Should I Wait or Take the Leap?

[Ed Sutherland]

The Jan. 31 consumer launch of Vista is approaching and I've yet to decide
whether I should move from XP to the new operating system. Should I wait
until the Vista SP2 or not? Will the retail version be more polished than
RC2? With all the security concerns, would I be jumping the gun to use Vista
for everyday purposes?

Will developers release Vista versions? I need AIMPro and AntiVir at the
least.

I feel like a kid looking in the candy shop window surrounded by people
saying it'll rot my teeth. Give me some advice. Thanks.

Ed

 

[Frankster]

Go ahead. Just be prepared to have a few root canals! LOL!

-Frank

 

[Kerry Brown]

I have switched to Vista for every day use. I love it and wouldn't switch
back to XP. That said I wouldn't recommend it unless you like a bit of a
challenge and you can do without if a program or hardware item doesn't work.
It can be a challenge just to get something to work. I have a Treo 650 phone
by Palm. It is one of the keys to my business. It was a big challenge to
figure out how to get it to work with Vista and the results aren't perfect.
If you can deal with stuff like this then by all means switch. If you want
to just use your computer then wait until Vista has achieved enough market
penetration that most main stream hardware and software works out of the
box.

 

[Dale]

I wouldn't jump in instantly if you only have one PC. If you have a second
PC from which you can do any work you have to do, then jump into Vista. At
least that way, if there are some compatibility issues starting out, you're
not losing money.

Dale

 

[Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]]

Moving to Vista depends on your needs and what you are doing with the PC.
Vista focuses a lot on multimedia, collaboration and stronger security. The
User Account Controls component makes it harder for malicious software to
infiltrate your system, IE 7 acts in a sand boxed state which makes IE
difficult to be easily compromised. Yes, RTM is more polished, but not
significantly as RC2 so you won't notice any major difference except for new
Windows component icons, more wallpapers and increased performance.

As for compatibility, its of course a major concern, I am currently having
issues with the Internet, I have to connect my Vista PC over my LAN to go on
the Internet since BVPRs Mobile Phone Tools software is not compatible yet
but should be sometime after retail launch. As for AIMPro, you will have to
contact the developer or check their website to find out about Vista
support. AntiVirus right now is available but mostly in beta from vendors
such as Symantec and Kaspersky, the Norton 2007 beta is said to work very
well, but I am of course hesitant. Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare 1.5 beta
is compatible with the x86 version of Vista.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2078056,00.asp

 

[Clint]

Buy before the Jan 31 deadline, and you'll get the upgrade to Vista. Then
you can decide what you want. If you wait till later and just get Vista,
you won't have the same flexibility. Make sure that you get the upgrade to
the version that you want.

FWIW, I'm using Vista daily. There are a couple of applications that won't
run on Vista (MS SBA, for example), so I will be setting up a Virtual PC
image for those. Right now, I've still got a dual boot setup.

Clint

 

[William]

Since you are running RC2, like I am, you should remember that you have till the end of May to make a decision. There is no need to rush the decision. I plan on upgrading my my computer sometime in the Spring depending on where we are in our finances. 2006 was a rough year because of changes in jobs. Hopefully 2007 will be a better year.

The Jan. 31 consumer launch of Vista is approaching and I've yet to decide
whether I should move from XP to the new operating system. Should I wait
until the Vista SP2 or not? Will the retail version be more polished than
RC2? With all the security concerns, would I be jumping the gun to use Vista
for everyday purposes?

Will developers release Vista versions? I need AIMPro and AntiVir at the
least.

I feel like a kid looking in the candy shop window surrounded by people
saying it'll rot my teeth. Give me some advice. Thanks.

Ed

 

[Ed Sutherland]

Okay, the consensus seems to be wait if you need your computer to work.
Guess I'll wait a year and then check back. Thanks for all the input.

 

[William]

I think the general consensus is to wait to make a reasonable choice of action rather than jump without thinking. It reminds me of a story the Metropolitan Ephraim of the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Brookline, MA once told me;

One day, Mark Twin dreamed he had died and went to his eternal reward in Hell. Satan immediately recognized him and told him that he love his writings and therefore would give him his choice on how to spend eternity. His choices were behind three doors.

So Mark Twain opens the first door and looks in. He looks in and sees several men standing on their head in mud three feet deep. Well Mark Twain says that this is not a good way to spend eternity, so he looks in door number two. Behind door number two, he sees several men standing on their heads in cement three feet deep. 'This is not getting better' he says to himself. So he looks behind door number three. Behind door number three he several men standing in pig dung three feet high sipping cups of coffee.

