Vista: Get it now or wait?

[Agamon]

Windows Vista releases out on Tuesday, and I'm wondering if it's worth picking up now or waiting for potential problems to be sorted out.

How'd the beta go? Is everything stable? How are the drivers? I have a Creative sound card, and Creative is horrible with updating their drivers. I'm kinda looking forward to messing around with the new OS on my relatively new PC, so what's the verdict?

 

[doktorziplok]

wait, vista (at least this time around) will be an albatross. complaints of aero glass giving users motion sickness, constant "click me" security warnings, etc. is your pc even up for anything higher than vista home? there is a difference between "vista ready," "vista capable," and "designed for vista." are you prepared for microsoft to make you pay more for pretty graphics?


why wait for microsoft to catch up? have you hugged a penguin lately?

 

[babomb]

Unless you have any particular need of its new features, I'd wait until XP is no longer supported by Microsoft Update, you buy a new computer, or you want some software that won't run on XP. The only new features I think are worth bothering about (for a typical home user) are the added security and the sidebar, the latter of which you can get as freeware (also here). The security is great, but if you've already got a firewall, a virus scanner, and adaware and you take a certain amount of care, it's not vital by any means. The new network stack is also nice, but I wouldn't buy a new OS for it. And yes, it looks a bit nicer, but so what?

However, if you really want it, and you don't plan on buying a computer that comes with it in the near future, there's not a whole lot of reason to wait. If they don't have a driver for your particular sound card yet, a generic one should work well enough, and the system is reasonably stable.

 

[Ranger REG]

I think I'm gonna wait a while longer and get a Vista-installed PC (preferably Vista Home Premium).

 

[IronWolf]

I would avoid Vista if at all possible. Even above the observations posted here already - the DRM aspect is just plain evil. Anyone considering Vista should take the time to read A Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection. Look for alternatives (they are getting better and better all the time - many without the restrictions being imposed on you by Vista) or stick with XP.

 

[Agamon]

That Sidebar thing is fugly, does Vista really have that? My desktop looks like a Mac thanks to Widgets and ObjectDock, so I'm not concerned with beauty.

That DRM thing is concerning. But I'm not interested in Blu-Ray or HD drives in my PC, and couldn't care less how well my PC acts as a media center (probably a good reason to stay away, in itself).

My PC was new in latter half of last year, and can more than easily handle it, but looks like I can do without. I was considering waiting to get a new PC until Vista came out, looks like I chose better not to.

 

[drothgery]

I'm already running Vista, but I've got an MSDN subscription (and so have a legal copy), and my laptop is only a few months old. No complaints, but I haven't done anything that I needed Vista for yet, either.

I'd say unless you've got very new hardware, wait until you buy/build your next system to switch operating systems; it's a lot of hassle otherwise.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I'd avoid it. But then again I've jumped off the Microsoft train to DRM and Treacherous Computing Platforms.

In any event if you are not needing it for any specific purpose why not wait and let them sort the bugs out a bit more? Jumping in with a new Microsoft OS right away has always been painful IME, best to give it some time.

 

[Mercule]

I've also got an MSDN subscription and have been running Vista on my two-year-old tablet since Thanksgiving.

Overall, I like it. Some of the changes to Windows Explorer/My Computer actually are easier to use (at least for me). The handwriting recognition does seem a bit improved, too. Really, most of the little things add up to a pretty nice whole.

The Sidebar, which I thought I was going to hate, has actually had some uses -- mainly in checking weather, but there are some other toys. It comes turned off, by default, too. There is definitely no gun to the head.

The permissions nanny is nowhere near as annoying as I thought it was going to be. In fact, I barely notice it even though I do programming, which is one of the touchier things. Something to keep in mind, though, is that new directories are set to "read only" for everyone, by default. I had to change the directory settings for PCGen to get it to work. But, that was a pretty quick, minor change.

The down sides, so far:

Drivers -- Yup, some of them are tough to get. My special tablet PC buttons (like the one to quickly rotate the screen) don't work. I should check for an update now that the public release is upon us, though. Otherwise, my drivers have all worked fine, except....

Pocket PC -- The old ActiveSync software isn't compatible. Vista won't even let you install it. There is a new tool that I absolutely cannot get to work right, though. Technically, it's still in Beta, so I'm not that concerned by a glitch. Still, having that sort of product in Beta at this point seems like pretty poor planning on the part of MS.

Power consumption. My battery life is a bit shorter (maybe 15-20% less) under Vista. But, I also have it set to max performance. Speaking of which, my mid-aged, low-horsepower, computer is moving at a fine speed with Vista.

I've been looking at desktops lately. I've actually been holding off until Vista is available, though. Since my kids will be making quite a bit of use of the new machine, I definitely want the extra security on their accounts.

Oh, and I've been using Office 2007, too. Very nice. There are a few tweaks to existing tools (color picker, autoformatting) that are really nice. The new ribbon control took some getting used to, but I think I actually prefer it, now. At the very least, I find myself wishing for a couple of the improvements at work (where we run 2003) quite often.

 

[Steel_Wind]

I will get Vista when there is a game out there only on Vista that I have to have...maybe.

Until then, I consider this a Windows release without any compelling reason to "upgrade" - and a lot of reasons not to.

The DRM stuff in Vista is reason enough not to get it, imo, until there is some very compelling reason to do so.

I honestly believe that Microsoft has made an error with this OS. It remains to be seen if they will recover from it - but the last time I was this unexcited about Windows - it was Windows 2.0