Besttechie Member Poll - Please Participate!

[Chappy]

Hello Besttechie Members!

We're just a very curious bunch here (read as - I'm very curious), and we would Love to find out just how many of you have made the jump to Vista already, or have plans to in the near Future.

If you choose "NO" for your first answer, you can also select one of the Other Choices if they Apply!

Also, we'd like to know if there's ANYTHING that we can do to help you with that decision, if you're having trouble making it. We know it's a big step sometimes, to go to a new Operating System, and especially one so different than what you're used to. We started the Windows Vista Tips, Tricks, & Tweaks Forum in part, to help our members that are thinking about switching to Vista, to see what it's like in a way. Plus to give our current Vista users a place to find all the little things that can be changed or how things can be done in Vista, and just to let you know where the heck everythings Moved To!!

If we get allot of members needing help to make the decision, we'll do something about that very quickly and probably start a thread where you can ask whatever questions you have, and we'll answer as best we can for you.

Please take a few seconds and answer our/my little Poll!

Thank You!!

[TheTerrorist_75]

I have no need for Vista. XP is supported until 2014. Who knows what will be out by then. My system is stable and doing everything asked of it. I for one am not impressed by the "additional security" woven into Vista. My system is well hardened against attacks. I also don't need the fancy graphics. XP is "pretty" enough for me. Heck, I actually like the old Win98 look.

[irregularjoe]

Hello Besttechie Members!

We're just a very curious bunch here (read as - I'm very curious), and we would Love to find out just how many of you have made the jump to Vista already, or have plans to in the near Future.

If you choose "NO" for your first answer, you can also select one of the Other Choices if they Apply!

Also, we'd like to know if there's ANYTHING that we can do to help you with that decision, if you're having trouble making it. We know it's a big step sometimes, to go to a new Operating System, and especially one so different than what you're used to. We started the Windows Vista Tips, Tricks, & Tweaks Forum in part, to help our members that are thinking about switching to Vista, to see what it's like in a way. Plus to give our current Vista users a place to find all the little things that can be changed or how things can be done in Vista, and just to let you know where the heck everythings Moved To!!

If we get allot of members needing help to make the decision, we'll do something about that very quickly and probably start a thread where you can ask whatever questions you have, and we'll answer as best we can for you.

Please take a few seconds and answer our/my little Poll!

Thank You!!

I voted "yes" and "no". The reasons being that I played with a few of the beta versions but have not actually installed the final release on any of my computers.

However,

I just spent two hours on the phone today with my S.O.'s sister guiding her through the process of picking out a laptop and then telling her how to back up her data from her piece of crap 700mHz PIII desktop.

Needless to say she is now getting Vista.

[hitest]

I voted no. My daughter has an XP Pro box at home that dual boots with Ubuntu Linux.

[Bubba Bob]

I have no need for Vista. XP is supported until 2014. Who knows what will be out by then. My system is stable and doing everything asked of it. I for one am not impressed by the "additional security" woven into Vista. My system is well hardened against attacks. I also don't need the fancy graphics. XP is "pretty" enough for me. Heck, I actually like the old Win98 look.

+1

I dont see a need in spending the money right now.

[bozodog]

"NO" and "In the near future", kicking and screaming........ I don't see a single thing Vista offers me to replace XP. My machine will run it fine, but why spend the $$$? I'm with TT, don't need security nags to keep my surfing safe. We are well locked down in this house.

Now, because SB is a geek, he will sooner than later get Vista to play with to prepare for the barrage of new users problems. Security? Wanna bet it'll be just a messed up as XP was.

[Dan72]

i was one of them that said no but i got a new laptop and it came with it but i like vista

the search feture is improved and security is to and i like how updates is served in a explorer window

Edited May 10, 2007 by Dan72

[shanenin]

I voted in the near future. I feel I need to get used to it, since I will be servicing people who have vista machines. Other then that reason, I personally have no desire to run it. If fact I would bet some of my software I own will not yet run on vista, that is a negative.

[sethook]

I said NO. I don't want to take the risk of making a change and loosing the Google Bot Ads. Makes me feel like I'm at G4 forums.

[garmanma]

I'm with the "No's" Don't need it and don't want it. I dual boot with Ubuntu also. If I do anything, I'll play around with other Linux distros

Mark

[novi]

This rig runs very stable now with XP. I have very few problems now. The price is a little much for me right now. I am looking forward to the next OS in the works right now by MS. I know XP will hold me til then (unless there is an unfortunate accident with both computers)

Take care,

Pat

[handplane]

Will stay xp pro for as long as I can.

