More bad news for Microsoft: Vista still sucks!

Published on September 23rd, 2007

Posted by SN in General

First, there is news that OEMs are still demanding XP for their customers:

While Microsoft is still pushing Vista hard, the company is quietly allowing PC makers to offer a “downgrade” option to buyers that get machines with the new operating system but want to switch to Windows XP.

The program applies only to Windows Vista Business and Ultimate versions, and it is up to PC makers to decide how, if at all, they want to make XP available. Fujitsu has been among the most aggressive, starting last month to include an XP disc in the box with its laptops and tablets.

Second, Vista still sucks for gaming:

I had thought that if I threw enough hardware at Windows Vista that I would get similar gaming performance to that of Windows XP – I was wrong.

Windows Vista went RTM back in November of last year and it was released to the public at the end of January and things have improved considerably over the intervening months. More Vista compatible hardware has been released and many companies have been continually releasing updated drivers in an attempt to squeeze as much power from the new OS as possible. However, testing seems to suggest that Vista has a long way to go to before it can match XP.

Over at the PC Doc HQ we’ve been carrying out some testing on the quad-core systems that we built a little while ago (parts list here). The testing that we carried out was relatively simple but proved (to us at any rate) that XP is still much better when it comes to gaming that Vista.

And lastly Microsoft is still breaking its promises of downloadable “extras” for Vista Ultimate users…

Tomorrow is the beginning of the fall and end of summer 2007. That means time is running out for Microsoft’s promise to release new extras to Vista Ultimate users.

37 users responded in " More bad news for Microsoft: Vista still sucks! "

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# 1 Max Bell said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 4:15 am

And thus the real reason behind the string of high level defections from the Bush Administration. They’ve gone to work for Microsoft’s PR arm.

“The reason Vista sucks is you’re not cheering hard enough.”

# 2 xwing71 said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 4:33 am

I always wondered how the Microsoft saga would end. Apparently with a whimper called Vista and a money pit called the Xbox 360.

# 3 Petrov said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 5:10 am

Doesn’t Vista require encryption across the graphic’s interface? I seem to remember This Week in Tech discussing this a few months back. Hardware manufacturers need a lot more horsepower on the graphic cards to decrypt the databus. If true, that would explain the lag in game performance on Vista these days.

# 4 gquaglia said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 5:18 am

And lastly Microsoft is still breaking its promises of downloadable “extras” for Vista Ultimate users…

That’s great! I wonder how many morons shelled out $500 for the Ultimate Edition when all they got, Ultimately, was crap!!

# 5 Mike said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 5:21 am

#3, that whole little rant by the New Zealand ‘expert’ who claimed that vista was slowed down by up to 50% thanks to the secure paths and stuff like that has been thoroughly debunked.
As for those who like to winge that their stuff runs slower under Vista than XP, well we just have to remember that EVERY version of Windows ran slower than its predecessor. We’ve known this since the days of 3.11
Thay big difference this time is the extremely long time between XP and vista (almost 7 years). Of course things are going to get tweaked one hell of a lot in 7 years to run optimally. If it takes 7 years for the successor to vista to arrive we’ll be seeing exactly the same thing, and hear more of the pathetic wingers complaining about it in 2014 as well!

# 6 Mike said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 5:22 am

Oh, ‘yes’ the ultimate extras thing is annoying, but its not like anyone actually uses the vastly annoying DreamScene as their background is it?

# 7 jasontheodd said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 5:27 am

#2,

Hey now, they have the ZUNE to save them. How did they come up with the name anyway? Combine zoo and June? Or just any word that rhymed with pontoon?

# 8 Cinaedh said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 5:28 am

This will be Micro$oft’s finest hour!

Forcing hundreds of millions of people to purchase a horrendously expensive, grossly inferior operating system they neither want nor need will go down in history as one of the greatest monopoly marketing coups of all time.

# 9 bobbo said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 5:28 am

Given the more available mods that can be made to XP–what can Vista do that XP cannot? M$ needs more money, so they issue another OS. Planned obsolescense is the model in a consumer economy.==BUT seriously, what does Vista do that a modified XP can’t? I can think of 2

1. Designed to work with DRM so that copyrighted material will play on large screen TV’s (yes I know, it fixes crap added on purpose)

2. More secure in a way average users cannot observe and won’t appreciate.

Anything else?

# 10 MikeN said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 6:28 am

XP worked pretty well on its first version. The wireless configuration upgrade was probably the most useful other than the security fixes.

