I knew there was a reason I liked ubuntu Linux.

I just purchased a notebook computer because it came with Windows XP Pro preinstalled with a license to downgrade to Vista. I made recovery disks and backed up the hard drive image both to DVD and an external hard drive because the supplied recovery disks install Vista.

It's not just incompatibility issues with Vista, it's the change for the sake of change mentality that's now driving Windows development. Windows XP Pro represents the pinnacle of Windows from a user interface perspective. Needing to change the interface for Vista so that it looked new meant deoptimizing the interface. For example, in Windows Explorer there used to be a tool bar you could customize with lots of tools, but that's gone in Vista.

Another problem with Vista are messages saying you don't have rights to do some task even though you're logged in as a full administrator. So who do you have to be logged in as; Bill Gates? I consider all such messages as errors with no workaround. Hey, it's my machine and if I screw it up it's my fault.

Microsoft had better get it right with Windows 7. Two flubs in a row and it will be curtains for Windows.

No Vista
No Way
No How

I'll go to Linux first.

Vista is why we replaced our PC with a Mac when our old PC was in serious need of an upgrade.

And I have found openoffice to work prefectly fine when I need a word document.

Nothing annoys me more than my operating system telling me, the person who built the computer, and the person who purchased and installed the software that I don't have the 'rights' to perform a simple action.

Completely stayed away from Vista. XP still for me.

Never have any problems with OS X and NeoSuite Open Office. Also, TimeMachine is a seriously kick-ass application that sets it apart from XP and Vista on its own, in my opinion.

Oh, so you meant that User Account Controls will come disabled by default? That sounds like it might be worth the $350 Microsoft will likely charge for the new version, along with a required purchase of new hardware and all new software.

Hmmm...uh...when did you say it was going to be available? When will I be required to buy it? Will I still be able to pay extra for "Downgrade Rights" to XP?

Vista's been a pain in the ass for me for a year now. And you were right, nag screens were the least of my troubles. It seems none of the programs I normally used were compatible and the fixes were deeply involved and sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. I felt sorry for anyone without some basic computer knowledge that were faced with the same problems. They had to pay people to 'fix' things for them.

Microsoft should learn a lesson from Coke and bring come out with Windows XP Pro Classic. I'm in the market for a top end desktop, but won't buy anything with Vista on it. Right now I'm running both Windows 2000 and XP on several machines. If Windows 7 is a flop I'll just buy the new hardware and install Windows 2000.

Mac Lorry:

I'm right there with you. I still have WXP Pro on both machines at my house. W2K wasn't too bad either.

Elliot Carver: Mr. Jones, are we ready to release our new software? Jones: Yes, sir. As requested, it's full of bugs, which means people will be forced to upgrade for years.

lol...i remember that part, but the worst part is its true?

since I only use Vista on my home PC it is ok. Our use Macs and are very happy with those.

but Linux rocks! That's my arena.

http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/

'nuff said.

NONE of the current Electronic Medical Records programs are compatible with Vista! They all require the pricey "downgrade" to XP Pro for functionality.

Windows XP 64 Pro & Windows 2008 are the work horses computers I use for application and software testing. I hope Windows 7 is based on W2k8.

I use OS X for all my home computing.

I used Vista Enterprise to test software and play a game (Shadow Run)
If your stock with vista then you really need to get this book
Windows Vista Annoyances
http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596527624/

When I donate old machines I install Open Suse or FreeBSD, Open Office and Firefox people are able to surf the web write letter and are happy.

I must be the only person alive that has no problem with Vista.
It took all of 20 seconds to disable the security nag...

Now, I will believe MS when it says the next Windows will be less annoying, but I will question Apple if they claim the next set of Mac ads and products will be less homo/metrosexual.

The problem with Windows Vista is the IT nerds won the argument within Microsoft. You know who I'm talking about. These are the same idiots that advocated creating a lesser privileged user account for Windows XP and using RunAs for administrative changes. I always thought that was a terrible suggestion, but apparently the OS engineers at MS loved it and made that the default behavior in Vista.

I always make sure I have the actual media and (more importantly) the Key for operating systems I buy. That way, I don't care what operating system a computer comes with, I just wipe it and install my preferred OS (like Windows XP on this laptop).

Also, I'd love to give OS X a try, but apparently, it only runs on Apple hardware... dumb.

Linux is cool, Debian is my favorite distro but I admit I haven't tinkered with it in years.

Well, let me join the one other person here and say I think Vista is great! I've had few problems with it and for what I do, it's far superior to XP.

I'm not alleging all the others don't have legitimate complaints...and I *don't* work for Microsoft. It's just that I'm very happy I made the switch to Vista.

"Microsoft says next Windows won't be as annoying"

In the late 1960's, the French auto company Renault, recovering from a disastrous reputation earned by its' Dauphin series, introduced its' new R8 series as a Renault "for those who swore they would never buy another one".

The more things change...

Also, I'd love to give OS X a try, but apparently, it only runs on Apple hardware... dumb.

The reasoning is simple it to enhance the sure experience by having a defined set of hardware there no hardware compatibility problems. So troubleshooting issues and support cost is lessen.

In the old days Apple did allow clones with OS 9 and there were issue with some vendors. It would be nice to see if they could handle doing this with a larger hardware pool and keep user experience the same..

I use generic peripherals with Mac OS X and experience no problems. TimeMachine backs up on a Seagate drive. Is that what you're talking about? I assume it would also work on a peripheral monitor, as it does on all of my friends' Powerbooks, but as my computer is built into a 24" flat panel display, I haven't given it much thought.

And I got a deep discount by claiming I was a student and purchasing online with an invalid (but formerly valid) student card. They only check the format of the numbers, not the numbers themselves, so if you're a recent graduate of a college or university and are on the fence re: Mac vs. PC, this should tilt the scales for you as it did for me. Saved me $300!

hyper

It more along the lines of component part such as Video cards , mother boards and the chipset that they use. External devices do not matter so much. Since apple controls all the small competent and revision of the firmware or video drivers etc.

Example you buy a motherboard, video card and cpu you have multiple choose and you might have some incompatibilities or other issues that the OS just had problems with. If the OS has to account for all those interactions it has to be come more and more bloated and the complexity increase.

An example of this is the OSX86 project where they try to get OS X running on PC hardware. One has to carefully select each peace to get a working OS X system while you could get windows system working with any of them. The question is how stable it will be.
.

This is the same reason that high-end intel servers and AIX, Hp-UX and SPARC tightly control the hardware they use to limit the interactions.

OS X also has less legacy support than windows has to deal with.
OS X users do not really expect to run OS 9 & 8 applications. MS should have just kept supporting XP.