[Honda_Boy]

This rig will never see Vista again. When my old Hard Drive failed, I installed Vista Beta 2 on a spare drive and no. Never again will this rig see it. Now when I build me a new rig with a Dual Core CPU, 2GB or more of RAM, and a GeForce 8 Series Video card then maybe. But seriously my Athlon 64 3500+ and 1GB of RAM do not like Vista. Then twin GeForce 7600GT's don't have much of a problem with it though aside from drivers.

[JSKY]

I dual boot with XP and Vista. But now that I figured out the changes Vista made. I hardly ever boot to XP anymore. I feel more confident with Vista as a good stable system. I never had any problems with any driver issues.

[JDoors]

When my current computer is more trouble to fix than to replace, I'll take whatever OS is on the new system. Could be next month, could be years from now. I have no desire to upgrade 'til then.

------

A long, long time ago I use to be an upgrade-aholic. I had to have every "zero-point-x" upgrade. Now, if it works, why upgrade?

Edited May 10, 2007 by JDoors

[blim]

I'm with many others....sticking with XP as long as I can because it works great for my needs. Daughter has XP Media Edition and I don't even like that as it has too many bells and whistles.

Liz

[Honda_Boy]

My friend has XP Media Center on her laptop and it's a monstrous pain in the butt. Constantly locks up on her. But then again it's a Dell that is usin the setup it came out of the factory with. I wouldn't let my HP laptop be like that. I wiped the HDD and immediately reinstalled windows when I got it so it wouldn't have all that HP crap on it.

[Besttechie]

I use it daily, I love it. It's a great OS. I wrote a small review on it, which I will probably write an addition to sometime.

http://www.besttechie.net/2007/02/06/windo...ltimate-review/

B

[rv56]

I'm with "In the near future"......

[Chappy]

WoW!!!!

I'm really pleased with the respone we're getting here, it's very revealing and very interesting!!!

Exactly what I was hoping we would see with this Poll, just what our members are thinking of concerning Vista and why you feel that way...either way.

I had a BIOS Flash that turned my last computer into a doorstop, it failed and would not recognize any bootable device no matter what I tried, so if you can't boot any device, your computer doesn't do much good does it.

I had to get an OEM machine because I didn't have the time or $$$ to build like I wanted to, so I got Vista preinstalled on it. I immediately went about modding the thing, even before I fired it up for the first time.

I had the entire guts out and even made changes to the skeleton so I could fit in all the newer stuff from my old box into this one. So I have 4 HDD's, total of 810G's of space, 2G's DDR2 PC2 4200 RAM, put in a 450W P.S, and a Sony DVD burner. I now have 2 DVD burners and one with LightScribe so I'm set there. Oh, I also stuck in a floppy drive too....you know that most new boxes don't have floppy drives anymore?? Stupid, I still see many uses for floppies for awhile yet.

Anyway, I really like Vista after getting used to it. I took the first 3 weeks and just read up on anything I could find online about it, every review and every tweak site, I hit at least 10 times. I looked in every corner of the thing and tried every feature I could find just to see what it would do. After all that I had to reinstall but I kinda knew I was going to get things buggered with everything I was doing to it, but that's one way to learn. Even tho I played with some of the early Beta builds, it was totally different than any of those still.

I absolutely LOVE the Aero interface, & the new Icons, they're soooo Cool!

I love the colors and themes I can try, I love color and can't STAND that drab W98 look myself. Too boring and flat, with all that "square" look on everything...yech. I was very happy to see XP had changed from that look, I was sick of it by that time and I played with different color themes in XP to my hearts content!

Vista gives me some new ways to play with how it looks along with all the ones introduced in XP, and I've already made 4 new themes I can switch between depending on how I feel.

But looks aren't all there is to Vista by any means. It has numerous very powerful and handy features that makes everyday computing faster, easier, and smarter. Security changes are well done and needed, some can be a bit annoying for Power Users but can be disabled if you're confident you can do without them. For newer users tho, it's a real life saver for them and shouldn't be changed until they're more secure minded & confident.

I also Loved my very stable XP install and still dual boot it, but not very often anymore. The more I use Vista, the more I like it and only my scanner needs XP to run. Unfortunately, AGFA doesn't support it's discontinued Consumer Product line and will NOT make Vista drivers, and they don't work with Vista.

