My Windows Vista Premium Review - Day 14

In the last two weeks I have used my copy of Windows Vista Premium, I have found several issues (some of which I am not sure if they are a Vista issue or a Dell issue) and I have also had much success with it.

The latest issues with Vista circle around iTunes. One of our laptops had iTunes installed, the DVD-RW stopped working (see last post - Day 7.) Once that was fixed via Dell, iTunes was upgraded via Apple updates...DVD-RW stopped working again!

This was frustrating and time consuming due to Dell's high volume Tech Support Que. Again, this problem was easily fixed by Dell and we were told not to update iTunes or any Apple product for right now.

I know this may not be a Vista issue, it could be an Apple issue or a Dell issue, but it is still fairly frustrating when trying to configure your system and every time you add a new software package, a hardware driver gets dropped.

I also noted that if I reboot my machine with an iPod plugged in via USB, the machine hangs and won't fully boot...Hmmm. I am not a conspiracy theorist but, damn! That's' one hell of a coincidence!

The Good

• Still pretty solid OS despite the issues had.
• Issues can be fixed, albeit a slow process

The Bad

• Issues require a tech support person to analyze and fix. They are "known" issues...I smell a patch coming.
• Reboot issue with iPod is a weird one. Not very good design considering the iPod has been out for years! Still could be an Apple issue.
• No Alt + Tab to get the angled 3D view. I read it was available on Vista premium...guess not.
• Security warnings are getting pretty damn annoying right about now!

All-in-All Score: 2.5

My Vista Premium Review - Day 7

After a week of working with Windows Vista Premium, I am beginning to have some mixed feelings towards my new OS. Overall, the experience has not been too bad. There have been a few bumps here and there though.

The Good

Last night I was trying to switch my network connection from wireless to local LAN and somehow in the process "disabled" my ethernet card. This caused me quite a bit of frustration until I realized that the way the OS seemed to handle the issue was quite brilliant.

The ethernet port was disabled after encountering an issue (caused by me) and I had to navigate to the device manager to resolve it. The device manager stated that a problem had occured with the ehternet port and it had been disabled. I re-enabled it and it worked just fine.

I think that might be a good idea, for people with some technical skill anyways, in how they handle hardware issues. In XP (as far as I have seen) if there is an issue, it may or may not be visible via the hardware manager.

The Bad

Again, I am not sure if it was user error, poor manufacturing or what, but my wifes DVD-RW drive did not show up on the My Computer screen. After about an hour or so on the phone with Dell, the issue was resolved and the drive worked fine.

We are not sure if it ever worked to begin with! The good tech support guy at Dell also gave me some hints for the Internet Explorer too.

The tech person told me that when the IE gets to running slowly, go to Tools -> Internet Options -> Advance -> Reset. this resets any changes made to the IE's settings and restores the manufacturers defaults. Again, problem solved.

Also, it seems that my mere 1GB RAM is not as adequate as it was once the boxed was first opened. I threw some office apps, some dev suites and some anti-virus and such on the machine...and the system can slow down, sometimes coming to a stop.

Overall

Although it is pretty obvious I need more RAM and maybe a few less applications, I am still fairly pleased with the OS. It seems sturdy and fairly resilient to problems, and assists the user in correcting found issues, to an extent.

The Score

Overall Score: 3.0

Lock Ups: 1

Fixes Needed: 1

My Vista Preium Review - Day 1

So yesterday, my wife and I got our first look at Windows Vista Premium SP1 via our new Dell Inspiron 1525s'. I have shown the hardware specs as well as they tend to be pertinent when it comes to how well Vista runs.

Hardware:

Inspiron 1525, Intel Core 2 Duo T5550, 1.83GHz, 667Mhz, 2ML2 Cache
1GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm
15.4 inch Wide Screen WXGA LCDTrueLife for Inspiron 1525
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100

120G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, English
DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP INSP 1525

Icon Consolidation Application
Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp
DELL SUPPORT CENTER 2.0
Media Direct 3.5

Integrated 10/100 Network Card
Integrated 56K Modem
ADOBE ACROBAT READER 8.1 DIM/INSP
8X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive
Roxio Creator DE 10
Integrated High Definition Audio 2.0
Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card,for Insp 1525
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
Creative Earbud EP630
Software for Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for Inspiron 1525
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS
DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS 1YR-FREE
Insp Datasafe 3GB,1YR(Incl in price),DHS

Overall Rating (Day 1): 3.0 / 5.0

In General: As far as first impressions go, I was impressed with the visual effects, such as the Aero Glass, and desktop layout. The desktop looks similar, but better, than the traditional XP desktop. The sidebar widgets are a nice touch, but I am not sure how truly useful they will be. The Dual Core processor seems to hum along quite nicely and makes large tasks seem relatively easy.

The Good: Aside from the before mentioned look and feel of the desktop, there are several features that make this version of Vista a good OS. The instant on wireless manager (via the side sliding switch) makes wireless network monitoring pretty easy. Also, connecting to the wireless network was pretty easy, at least for my wife's laptop. for me it took a few tries.

The network connections folder has been replaced with a "network control panel" of sorts. Although this is nice to keep related tasks together, it does not clarify how to do some basic tasks (i.e., set up a local network or home office network.)

Speed; I was surprised at how quick things ran, installed and un-installed on Vista. This could be based on the processor or the fact that I have little installed on the machine. I installed Microsoft's' Visual Web Developer 2008 Express quickly and easily without issue.

The Bad: As I stated earlier, my wife's wireless connection took mere minutes to get running...mine took about an hour. It may have been where I was physically located, or it may be the fact that my wireless router is an 802.11b router. I was frustrated for a bit until I finally got connected.

The fact that similar tasks are grouped together may be a good idea later on when I am more used to the system, but for now it is a burden. I am used to things being in specific places, and they are not where they used to be. Chalk this up to a lack of experience on my part.

The lack of knowing how-to" is a key limiting factor in the Vista experience. I need to be able to VPN and Remote Desktop to my work PC. I am assuming that this is possible because I can set up a VPN and there is Remote Desktop capability in this version of Vista, but I am at a loss trying to get it to work Like I am used to, or at all.

All in all I believe that my first impressions and experience with this version of Vista have met if not exceeded some expectations. I am still not sure how or why people bash the OS so much. I may find that out in a few days or weeks. But until then, I am impressed with it.

More to come as the days go by...