A Microsoft Product Manager's Vista Confessions

For all of the anti-Vista static floating around out in the world these days, I still have yet to see any large or in depth list of Vista issues or failures.

The article posted here at Giz seems to have several issues lined out, not all of which are listed as Microsoft's fault. 

To me this is kinda like when GW Bush declared Iraq had WMD's. Then people said where are they?!? And he really didn't have much to show them.

This is Mac fanboys and Microsoft haters saying "look at all the issues Vista has!" And I am saying, "where are they? What are the issues?!?"

And they really don't have much to show me.

Microsofts' Pro Vista Campaign Gets Users' To Love Vista

According to a post on Gizmodo, it seems Microsoft has gone to a strange form of "Gotcha!" to prove to users that Vista isn't all that bad.

Microsoft had a focus group test drive a "new" OS called Mojave. The users seemed to love it. The punch line? The "new" OS was Vista.

My favorite part of this article is the quote "how much of the Vista hate is really just sheeple bleating what everyone else is?" This is a quote from the Giz article.

I have been beating that drum for weeks. Maybe now some people will actually try the brussel sprouts before judging them.

Microsoft's Vista "Doesn't Suck" Campaign

Although I think this picture is not a good choice for an analogy, it still makes a direct and good point: Not everyone who told you Vista sucks knows #@*! about Vista.

Gizmodo has put this article on their site and has filled it with a lot of small snide remarks like "I can think of a lot of other future installments, like "At one point, everyone thought witches walked among us" or "At one point, people thought they could turn lead into gold," or "At one point, people thought that it was a good idea to shit into ditches alongside the city streets." " [Gizmodo.com]

I have believed for many months that Vista is a good, solid OS. I know at least one person who has had his rear saved by Vista Ultimate's Shadow Copy feature. Of course, their are bound to be some bugs and issues with an OS that can span over 17GB of disk space. To believe any Mac OS release is bug free, is arrogant and ignorant (see Mac Time Machine Bugs.)

In the end, the user's, not the press or bloggers (including myself), need to decide how well Vista meets their needs. If I had the $$$ to buy a Mac, I probably would give it heavy consideration. But I don't, so I can't buy one. Of course my opinion is one sided.

Hopefully Microsoft will work hard to separate real issues and performance bugs from rumors and mere speculation in the coming weeks.

BTW, does anyone know what this means: "The campaign basically writes itself—why don't you guys give is a whirl." [Gizmodo]

Windows Vista Ready Boost vs. RAM Upgrade

Just wondering what some of your thoughts are out there on the ReadyBoost technology Microsoft has deployed in versions of Vista.

The poll closes July 31st, 2008.

Windows Update Getting...an Update!

For those of you out there who are using Vista and have seen the sluggish, beastly application know as "Windows Updater," then this will be good news for you. Windows Vista updater is getting of all things...an update!

This is great news to me. I spent a good portion of the weekend getting SP1 for Visual C# Express Edition (so it will run on Vista) and it took damn near 6 hours to complete.

Slow? Snails passed the updater! Hopefully this will be better!

Link.

Top 10 Reasons Vista Isn't That Bad

For those of you who may have some worries about buying a Vista laden PC, this link may give you reassurance.

For those of you who are straight Vista haters, this may give you something to argue over.

Check the link here.

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 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...