Other than a few minor bugs now & then, I'm a Vista user now and will stay with it. It's secure, fairly stable and can only get better in that regard, works with most everything I have, programs and peripherals, looks great and feels great to use!

For all the Beta users who don't like it

Vista RTM Build 6000 is Nothing like the Beta's were, it's final build is much different and fixes many of the final little bugs of course. Vista changed extensively during it's Beta builds period and even from RC1 to the RTM is considerably different. Don't let the Beta's distort your View of Vista, I'm sure you'd be surprised how much it changed.

For those who are Considering it

Of course, it's expensive, and many with older machines will have trouble running Vista to a point. But you don't have to have the "Biggest or Best" new Graphics cards to run it properly either. That's a myth that Vista really needs powerful graphics to run, it can work just fine with integrated graphics machines.

I agree that if you're happy with XP that it doesn't make much sense to spend allot on upgrading the OS. However, don't put it off forever if you don't have to, it can do much for you in the near future, so if you get a chance to pick up a discounted copy someday, take it! Costs will go down as always, time can change many things.

For those who Hate It (without trying it)

Well, no changing your minds I guess, and I would never try to either. It's your decision and you're entitled to it, and it's not up to me to say anything about that. Just keep an open mind to things, you may find yourself using it someday....and enjoying it too..

Don't foget folks, whether you're using XP or an even older OS, and if you ever have any questions about Vista whether you're considering on getting it or not, DON'T HESITATE to ask one of us who have it, any questoins you may have!!

We're always here to answer your questions!

Thank You for taking part in our Poll, and Thanx for reading this all the way thru... ...ok, I'll shut up now

[bar5]

I just bought a new notebook, and Vista came on it. I upgraded Vista Basic to Premium before I finalized sale, with a few other extras.

I really like XP Pro, but this was a chance to learn Vista. I have only had it for 2 months, so am still trying to find things. Just saw your new section "Tips and Tricks Vista" article by JSKY on "Where is Everything?" Good article I have not read them all yet. Keep them coming.

Barb

[Besttechie]

I think Dave covered anything I would have said, so I'll just second his last post.

B

[Carnevil]

I'll eventually install Vista next year or so, but only if I really have to. XP is alright for my minor windows usage. Besides that I'm happy running my *nix.

[jamaicaman]

I voted no. My parents are the ones that buy the computers, i just use them. I know for sure they wont be buying a vista any time soon. I only got this XP im using here in 2005, and its still nice and stable, ill be just fine without Vista.

Frankly, we still use the old 98, but theres no internet on it.

-Joe

P.S. Im thinking about saving up money for a nice mac, but ima wait till i get a job first, since theyre so much money.

Edited May 11, 2007 by jamaicaman

[JDoors]

... Anyway, I really like Vista after getting used to it. I took the first 3 weeks and just read up on anything I could find online about it, every review and every tweak site, I hit at least 10 times. I looked in every corner of the thing and tried every feature I could find just to see what it would do. After all that I had to reinstall but I kinda knew I was going to get things buggered with everything I was doing to it, but that's one way to learn. Even tho I played with some of the early Beta builds, it was totally different than any of those still.

I absolutely LOVE the Aero interface, & the new Icons, they're soooo Cool!

I love the colors and themes I can try, I love color and can't STAND that drab W98 look myself. Too boring and flat, with all that "square" look on everything...yech. I was very happy to see XP had changed from that look, I was sick of it by that time and I played with different color themes in XP to my hearts content!

Vista gives me some new ways to play with how it looks along with all the ones introduced in XP, and I've already made 4 new themes I can switch between depending on how I feel. ...

Sounds familiar. That's how I used to feel about every "new & improved" upgrade. Ohhhh! Looky there! Ahhh! I can do THIS?

Been there, done that, who cares any more?

Is that THE sign I'm over the hill? I used to think THE sign was when someone said, "All cars look alike now, they sure don't make 'em like they used-ta!" I guess in the digital age it's, "I don't need no stinkin' Vista, old Betsy works just fine!"

As for all the "it's better here" and "it's better there," stuff, well, like I used to tell the Apple faithful when they'd flame the Windows boards, "So WHY are the forums for YOUR product JUST AS BUSY?" Huh? There are no end of questions about Vista, no end of stories about Vista crashing, etc. Whoop it up now, for the glow eventually, and always, dims.