# 11 paddler said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 6:36 am

Microsoft should make XP their business class Windows version and make Vista their home version. Its going to happen whether they choose to do it or not but at least they could claim another “innovation” by pretending that was their plan all along.

# 12 dusan maletic said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 6:45 am

#5, there is one big difference switching between all previous Win versions and step to Vista: I switched between (almost) all of them Win 3->Win95->Win98->Win 2000->Win XP. At the every step I switched quite early (never longer than 3 months from the release). Many times by purchasing the new OS for my old system. After every switch, all my existing hardware worked perfectly if not better with the new OS. Now I haven’t switched to Vista even 9 months later as none of my 3 printers, scanner two digital cameras and even the webcam work with Vista! My NVIDIA video card still doesn’t have certified driver too.
Reason for this? MS decision to integrate DRM, mostly. Exactly as “debunked” NZ expert said. Particularly true for video cards as neither major manufacturer (ATI, NVIDIA) has “certified” driver yet… Guess why? It have been proven that MS DRM requirements are engineering equivalent of “squaring the circle” – you can request it but you can’t really deliver. Thus, MS can’t pass the blame on manufacturers, this is MS fault.
Finally, market is speaking… Never before did it happen that MS pushed back “killing” of the old OS from the manufacturing lines for so long.

# 13 TIHZ_HO said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 8:01 am

Isn’t picture of the Kool Aid Man on the wrong post?

He should be on the one above this on saying “Global Warming!”

Cheers

# 14 John Scott said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 8:47 am

I think Microsoft and maybe Apple with its new Leopard. Have missed the point about Operating Systems. I would have to think most user want to see speed increases before looks and the eye candy like Areo.
What I have seen go on is for every speed increase from hardware makers the OS just takes up the slack. What good is buying that new machine if its not going to be faster? Who wants this eye candy anyway? I would rather have Microsoft try and secure XP better than come out with Vista and start all over again. So I wonder if Vista basic fairs any better? I see most test comparing Premium Vista to XP.
Maybe Basic Vista has a bit more speed.

# 15 Axtell said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 9:06 am

Come on, enough with the vista bashing. Vista ’sucks’ for gaming? The article you link does exactly ZERO baseline testing, has no frame rate comparison, just using the ‘testers’ eye to say which was better.

Are you that desperate to prove MS wrong that this crap is a post?

# 16 Smith said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 9:26 am

Well, I just had my first exposure to Vista. Bought a Dell laptop that only came with Vista. (I seriously considered another model because it came with XP, but it wouldn’t take a decent graphics card.) Took the unit out of shipping box, plugged it in, turned it on and Viola! . . . the EULA came up but the touch pad wouldn’t work. So I hit the power button to restart . . . I have now spent three hours with Dell support trying to reload the OS. Each time, after 90 minutes of reloading, the screen just goes black — but at least the touch pad works.

Trying to work up the energy for another go with Dell customer support. I hope they give in and just send me XP.

# 17 Lauren the Ghoti said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 9:50 am

.
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[chuckle]

# 18 Gregory said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 10:34 am

“just using the ‘testers’ eye to say which was better.”

Which, at the end of the day, is the most important factor. Unless you’re a geek that is just interested in raw figures (I admit it, sometimes I am) it’s how it looks and feels that is most important.

Which is why, much to my regret, console gaming is now a better experience than PC gaming. It’s a more fun time, with less pissing around.

Sad, because some of my favourite genre’s (point & click adventures, RTS, and stragegy) suck on the console.

# 19 NappyHeadedHo said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 10:42 am

There is no Vista bashing when you realize what Vista is. It is Windows ME with turd polish.

# 20 ECA said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 12:54 pm

WANt to make this work??
DEAR MS,
Vista sucks and so do most of your Vista ONLY apps…
Please revise and OPEN the system to use by Linux so we can run games.
Why dont you compartmentalize your OS, and programs ONLY to run what is needed, and When it is needed.
any system from the C64, can run office type programs, we dont need or want 60% of the extra’s you keep adding.
The only reasons to Need/want MORE speed in a computer is for GAMES. Your systme is a HOG and does more then it needs to.
You have played with DX10 to make it incompatible with Everything hardware and software, then came out with DX10.1 which is incompatible with DX10 and everything ELSE. You also havent been making the port program to Port over Linux based games for the BIGGEST market you have, GAMES. The only reason for a more powerful system is GAMES.
At least give us the chance/ability to PLAY our games. Create 1/2 the HD to Linux can READ and write to the system.

