Vista vs Windows XP

[Guest]

Can anyone tell me what Vista offers over XP except problems? My scanner
doesn't work, Outlook doesn't work...it's a main pain and I'm so frustrated I
could scream. And for what?

Why isn't software, etc., forward compatible? Or, absent that, why does my
new laptop not give me a choice of XP over Vista?

Grrrr!

Sowwy...thanks for being tolerant....

 

[Richard G. Harper]

When you ask it that way, apparently it offers nothing you want or need; so
I doubt anyone's going to try to sell you on it. Check the Vista web site
at microsoft.com if you want feature details and demos of Vista.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* NEW! Catch my blog ... http://msmvps.com/blogs/rgharper/
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* The Website - http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Can anyone tell me what Vista offers over XP except problems? My scanner
doesn't work, Outlook doesn't work...it's a main pain and I'm so frustrated I
could scream. And for what?

Why isn't software, etc., forward compatible? Or, absent that, why does my
new laptop not give me a choice of XP over Vista?

You want someone to talk you into Vista?

Sorry, not me (although I'm personally very happy with Vista). If you
prefer XP, then run XP. It's entirely your choice.

 

[Guest]

Ken, is it really my choice? Thank you very much for your polite reply...but
how can I choose when this new latpot runs Vista? I do appreciate your
reply...honestly. But it doesn't seem to me that there is a choice.

And, to be honest, I never cared. XP..Vista...who cares. I had no problems
with XP and expected none with Vista. But problems appeared. What to do?

 

[Robert Firth]

Ok, lets skip the part where we convince you of the usefulness of Vista's
new features, and get to the real issue. I assure you that Vista is better,
it's just that nobody wants to be a salesperson and have to convince
everybody in the newsgroup about it's usefulness. We tried and some stick
around just to cause a scene. So, anyway, please provide more details about
your problems so that we may better help you.

So, what is the model of your scanner? Have you tried downloading the
correct drivers from the manufacturers website? That should do it, unless
the manufacturer has decided to discontinue it, which is an issue you need
to take up with them. What is wrong with Outlook? Telling us it doesn't work
doesn't help us because we can't see what you see. By Outlook do you mean
Outlook from Office 2007 or Outlook Express AKA Windows Mail? Or did you
miss that Outlook Express is now Windows Mail?

Robert Firth
http://www.winvistainfo.org

 

[Andrew McLaren]

Can anyone tell me what Vista offers over XP except problems? My scanner
doesn't work, Outlook doesn't work...it's a main pain and I'm so
frustrated I
could scream. And for what?

Why isn't software, etc., forward compatible? Or, absent that, why does
my
new laptop not give me a choice of XP over Vista?

Hi shsh,

There may be solutions for your specific Vista issues. Can you tell us:

- what make and model of scanner do you have? and in what way does it not
work?

- what version of Outlook are you running, and what problem do you have?

Perhaps we can help relieve some of the pain ...

On a more general note - Microsoft does not break backwards compatibilty for
no good reason. In fact, they go to extreme lengths to preserve
compatibility for old applications. Although it's not visible to the end
user, there's a engine running inside Vista - the shimeng.dll and
apphelp.dll DLLs - whose sole purpose is to tweak Vista in various small
ways, so that many popular, older applications can continue running in the
new Vista environment. This "shim engine" adds support for literally
hundreds of applications which otherwise would not run on Vista. Designing
and maintaining the shim engine is a major dev project - reflecting
Microsoft's commitment to compatibilty. The compatibility shims are also
updated via Windows Update, as shims for additional applications become
available from Microsoft.

However .... for years, Microsoft has been heavily criticised (perhaps
rightly) for not being strong on security. In the Vista release, Microsoft
have taken security very seriously. Which has paid off, Vista is an
operating system which is actually secure enough to survive in today's
lethally virulent networked environment (and secure enough to compete with
rival operating systems). By and large this is a Good Thing; because in the
past, users had been stuck in a continuous, expensive struggle to maintain
computer security in the face of security weaknesses in those earlier
versions of Windows. The struggle to stay secure is by no means over, but it
is easier, less costly, and less time consuming on Vista. A side effect of
this improved security is that some applications will no longer run on
Vista - mainly apps which which were developed using unsafe, insecure
practices which are now deprecated.

