So I'm sitting here this beautiful, sunny weekend, in the office, running benchmarks. Of course, I really like running benchmarks, but not on beautiful, sunny weekends. The reason for this is that Microsoft's Windows Vista is a total piece of junk. I'd use stronger language than that if I could.
I'm working on an article for Network World evaluating the effectiveness of Wi-Fi power-save mode - that is, whether it has an impact on throughput or runtime or both when enabled. More on that in the article, but I thought upon starting this effort that I'd be a big boy and use the latest Microsoft OS, namely Vista, for this project. After all, Vista's been out there for some time; it's hard to find a PC that doesn't come with one of the way-too-many flavors of Vista, and vendors should have had plenty of time to re-do any drivers that need re-doing. No such luck.
First of all, Vista is very hard to use. MS has really screwed up the user interface, supposedly to enable them to compete with the simple and elegant interface of the Mac, but in the process familiar elements have moved to new locations with new names, networking is very - very - hard to set up, and the whole thing is just plain frustrating.
I've noted before that changing a user interface that's working just fine just to change it is stupid, arrogant, and pointless, creating training and support headaches that simply should not exist. To create underlying changes in the OS that break applications and drivers is similarly stupid, arrogant, and pointless. And nonsense. Insert bad language here.
For example, one of the drivers for a .11n adapter that I'm using seemed to provide no way to change the power save mode setting. I dropped the vendor a line; they responded with screen shots showing that such is not the case and illustrating what I needed to do. The only problem is that the screen shot didn't match what the client software was really displaying. Oh, my, are you using Vista? came the response. Yep. Well, um, those features aren't supported under Vista. Oh, great. Spend more, get less, use bad language, etc. And start over using XP, which is why I'm in the office, running benchmarks, on this beautiful, sunny weekend.
I'm never, ever going to adopt Vista here. XP is nothing to get very excited about, but it was the best OS MS ever produced, despite its very many flaws, and I've learned how to make it work and manageable. Vista is a huge step backwards. We should simply refuse to buy products that include it, demand that XP remain available, and stop playing Microsoft's game. They work for us, right? They seem to believe it's the other way around.
As I've previously noted, I'm proceeding ahead with plans to switch to Macs and LINUX. I'd switch faster if Apple would produce a Mac Mini with .11n - what's up with that? New Core 2 Duo and no .11n? Why? I guess Microsoft isn't the only company that makes mistakes, but regardless, Apple seems to make a lot fewer.
I'll keep the XP machines alive as long as I need to, but I am looking forward to the day when there's no more Microsoft software at Farpoint Group.
Mathias is a principal at Farpoint Group, a wireless advisory firm in Ashland, Mass.
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Moron. My grandmother could
Moron. My grandmother could set up Vista networking. When will the FUD ever stop. Vista is a fine system -certainly a significant advance on XP.
You must be very proud
Wow! A grandmother with a Ph.D. in computer science and the patience of a saint. Cool!
Love to chat more, but I'm experimenting today with bare copper wires and 220-volt electricity.
Thank you for the note.
Mr. Moron
PS - in this case, the "F" in "FUD" stands for "facts". XP is still a mess, but it's much easier to use than Vista. But have your grandmother call me regardless. Thanks!
Stay home next time Craig
For someone who should be computer literate you come across as an idiot. Vista works well and is not a giant leap from XP. If I were you I'd move to Apple ASAP. We don't need people like you in the PC world. I'm sure you will be very happy with Apple.
Stay Home or Move?
Scene: dusty western town, circa 1850.
Bunch of mean lookin' dudes confronting The Stranger.
"We don't like yer kind around here, always causin' trouble. Best you move on to Appleton." Sound of six-shooter hammer clicking ominously.
Yeah, that's just great. That's how you build a market. That's how you create satisifed customers, and grow a community.
But, as I noted, I am indeed gettin' my butt to Appleton and Linuxville. Don't need no invitation. Nor do a lot of others.
Thank you for the note.
Mr. Idiot.
Angry Vista Apologists
As an IT manager I completely agree with Craig and wonder how anyone could possibly like Vista enough to flame someone. Vista annoys on almost every level and, to add insult to energy, it's pretty unrelieable.
