Wednesday, April 25, 2007

The New Vista Operating System – Look BeforeYou Upgrade

by Virginia Sanders
There is some historical problems with new operating systems developed at Microsoft. Microsoft wants the consumer to discover all the little bugs that their million dollar a year development team did not discover. The new VISTA operating system has some critical flaws that everyone either overlooked or thought we were too stupid to discover.

The fact is that few consumers have yet to upgrade to Microsoft’s new operating system aptly named Windows Vista (tm) (new frontier) may be due to Microsoft's affinity for releasing software before all the bugs are ironed out. PC users have some historically documented concerns about hastily upgrading operating system from Microsoft.

Windows Vista(tm) is Microsoft’s new operating system that is installed on most new computers. These operating systems will be installed on all new home, business, personal computers notebook computers, Tablet PCs, and Internet media centers. However, if the new computer buyers have their way, Windows Vista(tm) will be sent back to the developers for a major over haul.

Some of the criticism of Windows Vista includes the amount of development time, restrictive licensing terms and the number of new DRM Digital Rights Management technology that is primarily created to stop copying of digital media. However the primary focus on the problems with Vista is the usability of some of the new features.

This software is promoted as a big help for users in finding, organizing information, staying connected and providing high-level security for the PC user. However, all these features are inconsequential when the operating system is not compatible with existing hardware or software.

There must be some information missing in the glossy brochures introducing this feature packed software. Did the writers or developers forget to mention that printers, your CD Rom, your CDR, et.al is not compatible the VISTA(tm) operating system? The brochures also do not mention that to get the appropriate drivers you are required to surf to the individual manufacturer's websites to find the driver that will interface with VISTA(tm).

I have no doubt that the Microsoft family of developers; programmers and media kingpins will fix all these little bugs in this super sophisticated software. How much time this will take will not matter because I am still uploading patches for Windows XP.

One new Windows Vista(tm) client, called me to complain. After purchasing a new Gateway and then a new Dell computer, this buyer realized the problem was not the computer but the Operating System.

"I am so mad I could spit." she yelled over the phone, " None of my hardware is working. I have been on the telephone for over 3 hours with a technician. He told me that they were aware of the problems. The technician tried to help but eventually told me that it was up to Microsoft to provide a fix for the incompatibility issues. "

He suggested that I visit each website for the peripherals that I needed drivers for. I explained to him in no uncertain terms, that I would not do that and requested that he send me a new hard drive with Window XP loaded on it. He spoke to his manager. They agreed to do just as I asked.

Consumers want to know whether the software runs faster, jumps higher and leaps tall buildings in a single bound. From the user in Texas (who happens to be my sister) , she states, “ Windows Vista(tm) may very well do all those things but it does not perform to my need. I cannot even open Excel.”

Even though dozens of game makers have been using DX10 for years and believe wholeheartedly in the benefits of the Windows Vista (tm) technology, the hardcore gamers are waiting for more compatible games to come out before they make the switch from Windows XP.

Dell Computers announced that they would provide their customers with a choice. They can still buy a brand new computer without having the Windows Vista(tm) operating system automatically installed. Before you upgrade, ask some questions.

No comments: