Simple Question?

  • Thread starter Thread starter vernon
  • Start date Start date
cannot assume the basic drivers will work.
people with brand new computers fresh out of the box find they have to download updated drivers. and next month the same thing.
make the computer as basic as possible, like NO SATA drives, stick with ide/eide.
nothing brand new fresh out of the labs.

if you are going to be doing support.

if not do what you can afford and let the support person fight the battles.



(e-mail address removed)



I presently, personally, have four computers
2 Xp Pro
1 Xp Home
1 98SE

The XpHome was just upgraded from ME. I assume no one needs ask why.
One of the XpPros was built from scratch and Vista avoided (9 months ago) because it was going to use specialized software that I didn't trust with Vista.


Now I am trying to make up my mind for a computer that is for e-mail, browsing and a fair amount of pictures for an 80 year old.

Now back to the basic question,
XP Home Vs Vista Premium. In a new computer I would assume the basic drivers will work.
Is there much of an interactive difference to the novice. Most people don't give a crap about the other stuff. IE 6 to IE 7 was a challenge.
if he wanted to write a book he would not be posting here.



(e-mail address removed)



Rock said:
Why would I want say Vista Home Premium over Xp Home?
Click to expand...

What are your needs, what is the computer configuration, what is the
intended use? Do you currently have a computer with XP, are you thinking of
upgrading, or are you going to buy a computer? Do you have hardware and
software to put on the new system?

Give some parameters here.
 
Michael Solomon said:
You haven't read the thread, Vernon, at least those that were pertinent to
you and, you didn't say in the OP what you were trying to do, that was
further down. I would stick with XP. For surfing, e-mail, word
processessing, she has no conceivable need to move to Vista.
Click to expand...
When I moved her from 98 (not even SE I got the same answers.)
I got the same answer last month when I upgraded ME to XP Home for a
different customer.
Interesting, no conceivable need?
Old. slow, loaded, needs upgrades.Assunmption , The person is incapable of a
decision.
Why should she wrestle with a new and unfamiliar operating system? Is she
also someone who likes rooting about in her system, makes changes to her
hardware and software on a regular basise and loves dealing with
compatibility issues? You didn't say up front this was for an older
person who is familiar with XP. Of course we don't know anything about
this person but assuming, she is at a stage in life where she likes what
is comfortable for her, she's likely only going to be furstrated by Vista
and that's especially true, the more hardware or peripherals she has.
Click to expand...

Still no suggestions of gotchas.
 
Richard Urban said:
Actually Vernon, you didn't ask a simple question. You want an
encyclopedia of information. This encyclopedia has already been written
all over the internet and in various computer magazines. Read - then make
up your own mind as to why, or why not, you should purchase Vista.

Your original post was just a troll post in my opinion.
Click to expand...

No troll
Simple question
No one knows the answer.
All of the magazines go into never never land just to sound important.
OPERATOR INTERFACE IS ALL THAT COUNTS to the average person.


Like the the horse that has split hoofs, a longer main and is 1/2 inche
taller than the other must be marked so the black one can be differentiated
from the white one.

Simple question.
No Gotchas
No troll

No one even got what I said about IE 6 and 7.
 
Adam Albright said:
Your opinion, as you've demonstrated countless times, isn't worth a
pile of week old dog crap.
Click to expand...

So you have no answer because you really don't know.

Within 1 hour of installation this lady will know more than you do. That's
life.

I said SIMPLE QUESTION Expecting some Simple "this is different" answers
 
Anything a person has not experienced before can be new and
unfamiliar.
Obviously this is different for everyone.
 
I presently, personally, have four computers
2 Xp Pro
1 Xp Home
1 98SE

The XpHome was just upgraded from ME. I assume no one needs ask why.
One of the XpPros was built from scratch and Vista avoided (9 months ago)
because it was going to use specialized software that I didn't trust with
Vista.

Now I am trying to make up my mind for a computer that is for e-mail,
browsing and a fair amount of pictures for an 80 year old.

Now back to the basic question,
XP Home Vs Vista Premium. In a new computer I would assume the basic
drivers will work.
Is there much of an interactive difference to the novice. Most people don't
give a crap about the other stuff. IE 6 to IE 7 was a challenge.
if he wanted to write a book he would not be posting here.



(e-mail address removed)



vernon said:
Why would I want say Vista Home Premium over Xp Home?
Click to expand...

What are your needs, what is the computer configuration, what is the
intended use? Do you currently have a computer with XP, are you
thinking of
upgrading, or are you going to buy a computer? Do you have hardware and
software to put on the new system?

Give some parameters here.
_________

Vista Home Premium has the media center features, XP Home does not. So
there is a difference in functionality.

There is a learning curve with Vista. Some things are significantly
different. One needs to use their knowledge from XP as a springboard, but
not an anchor. Some folks have problems with Vista because they expect it
to be XP with a new face, but it's not. To get the most out of Vista the
user needs to adapt.

If it's a new computer, I would suggest Vista, it is the future, but if the
user really likes XP and isn't up much for change, then XP Home will work
fine. You could get one with Vista, and then install XP either as the sole
OS or a dual boot, and when/if the time comes you want to transition that
system to Vista you have it. Make sure what ever system you get there are
drivers available from the manufacturer for both OS's.

If it's an older system, then current hardware/software compatibility is the
issue. And just because a system is older doesn't mean it can't run Vista.
The system on which this message is being typed ( Vista Ultimate), is 5
years old - a P4 2.53GHz with 1GB RAM. The only hardware that was upgraded
in that five years time was the video card which is nothing fancy but does
handle Aero ok. All legacy hardware is supported. The biggest problem was
a legacy NEC laser printer. I did discover, however, that it works fine
using the driver for one of the HP laser jet models that is on the Vista
DVD. Originally set up as a dual boot with XP, I rarely now boot into XP,
except to keep it updated once a month.

Software wise I lost two favored programs that won't run in Vista,
PowerQuest's Drive Image 7 , and Partition Magic (they were bought out by
Symantec some time ago, anyway). I've moved to Acronis products for those
features. Otherwise I have had few issues with legacy software. Vista
Ultimate runs well on this system, it's stable, it takes everything I throw
at it, and by comparison XP feels dated.

By the way, I still spend more time helping out in the XP newsgroups than
here. Those who think XP doesn't have problems are delusional. Every OS
and software does. Vista is new, device manufacturers have been behind on
hardware and driver implementation; same with software authors. Things will
get much better, though with the right combination of hardware, drivers and
software, Vista runs well now as it is.

Good luck whatever you choose to do.
 
vernon said:
Summation.
No ONE KNOWS on this News Group.

I bet no one knows the biggest problem with IE 7 was until people got used
to it. No, It wasn't a PROBLEM, just a new way of doing a couple things.

I'll Buy the lady a new system with Vista Premium to replace her Xp home
system and respond to panics. I thought I might get a heads up.
Vista has got to have at least a half dozen of those. (NOT problems, just
this is how you do it now.
Click to expand...

Lol, no one knows because you are the only one you can answer it. Only you
and the intended user can determine which is best.
 
Vernon

I cringe everytime I see a post that says "simple question" usually this
means that it is far from being that.
I said SIMPLE QUESTION Expecting some Simple "this is different" answers<
Click to expand...

The short answer to this is "everything". Vista has been reworked from the
ground up. If you want information on a specific item, then ask.

You apparently aren't liking the answers you are getting here, so go do your
own research!

Windows Vista: Help and How-to:
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/default.mspx

If you really want to see all of the changes, download the product guide.

Download details: Windows Vista Product Guide:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...bf-4823-4a12-afe1-5b40b2ad3725&DisplayLang=en
 
vernon said:
SIMPLE question.
What is new and unfamiliar?
Click to expand...

Vernon, the entire interface is different, start menu is different, shutdown
is performed in a different manner, if she uses Windows Fax feature as I
stated previously in this thread, it is not included in Vista Home. The
simplest tasks have been either moved or changed in ways she may not
intuitively be able to figure out.

Then there's the question of her software and whether or not it will even be
compatible with Vista. That might be a big gotcha and what about her
peripherals as I also mentioned previously, have you checked to make sure
they will work with Vista? Even when such drivers are available, were so
early in the cycle, a lot of drivers are still not functioning properly,
this is true for printers, especially but not limited to multi-funciton,
scanners, modems, soundcards, many things she takes for granted may not work
properly. You can't always be sure of such things based on manufacturer
claims either. Many users purchased QuickBooks version 6 which claims to be
Vista compatible but, in fact, most be installed in XP compatibility mode
and some have not been able to get it to work even doing that and Intuit on
its website claims QuickBooks 7 is the only version supported in Vista. So,
no you also must factor in things she might have to replace, things that
neither you nor her anticipate ahead of time. That costs money over and
above a new OS or new OS and computer.

ME to XP is no great leap. The same underlying interface is there, with a
few exceptions, you can still get around without a roadmap; Vista is a
completely different ballgame. She'll spend a lot of time hunting and
searching and then trying to figure out precisely where to search. I'm not
trying to talk you out of it, you asked for gotchas so this is what you and
she can expect.

"Old. slow, loaded, needs upgrades." That's the computer, not the OS and if
upgrades are a consideration, then go back to my statement above with regard
to hardware and software. Look, on a new computer, she could even start
with XP and move to Vista later when drivers are stabilized and the software
developers start releasing new versions, thus offering her more time to
prepare for such a move as opposed to overnight being thrust into it.

I had to make assumptions about the individual, you gave us no information
about her. You asked for gotchas and when I gave you some, you accuse me of
making assumptions!!! What else did I have, I don't know the individual but
it's not a criticism of her, I'm just saying, depending upon the individual,
there sophistication and desire to deal with various issues at whatever
stage they happen to be in life, this is a consideration and, as such, a
gotcha.
 
