy; at the end of his article.

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lazyman

Opteron 165 (2) @2.85 1.42 vcore AMD Stock HSF + Chill Vent II

jmke

I did read those; that would make the total 14.5/15 reasons not to upgrade to Vista

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