After seeing that he turns to Satan and tells him that he had made his choice. 'I could never resist a good cup of coffee, so I will take door number three'. So Mark Twain take his place among the men behind door number three, gets his cup of coffee and begins chatting it up with the others. A few minutes later an announcement comes over the intercom; 'Coffee break is over, everyone on your heads'.


Okay, the consensus seems to be wait if you need your computer to work.
Guess I'll wait a year and then check back. Thanks for all the input.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Ed;
Only you can answer that question, no one else knows your situation.
I have and like Vista.
But what does vista have that you want or need now?
Windows XP will probably be supported for several years to come.

Most people have no need to upgrade to a new operating system.
Most will probably upgrade when Vista comes with the new computer.

It is not a good reason to upgrade simply because a new operating system is
available.
Wait until hardware, software or5 other reasons suggest an upgrade is good
at that time.
This applies to all operating systems from all manufacturers, not just
Microsoft.

 

[Randy]

Most is already stated but my VISTA pros are:

Better multi-tasker.
Colorful easily resizable icons, slide adjustable icons in Explorer, and new
32-bit games.
Superfast index file searching. Much like Google Desktop.
Fun and customizable dynamic Desktop Gadgets like Yahoo's Widgets that
update fast even on dial-up.
When an application is in use, the Volume Control Mixer in the System Tray
auto-loads separate volume controls for that application: Media Player,
Modem, a game or whatever.
With ReadyBoost, you can use as added memory, portable memory devices and
even extra iPod memory to boost Vista performance.
In Explorer, there is no need to scroll side-to-side because as you expand
folder trees, they slide into appropriate view for you.
You can go back in time and restore a document that you edited or
unintentionally saved over the top of.
All mouse actions seem smoother than in XP. Can make the Start Menu look and
function as in Win98 but the new streamlined XP-type function is smart.

Would someday like to see a BackUp that is User-based... all files created
or modified by a single user can be backed up minus program and OS updates.

 

[will_s]

The Jan. 31 consumer launch of Vista is approaching and I've yet to decide
whether I should move from XP to the new operating system. Should I wait
until the Vista SP2 or not? Will the retail version be more polished than
RC2? With all the security concerns, would I be jumping the gun to use
Vista for everyday purposes?

Will developers release Vista versions? I need AIMPro and AntiVir at the
least.

I feel like a kid looking in the candy shop window surrounded by people
saying it'll rot my teeth. Give me some advice. Thanks.

Ed

You are the only one who can really answer that but here are my two cents
worth . If the computer is a critical piece of equipment then why risk it
but if you trialed the RC versions then you are like me and like to poke
around then go for it. I think a lot of drivers will be available then

 

[Arthur Lipscomb]

Most is already stated but my VISTA pros are:

All mouse actions seem smoother than in XP. Can make the Start Menu look
and function as in Win98 but the new streamlined XP-type function is
smart.

Is it possible to make the start menu button flat instead of round?

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

View from an acute angle?

Is it possible to make the start menu button flat instead of round?

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Your present software will contine to work after Jan 30. If no reasons to
"leap" jump out at you (so to speak) then stay with what is already working
for you fine.

 

[Randy]

"Is it possible to make the start menu button flat instead of round?"

Like the Earth, apparently not. Perhaps reverse engineering? Just playing.

 

[Guest]

Should I wait
until the Vista SP2 or not?

why wait??? Updates come with Windows Update.

 

[Alias]

why wait???

Erm, so as to not be a free guinea pig for MS?

Updates come with Windows Update.

SP1 isn't at Windows Update, much less SP2.

Alias

 

[Alias]

The Jan. 31 consumer launch of Vista is approaching and I've yet to
decide whether I should move from XP to the new operating system. Should
I wait until the Vista SP2 or not? Will the retail version be more
polished than RC2? With all the security concerns, would I be jumping
the gun to use Vista for everyday purposes?

Will developers release Vista versions? I need AIMPro and AntiVir at the
least.

I feel like a kid looking in the candy shop window surrounded by people
saying it'll rot my teeth. Give me some advice. Thanks.

Ed

Wait.

Alias

 

[William]

So he can be a lab rat for Ubuntu or Fedora or SUSE or some other Linux distribution?

why wait???

Erm, so as to not be a free guinea pig for MS?

Updates come with Windows Update.

SP1 isn't at Windows Update, much less SP2.

Alias