Here's a few thoughts as to why these Vista aficionados are so bent out of shape:
- They were once beaten up by a PC running XP
- The word 'Vista' sounds funny when being spoken by someone with a lisp
- They bought Vista Business Super Size Extreme Ultimate Edition (don't really remember the proper name - I lost track a while ago)at full retail price as a (tee-hee) upgrade.
- Figured out that women don't enjoy Vista-ness but instead prefer XP-something something....
- They work(ed) for CompUSA.
Uninteresting
This blog is typical of the Vista-bashing that I see so often. It provides nothing but an end-user's opinion on the user interface and his difficulty getting networking set up, and does nothing to inform anyone anything worthy to note. Yes, we still have vendors without updated drivers, older software (5-9 years old) breaks due to incompatibilities. But these will get worked out in time. Perhaps not timely enough before the next release of Windows, but do you think MS is going to simply upgrade some XP code? No. It'll be based on (newer) technology implemented in Vista.
Since a "western-dusty town circa 1850" (or whenever) was used, I had another analogy; the engineers of days gone sitting around a brand-new internal combustion engine running on gasoline which replaced the older established steam engines.
"You mean you don't use coal for this thing? This sucks, I'm sticking with the steam engine."
Relax people, use what works for you. Linux works well for gearheads, Apple works well for non-techy home users, and XP works for 90% of corporate America. They all have strengths and weaknesses just like Ford, Chevy, and Dodge vehicles do. Vista (and beyond) will gain mainstream support, or Microsoft will change things. Simple.
This blog was just another frustrated individual's rant. A well-worded one nonetheless, but still just a rant. Let's see some substance.
A Couple of Thoughts
First of all, thank you for the note. A couple of thoughts:
1. What is this newer technology implemented in Vista you mention? What are the customer-facing benefits?
2. It's pretty clear the the internal-combustion engine was a big advance over the steam engine. That is not clear with Vista over XP; indeed, I think the evidence shows the opposite to be true. By another analogy, Vista is a cost center, not a profit center.
3. The OS is now too important to allow a bunch of greedheads at Microsoft to force us to spend momeny on something with no value. We must fight back. I have neither the time nor the money to indulge Microsoft on this nonsense.
Thx. Craig.
Craig, While I'm
Craig,
While I'm sympathetic that Vista has its drawbacks and quirks, why is it Microsoft's fault that your 3rd party 11n card drivers are not fully functional under Vista? How about some equal time ranting about how hardware vendors still haven't gotten their act together writing functional drivers for Vista? It was released to manufacturer back in November '06 (with hardware vendor development opportunity prior to then), why is it acceptable to you (as absence of complaints in your article suggests) that they take so long to support the current Microsoft OS? Even more so with a new hardware family (11n), there is no excuse for hardware vendors not to provide fully working drivers for the current released OS.
It's an equal responsibility game in manufacturing to make components work...most people just take the easy way out and blame MS.
Don't Blame Third-Party Vendors
Why on earth should a third-party manufacturer have to spend a lot of money and get nothing in return (except perhaps more support headaches)? Will they sell more products? Will those products have new benefits for the user? Why aren't older drivers supported under Vista? Why were changes made in the first place? Those of us just trying to get our jobs done don't have time to spend on nonsense with no clear benefit. We're all too busy. It took long enough to get XP to be as stable as it is - not great, but functional.
So why make all these meaningless changes? To boost Microsoft's profits. That's it. And that's what you get when you allow power to be concentrated in too few hands. The result is always the same - power corrupts, etc. etc.
Thank you for the note.
Craig.
VISTA
Gene r Vandenberg I AGREE THEY ARE SELLING DISK TO DOWNGRADE,BY THE TIME YOU WANT YOUR 5 MINUTE TASK FINISHED= VISTA SHUTS DOWN.ITS UNSAFE TO IT - GIVE ME WINDOWS XP ANYDAY.VISTA IS GOING TO CAUSE A TRAIN WRECK; YOU WATCH IT WILL LOOSE A IMPORTANT DOCUMENT. I BET