Vista is up and out and about and in case you already didn’t know – there are serious Windows Vista pitfalls to look at when purchasing a copy of of the OS off the shelf, plus don’t even think of downloading a cracked version online.
Highly rumoured and now a reality is the Vista registration system – fail to register your copy of Vista within 30 days and you’ll find that your Aero interface and any Vista-esque features will be disabled. Couple the fact that you will only be able to switch on your now highly restricted machine for only and hour AND the only thing you’ll really be able to do is go online and register, you’d want to make sure you get it done from the outset. I’m guessing that this applies to copies of Vista bought directly off the shelf as opposed to being bundled into a dealer’s offer (e.g. Dell).
User Account Control looks to be a pain in the arse. I’ve got the beta release dual booting on my home machine and have had so since Microsoft opened it up to the public (by my records, June 17th). The beta release was prone to UAC popups at every change you were making – deleting certain files, installing drivers, changing Windows settings etc. which made some of the more advanced operations a real chore. While it has calmed down due to complaints and patches, there is still a bit of working to live a long and happy life alongside the new User Account Control setup.
Other issues do exists, some of which you’ll find here. Has anyone yet bought themselves a copy of Vista and can say they’re enjoying the experience so far?
The gas thing is, you could buy yourself a 5 license copy of OS X (Tiger) for the Mac for the around the price of the basic Vista license. Go figure!
So what’s the positive side of installing Vista?
Is the interface that much of an improvement over XP that I won’t just be turning it all off and going back to the familiar, clean, basic and faster ‘win95’ look (as I do with XP anyway)?
Thats a good question. Outside of the interface I can’t see a reason yet for me to push for a full vista installation. I’ve got IE7 and WMP11 on XP Pro, I also use Window Blinds so you can make it look and feel whatever way you like – only thing that I found interesting about Vista for the whole time I’ve had it is the change in appearance and the core logon screen. Beyond that, every time the dual boot menu comes up I actually opt for XP.