Greg said:
I can't believe this utter tripe! What a load of crap.
For a start I DIDN'T want a new laptop with vista on it I wanted a new
laptop with XP on it (better the devil you know) but because MS no
longer sells XP and because everyone knew that Vista would cause
problems, all new laptops with XP still on them were sold out!
Second, it would not be a very large amount of coding to make Vista
simply able to read and use any XP driver. That is logical and easy
and would not have the effect of slowing it down to a snail's pace.
What a stupid statement! What is so hard about writing a program that
translates XP drivers into Vista-speak? I DO NOT ACCEPT that a more
sophisticated operating system shouldn't be able to run something
that a lesser sophisticated one was able to. Unless it is a matter of
outmoded hardware (for eg. a printer that used an outmoded form of
connector such as a parallel cable, etc). There is nothing wrong with
my printer - it can still be connected to my laptop and it still does
the job perfectly. I AM being forced to upgrade it because of
Microsoft's laziness and stupid lack of concern for their users.
You may think it reasonable as a Microsoft devotee that a four year
old printer that still works perfectly can no longer be used. But I
don't, and neither do thousands of other ordinary people who are sick
of Microsoft's Big Brother mentality.
Greg, I don't blame you for being angry and you're right, there are a lot of
people in the same boat. That said, there are reasons, even if you won't or
don't accept them and it's a little more complicated than what you've
already heard here.
Unfortunately, a hallmark of Windows systems has been a lack of stability.
One of the major reasons for that lack of stability was drivers, either
because of sloppy coding from the manufacturer's or beecause their drivers
modified system files and it was allowed by the OS. With each iteration of
Windows, they've gotten a little tougher with regard to driver compatibility
and driver certification..
What is happening in Vista is evolutionary. It's not that Vista can't read
the drivers with which it is incompatible. It's that Vista is far less
forgiving than previous systems of uncertified drivers and drivers whose
installation routine would modify system files. Windows has been moving in
this direction for quite awhile. One of the reasons it's not as simple as
you think is, if a driver makes a change in system files, it ripples through
the entire setup and printing is a critical function of most applications.
Not only might this effect applications, allowing some of these drivers to
simply be installed on Vista could make your setup unstable. If not now,
perhaps as you go forward and/or might have an effect on other software or
hardware you might install.
This could adversly effect your setup even down the road when you might be
ready for a new printer or when your current printer just dies. If your
printer's driver installation modified system files, even when you uninstall
the printer and its software, the damage that its drivers did might still
remain. And, you then might be wondering, why isn't your new, fully
compatible Vista printer performing properly. Printing has changed a great
deal in the last four years and the printing subsystem needed to be updated
to accomodate user's needs and desires and those needs and desires might
reflect your own as well, if not today, perhaps down the road.
Even if that need never exists for you, there's still the issue of system
stability and, as I said, drivers have been a major choke point, a major
cause of issues. It's no secret, that each generation Windows has required
some hardware changes of the user. We had similar complaints when XP was
released but there's more this time because Vista is far less forgiving, far
less tollerant of bad drivers. And consider how long it's taking for new
Vista compatible hardware to reach the market. Usually, there's a lot of
new hardware available when an OS is released; not this time. The driver
certification process has been far more rigorous and this has slowed the
process down. Usually, there are a lot of new applications released to take
advantage of the new OS; not this time. Many developers are in a holding
pattern because they need to see some of this new hardware in order to see
how best their applications might take advantage of it.
I'm speaking as someone who is not all that crazy about Vista right now and
if you think its irritating to you that you have a 4 year old printer that
appears to have been made obsolete by the fact you needed a new computer at
this time, imagine how I feel having just purchased a new printer in
January that was promoted as Vista ready and as yet, there are still no
Vista drivers for it at the HP website; I guess, "ready" meaning it will be
compatible with Vista whenever HP can release the drivers.
I'm not
trying to compare our pain, I'm pointing out to you that I'm feeling it too
despite the above.
That said, as a long time Windows user, going back to Windows 3.1 and 3.11,
I can appreciate the need to get tough with regard to drivers and while it's
a bit painful at the moment, I'm hopeful this will mean a better, more
stable system going forward.
I'm not trying to change your mind but I did think a little perspective and
additional explanation was necessary given how angry you are. I'm not
saying you're aren't justified in your anger or frustration but I hope the
above gives you a little more insight into what is going on and why.
