Why I like Vista

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on Mon, Jan, 7
by Daniel Pataki
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Vista LogoI can just see you coming… What?! How can anyone like Vista, it’s a pile of °!%+! Well, no it isn’t. I will try and make a more compelling argument, but for those who are really rigidly anti-Vista, we won’t be able to convince each other. I will be writing more positive than negative points, but this is only because I see Vista treated unfairly. I know there are a lot of nagging things still in there, I will not be mentioning many of them.

First of all, I am looking at this through the eyes of a totally normal user. I am not a developer, or someone who spends hours in a Windows registry. I also hold nothing against Linux, I’ve tried Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Simply Mepis, all had their merits. I also don’t hate Bill Gates, or Steve Jobs (although I still need to try a Mac), and whenever I find an operating system that suits me better, I’ll change without thinking. I believe I am quite impartial. So let’s take a look, at why I like Vista.

Vista vs XP and in general

For me, Vista is far-far better than XP. It looks better, runs just as smoothly for me, has much more integrated right from the start, even installing it is easier. It has search built in to the start menu (and otherwise awesome search as well), it has Windows Photo Gallery (read my post on it) and a host of other features which actually work. Maybe it’s just me, but for once I see Microsoft not trying to swim against the tide and dictate their own rules just for the sake of dictating, but they are listening. I agree, they still have a lot to learn, but it seems they are trying at least, that’s good in my eyes.

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The navigation system has had a major overhaul and is much better. Both the structure, user files, and the way you can get to it, with the arrows in the navigation bar, recent places, adding favorite locations and so on. They also changed the default email and contact manager, plus the calendar. I don’t think they created anything revolutionary here, but they are all usable apps.

The “trying” tendency can be seen best with Windows Live products. These need to be downloaded, but they are great, and support other companies as well. Live Writer is a platform where you can write your post and send it to oyur blog. It integrates seamlessly with Blogger, Wordpres, Typpad, and almost any other blogging service.

Security issues have been great conversation starters in forums I believe and let me say this. I have my firewall turned off, I don’t have any anti virus protection and I have not had any serious viruses in about 5 years. I’m not so sure I should be advertising this… Nevertheless, I can’t really see the difference.

I also heard reports of hardware working once, and then not the next, software issues ditto. The only thing I saw was that I had a piece of hardware that didn’t run on XP and it does on Vista. I will grant you that I probably could have found a driver, but still, it became plug and play. The software issue does exist though, but I think we knew and anticipates that from the start. This doesn’t excuse it though. I’m no software engineer, if someone sells me a product for hundreds of Dollars, well, make it work, it’s not my problem (well it is actually).

One comment I also hear a lot is that it’s just a sort of service pack that could have been added to XP, and it’s just a prettier XP. I don’t really understand the basis of this argument. I mean why do you buy more than two pieces of clothes? Why do you drink soft drinks and juices when water suffices, I mean you don’t need all that caffeine and tar in Coke do you? People buy pretty things all the time and throwing muck at something because of this (true as it may be) is not really nice, look on your own doorstep first please.

Vista vs Linux

Ubuntu logoI want to start with my most powerful argument against Linux. This is not really an argument backing Vista, just in general, Linux is hard to work out. I mean I’ve been around computers for about 15 years now and I dare say I do have a lot of practice. I can edit registry settings, I can use the net like the productivity ninja I am, utilizing greasemonkey scripts, I can even code my own webpage in HTML, CSS, even some php and javascript. Even after all that, I have absolutely no idea how to use Linux.

Now I think most people don’t get this point. This is not the problem. I am willing to spend the time to learn it (although it is pretty different and needs time), but why do Linux users think that Linux is better, when it took me, someone with quite a lot of experience an hour to install my first driver? I would say that 70% of the users out there no nothing of PC’s outside their basic browsing and Office tools. It’s no wonder they don’t want Linux. Let me show you a musical example to back myself up. I use an 8 channel mixer to record stuff here at home. If I play somewhere I know to plug this here, that there, and I can set it up in five minutes. If you came to me and said, here’s an awesome new mixer with 24 channels, effects, phantom voltage, built in coffee machines and you can put any of the buttons wherever you like I’d say no thanks. It may be much better, but I can1t use it, nor have I the time to try before I start to play.

Overall

If you’ve come this far, just let me end with one more thing. There is nothing I hate more than people who are set in their ways and would find any fault to back themselves up. This goes for both Vista lovers and Vista haters. I think both Linux (Ubuntu for example) and Vista are great operating systems, both need to work a lot still though. Just don’t start hating each other, Bill Gates, me, the world, Linux, your dog, or anyone else because of this. If you don’t like Windows, use Linux and vice versa, no one is forcing you (if you’re lucky).

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