Upgrade to Vista SP1? I’d rather eat eggs!
By Ian GRAYSON
I faced a choice this Easter weekend. Should I spend time upgrading my Vista-based notebook to Service Pack 1, or relax and eat chocolate eggs. It wasn’t a difficult decision.
A quick scan of some major tech web sites and blogs was enough to convince me to take the planned upgrade off my “to do” list for at least the next couple of months. Reports of everything from annoying driver problems to blue screens of death made the risks just not worth any potential benefit.
At first I was a little annoyed as I had been looking forward to SP1 for some time, hoping it would fix some 'undocumented habits' that my primary work computer has had since I purchased it last year. I won’t bore you with the details, but they’ve included sluggish performance, an occasional inability to wake from sleep, and a propensity to freeze applications - much the same kinds of things that have been plaguing many Vista users around the world.
But then (probably after the second chocolate egg) the annoyance was replaced with a feeling of bewilderment. How can a company with the resources of Microsoft get an operating system so wrong? With massive development budgets, thousands of programmers and years to do it, how can a company deliver a product that is so comprehensively underwhelming?
A little later (halfway through the fifth egg, from memory) I recalled the writings of a range of commentators that were published when Vista was first launched. They had come to the conclusion that the reason Vista brought with it so many problems was that it was trying to do too much.
Rather than focusing on developing a lean operating system that is great at running a computer, Microsoft was intent on creating a massive chunk of software that did everything from photo editing to communications, security and search.
Instead of trying to fix this bloated monster, Microsoft needs to get back to the basics – creating an OS that is just an OS. Sure, offer other features as add-ons, but just make sure the underlying fundaments do the important tasks required of them. Not too much to ask, surely.
Will Microsoft ever do this? We can only hope. Meanwhile, I’m off to find another egg.
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13 comments
HAHAHAHAHA
You must be a Mac user.
just changed to Mac OS X. Yep, two methods of running my Windows programs - virtual machine, or dual booting with Windows.
I use the dual boot option to run MS Flight Sim X (20 fps - most options at max-1920x1200).
Use virtual machine for Quicken v8 (no real substitute for Mac, and Office 97 - fast, I own it, and I am used to it.
I thought XP SP2 was stable, until I used OS X. Call me a machead fanboy if you like. I am not regretting the shift. Keep your Vista, I'll stick with Mac.
"A quick scan of some major tech web sites and blogs was enough to convince me to take the planned upgrade off my “to do” list for at least the next couple of months. Reports of everything from annoying driver problems to blue screens of death made the risks just not worth any potential benefit."
Actually the opposite is true. There are complaints of "SP1 won't let me install as I have incompatible hardware/software" ! For the users able to install SP1 there should be less blue screens !
I've been using PC's since before windows was invented. The only time I have ever had a BSOD on any windows version has been when I have tried an incompatible driver or tried an ambitious overclock.
Scince using Vista x32 and Vista x64 I have never had a program freeze on me. Will all you linsux, macrap and other whinges please upgrade your dinasaur hardware/drivers before you have a belly ache. Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 runs all my x32 games/appz, speed, reliability, security are amazing the best operating system on the planet by a long way.
The comment on NT4 was quit correct. A great rock solid efficient OS. These days we have x64 cpu's and we still want to run x32 operating systems. Do yourself a favour and upgrade to Vista x64 you won't regret it.
"How can a company with the resources of Microsoft get an operating system so wrong?"
I suppose you have to imagine writing a flight control system for every single type of airplane, no matter where the engines, navigation systems, controllers and gubbins came from.
If MS made their own hardware this would probably not be an issue, hence why Apple's are considered more reliable.
If you buy hardware that is 100% certified by MS (such as HP machines) then the reliability is very impressive.
If you save money (and improve performance!) by having a machine built up, then you have a mish-mash of third-party hardware products. You expect them all to communicate seamlessly through drivers written by the individual hardware manufacturers? I believe most of your complaints should be directed at the drivers manufacturers, and it seems a little odd to pile the responsibility for compatibility at the door of MS.
I think it's easy for us techno-geeks to say "MS should go back to basics", but the truth is that 90% of their customers probably don't know how to format a floppy disk, many want to change themes to aquatic cursors, and most appreciate the 'fluff' included that we techies despise :)
If you want a really basic OS, go over to something like OpenBSD. As a techie you can edit your 5000 text based config files, and write your own driver for your six year old scanner. After all it's going to be far more stable than Vista, isn't it...?
They are, it's called Windows 7.
Lern2research
try linux with the Ubuntu distribution it's free, made by programmers free. best to read up on it first, happy Easter all.
http://computermaint.webs.com/articles.htm?blogentryid=3171044
I guess it's only news if it's negative though. Oh well. Keep on going, all you microsoft haters! It's real original and really shows that you know how to stick it to the man!
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Ian Grayson has been a technology journalist for more than 15 years. A former IT editor of The Australian newspaper, he now runs his own freelance business, crafting stories for a range of publications and web sites. He is intrigued by the power that technology wields in the world of work - both for better and for worse - and in this blog offers insights into what it all might mean.