 

[Guest]

For me, Windows Vista is the best operating system than Microsoft has had.
Probably, your computer does not fulfill the minimum requirements of
hardware, or you have not formed the services of form adapted for the
optimization of resources. I recommend to see this site:
http://www.blackviper.com/WinVista/servicecfg.htm

 

[Curtis D. Levin]

(SNIPPED)

However .... for years, Microsoft has been heavily criticised (perhaps
rightly) for not being strong on security. In the Vista release,
Microsoft have taken security very seriously. Which has paid off, Vista is
an operating system which is actually secure enough to survive in today's
lethally virulent networked environment (and secure enough to compete with
rival operating systems). By and large this is a Good Thing; because in
the --(Snipped) Andrew McLaren
amclar (at) optusnet dot com dot au

Yeah, you know, it was foolish of MS, and the internet
in general, to believe in their naivete; the internet
is more hostile that a Baghdad Starbucks
at lunch hour.

Ever think for a second that if there wasn't any
internet, that there would be any security issues?

We blame MS for not building a tank of an OS.
If first person shooters were really good, we
could probably find a way to blast offending posters
back to the days of BBSes. Then the internet would
be safe again for righteous God fearing oil barons
and the junkies who made them prosperous.

On a more serious note, I think that Microsoft made an
OS that was supposed to be for interaction and
enjoyment. Ease of use. Man, they got annointed quickly
in the ways of the world.

If the programmers at Microsoft were to really retaliate,
it would be over in a flash. Instead, they are putting up
shields and warning off the romulans. But be certain, the
photon torpedoes are there. Most of the hackers who
do what they do live in a world where they fear no
retaliation. But if the powers that be ever catch up to
them, they'll be reading pop up picture books to their
cellmate bubba. Really. I mean, what else is Microsoft
supposed to do? It's not their fault they are being
attacked. They never thought for a second that they
would encounter such hostilities. And can anyone
tell us why?

Curtis

 

[ceed]

Can anyone tell me what Vista offers over XP except problems? My scanner
doesn't work, Outlook doesn't work...it's a main pain and I'm so frustrated I
could scream. And for what?

Why isn't software, etc., forward compatible? Or, absent that, why does my
new laptop not give me a choice of XP over Vista?

Grrrr!

Vista is all about new memory management and a rock solid OS core.
Best Windows ever under the hood! But then there's all the fluff on
top, but that can be removed if you know how.

I like Vista after having sworn I never would upgrade. Then my laptop
died and the new one had Vists of course. I guess the man upstairs had
decided it for time for me to move on up.....to Vista that is.

//ceed

 

[Lang Murphy]

Can anyone tell me what Vista offers over XP except problems? My scanner
doesn't work, Outlook doesn't work...it's a main pain and I'm so
frustrated I
could scream. And for what?

Moving to any new Windows OS has always involved the issue of possibly
having hardware that doesn't have drivers for the new OS. Same thing with XP
when it first appeared. No different with Vista.

Why isn't software, etc., forward compatible?

Hahaha... you're kidding, right? Why doesn't the TV I bought 5 years ago
support HDTV?

Or, absent that, why does my
new laptop not give me a choice of XP over Vista?

As others have responded... need more details on the scanner and any error
msg's Outlook is throwing. Is it Outlook you're using, or Windows Mail? If
Outlook, is this a corporate laptop or a personal laptop?

If I remember correctly, and that's a long shot ;-)... when XP first
appeared, -some- vendors shipped a PC with the option to select either W2K
or XP during the initial setup. Once either was selected, the other option
"went away." I can only assume that that capability was offered by the OEM
and not MS. Also can only assume that MS didn't want that type of option
available with Vista as I have not seen or heard of any boxes offering the
selection of XP or Vista during initial setup of new PC's.

Grrrr!

Yeah... understand your frustration. You may have to buy a new scanner. (And
maybe not...) As to your Outlook problem, more details must be disclosed to
enable anyone here to offer sustentative suggestions.

Lang

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Ken, is it really my choice? Thank you very much for your polite reply...but
how can I choose when this new latpot runs Vista? I do appreciate your
reply...honestly. But it doesn't seem to me that there is a choice.

Sure there is. All you needed to do was order the laptop with WinXP on
it, rather then meekly taking whatever was first offered to you by the
vendor.




--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Sure there is. All you needed to do was order the laptop with WinXP on
it, rather then meekly taking whatever was first offered to you by the
vendor.

I must have missed shsh's reply earlier. Not only is what Bruce says
correct, but if that particular laptop wasn't available with Windows
XP (or whatever operating system he wants), then he should have chosen
a different one.

Worst case, if one buys a computer that comes with Vista on it, he
still has the choice of taking it off and putting whatever operating
system he wants on it instead.