fazaal24
12-12-2006, 09:15 AM
Why should I upgrade to Vista?
By far the most resounding question Lifehacker readers had, the first answers I got were basically security, stability and new features - the same reasons you'd upgrade any piece of software. Vista takes advantage of next generation graphics, memory and disk technologies that make it faster, more secure and performant than any previous version of Windows. For gamers, Direct X 10 (Vista only) provides incredible graphics. For system administrators, Vista offers more control and "tweakability," if you will, for managing the system. Speaking of, here's a screengrab of Vista's new "Reliability Monitor" for sysadmins.
864
In short, MS simply wasn't able to give me the Single Killer Reason you should move to Vista. That doesn't mean you shouldn't, however - in my opinion, the move is worth the whole package of improvements and new features. Vista builds in things I've come to expect to work at the operating system level - like search, photo management and calendaring. Sure, these are all things I can get with Google Desktop, Picasa and Google Calendar, but I'm happy to have that stuff without those extra, third-party apps taking up CPU and memory. Plus, I'm a sucker for a good-looking operating system, and Vista does look and feel a lot nicer than XP.
How long will Microsoft support Windows XP?
You diehard XP lovers have a few more years. Microsoft supports operating system versions for 10 years. Since XP launched in 2001, MS will officially support it until 2011.
Does Windows Aero work across multiple monitors?
Windows Aero is a new technology that shows off Vista's multimedia capabilities with graphic effects and animated window manipulations that make the user interface pretty sleek. My lowly old graphics card couldn't handle Aero when I installed Vista RC 1, but sitting at the meaty PC's they let us play with up at Microsoft, I got to appreciate firsthand the translucent "glass" and slick animations Aero offers.
Aero is not enabled for Vista Home Basic (presumably so that Dell can sell computers for a few hundred bucks with low-end video cards and less RAM), and Aero will not turn on for machines without hardware that can support it. Courtesy of Microsoft, here's a little comparison of glass versus non-glass windows in Vista:
Should you upgrade to Vista right away?
Vista gets released on January 30th, 2007. Should you Windows enthusiasts run right out and get your upgrade? Well, during the course of my stay at MS, sitting at a brand new Alienware PC running a fresh install of Vista Ultimate, I managed to crash IE7. I kid you not. When I mentioned it to the MS folks, a developer mumbled something about the Flash plugin's "buffer overrun." Not being an OS developer (and hell, I do give those folks credit) I don't know much about how over or under one can run an operating system's buffers, but I do know this: while Vista is a worthwhile (and let's face it, inevitable) upgrade, you might give third party driver, plugin and software developers some time to catch up to Vista before you upgrade for a smooth, seamless experience.
By far the most resounding question Lifehacker readers had, the first answers I got were basically security, stability and new features - the same reasons you'd upgrade any piece of software. Vista takes advantage of next generation graphics, memory and disk technologies that make it faster, more secure and performant than any previous version of Windows. For gamers, Direct X 10 (Vista only) provides incredible graphics. For system administrators, Vista offers more control and "tweakability," if you will, for managing the system. Speaking of, here's a screengrab of Vista's new "Reliability Monitor" for sysadmins.
864
In short, MS simply wasn't able to give me the Single Killer Reason you should move to Vista. That doesn't mean you shouldn't, however - in my opinion, the move is worth the whole package of improvements and new features. Vista builds in things I've come to expect to work at the operating system level - like search, photo management and calendaring. Sure, these are all things I can get with Google Desktop, Picasa and Google Calendar, but I'm happy to have that stuff without those extra, third-party apps taking up CPU and memory. Plus, I'm a sucker for a good-looking operating system, and Vista does look and feel a lot nicer than XP.
How long will Microsoft support Windows XP?
You diehard XP lovers have a few more years. Microsoft supports operating system versions for 10 years. Since XP launched in 2001, MS will officially support it until 2011.
Does Windows Aero work across multiple monitors?
Windows Aero is a new technology that shows off Vista's multimedia capabilities with graphic effects and animated window manipulations that make the user interface pretty sleek. My lowly old graphics card couldn't handle Aero when I installed Vista RC 1, but sitting at the meaty PC's they let us play with up at Microsoft, I got to appreciate firsthand the translucent "glass" and slick animations Aero offers.
Aero is not enabled for Vista Home Basic (presumably so that Dell can sell computers for a few hundred bucks with low-end video cards and less RAM), and Aero will not turn on for machines without hardware that can support it. Courtesy of Microsoft, here's a little comparison of glass versus non-glass windows in Vista:
Should you upgrade to Vista right away?
Vista gets released on January 30th, 2007. Should you Windows enthusiasts run right out and get your upgrade? Well, during the course of my stay at MS, sitting at a brand new Alienware PC running a fresh install of Vista Ultimate, I managed to crash IE7. I kid you not. When I mentioned it to the MS folks, a developer mumbled something about the Flash plugin's "buffer overrun." Not being an OS developer (and hell, I do give those folks credit) I don't know much about how over or under one can run an operating system's buffers, but I do know this: while Vista is a worthwhile (and let's face it, inevitable) upgrade, you might give third party driver, plugin and software developers some time to catch up to Vista before you upgrade for a smooth, seamless experience.