Ronnie said:
Vernon

I cringe everytime I see a post that says "simple question" usually
this means that it is far from being that.


The short answer to this is "everything". Vista has been reworked
from the ground up. If you want information on a specific item, then
ask.
You apparently aren't liking the answers you are getting here, so go
do your own research!

Windows Vista: Help and How-to:
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/default.mspx

If you really want to see all of the changes, download the product
guide.
Download details: Windows Vista Product Guide:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...bf-4823-4a12-afe1-5b40b2ad3725&DisplayLang=en
Click to expand...

Actually, scanning this newsgroup, hardware_devices, installation_setup,
vista.mail and the print_scan_fax newsgroups should give real insight into
all the gotchas.

Oh, and here's one more, stay away from the Vista systems that only have
512MB of RAM and the system probably should have graphics card with its own
dedicated memory.
 
Michael Solomon said:
Actually, scanning this newsgroup, hardware_devices, installation_setup,
vista.mail and the print_scan_fax newsgroups should give real insight into
all the gotchas.

Oh, and here's one more, stay away from the Vista systems that only have
512MB of RAM and the system probably should have graphics card with its
own dedicated memory.
Click to expand...

I gathered that.
1G min
Separate video
Both of which she will be oblivious to.

Maybe a different question.
How different is outlook Express when under Vista. ANY?
 
There is no Outlook Express under Vista, look at Windows mail for the
crippleware version.

--
A Professional Amateur...If anyone knew it all, none of would be here!
(e-mail address removed)
Change Alpha to Numeric to reply
vernon said:
Michael Solomon said:
Actually, scanning this newsgroup, hardware_devices, installation_setup,
vista.mail and the print_scan_fax newsgroups should give real insight
into all the gotchas.

Oh, and here's one more, stay away from the Vista systems that only have
512MB of RAM and the system probably should have graphics card with its
own dedicated memory.
Click to expand...

I gathered that.
1G min
Separate video
Both of which she will be oblivious to.

Maybe a different question.
How different is outlook Express when under Vista. ANY?
Click to expand...
 
vernon said:
I gathered that.
1G min
Separate video
Both of which she will be oblivious to.

Maybe a different question.
How different is outlook Express when under Vista. ANY?
Click to expand...

As stated, no Outlook Express. It's been replaced by Windows Mail. Unlike
OE which is compatible with Hotmail and other webmail, that's not the case
for Windows Mail.

As to the 1gig of memory and separate graphics memory, I doubt she'd be
oblivious if her computer moved as though an elephant were standing on the
hard drive.
 
vernon said:
I gathered that.
1G min
Separate video
Both of which she will be oblivious to.

Maybe a different question.
How different is outlook Express when under Vista. ANY?
Click to expand...


Windows Mail in Vista - no Outlook Express - it's similar. OE emails can be
imported to Windows Mail. The dbx files have been replaced, which is good.
Microsoft Communities is integrated. It works fine. There is a separate
mail newsgroup.

microsoft.public.windows.vista.mail
 
Sadly it is very difficult to get portables (laptops, tablets) w/o
integrated graphics.
 
For an go year old assuming no previous computer experience Vista Home,
ether base or premium. The only reason I'd consider premium is if the 80
year old works with pictures. My 77 year old father-in-law is scanning
family pictures in then organizing and adding comments to them. That is his
retirement project.

If the 80 year old has used a computer before and has established habits I
would stick XP. I have no plans to change my 72 year old fathers computer OS
(XP Home) until he buys a new computer. He is very set in his ways and of
anything changes on his computer we get a phone call. I world not give an 80
year old 98. Newer software won't run on if and support is no longer there.
 
Cheryl said:
Sadly it is very difficult to get portables (laptops, tablets) w/o
integrated graphics.
Click to expand...

That's where the Dell and Gateway sites and possibley Lenovo sites come in
handy as you can customize your laptop. I know the option to add a separate
graphics card is available on some Dell and Gateway laptop models.
 
I only use tablet pHs and they are even less likely to let you customize
graphics cards. 1 bought my m200 from Toshiba because it was the only one at
the time with a dedicated ram video card. They are also the the one that did
not provide Vista drives claiming it isn't Vista capable. Funny thing is
during the beta I had glass, I still had glass using hacked nVidia drivers
after release. Tablet button applications released for the M4 restored my
physical buttons and while the soft buttons were nice in XP they weren't
need in Vista anyway (pen flicks are much nicer) power management needed a
bios update that Toshiba didn't supply which reduced my battery life by a
half hour.

I no longer use my m200 as my primary computer and have reverted it to XP
and Office 2003 for testing some of the applications we develop for
corporate clients running that configuration. My current primary computer is
a Motion 1700.
 
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