# 21 OmegaMan said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 1:24 pm

XP wasn’t so stellar its first year out…but that doesn’t make it right. I would have been more impressed if the game tester had an alternate system with a different brand of video card. Frame rate has many factors, but he software for the video card certainly plays a big factory…..

# 22 ECA said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 1:34 pm

What is MS doing?

They are trying to control your computer.
AS with consoles they wish to be the ONLY distributor of the software and games.
It wont matter WHO makes the game you will have to go thru MS to have it RUN on Vista. They will get to place there Name on your product, and even Manipulate it so it CAN work, because they wont tell you HOW vista works…Some little dongle someplace will make it a PAIN/Hassle to get anything to run on vista.

# 23 woodie woods said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 2:05 pm

used to beta test for fum, Vista broke me of the habbit. used linux to X vista so that I could take over control and then loaded XP.

# 24 pedro said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 2:30 pm

#15 vista sucks. Deal with it.

# 25 m.r. said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 3:06 pm

I am holding on to XP for another few years then will probably switch to Mac OS panther. by then it should have mosts of the bugs solved.
you would think that with more sophisticated chips etc, that the genius’
at MS would simplefy the process so that the chip did much of the
work rather than the confused user. I think that MS needs a new OS
that can convert old programs and folders to new OS where needed.
I can forsee that Mac will get the idea sooner and give MS a good fight.

# 26 OvenMaster said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 3:07 pm

C’mon, people. Buy your own full version copy of XP in either Home or Professional flavor before they’re all gone. They won’t be around forever, and unactivated discs will only go up in price as time goes by.

# 27 Luke said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 5:18 pm

Actually, it’s not so bad. If you’ve been unfortunate enough to get a computer running Vista, there’s a website you can go to where you can download and burn a CD image that will make your computer run faster, it will install an office suite for you, a better browser than IE, AND you won’t get viruses.

http://www.ubuntu.com

# 28 MikeN said, on September 23rd, 2007 at 6:27 pm

Whatever happened to Microsoft Bob? I hear this was their best operating system ever, and they discontinued it and forced people into inferior products.

# 29 Atomic Bitchwax said, on September 24th, 2007 at 5:56 am

Whatever happened to Microsoft Bob? I hear this was their best operating system ever, and they discontinued it and forced people into inferior products.

Bob wasn’t discontinued, it was just incorporated into other products.

IIRC, Melinda Gates was the project manager for Bob. It’s not any more like to go away than Basic. (Bill Gate’s personal project.)

# 30 Jim Shaffer said, on September 24th, 2007 at 7:19 am

Bill Gatus of Borg(Microsoft) reminds us continously…

Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated.

Anybody remember the poster in Boardwatch Mag?

# 31 OhForTheLoveOf said, on September 24th, 2007 at 10:41 am

#8 – Forcing hundreds of millions of people to purchase a horrendously expensive, grossly inferior operating system they neither want nor need will go down in history as one of the greatest monopoly marketing coups of all time.

Comment by Cinaedh — 9/23/2007 @ 5:28 am

Well… I did want it… I just wanted it to not be horrendously expensive or grossly inferior.

What I want more is DX10 released for XP and not doing so is a slap against gamers.

# 32 OhForTheLoveOf said, on September 24th, 2007 at 10:55 am

#17 – What are you laughing about? Even if Vista is broken, it still does more than any Apple OS.

Apple can’t game. What else is there to say after that?

# 33 ECA said, on September 24th, 2007 at 1:07 pm

NOW,
the hard part…
TRYING to get this knowledge to the NON-Geeky…
Try to get enough info into their little heads to make a PUNCH in the gut of MS.
If we could make it known, well enough to others to understand, THAT vista ISNT a choice…that any DELL/HP/Compaq, with a All ready installed OS of Vista, ISNT a nice thing, and to call and TELL them that want an ALTERNATIVE…is the only way to let the market KNOW, that we KNOW, that THEY know, that we know, this is a PIECE of CRAP.

# 34 Jane Quatam said, on October 23rd, 2007 at 7:18 pm

Apparently the Titanic has sprung a wee bit of a leak. While Vista is buggy, bloated, slow and expensive, it is also unnecessary. Pile this on to the other recent M$ successes like office 2007, IE7 and the wonderful new Zune2 (now available in BLACK!) and one could plot the future of the company on any interface that supports a downward spiral, like say a paper airplane fer instance.

If you stick your finger in the socket once and you get shocked it could be an anomaly, but if you do it 5 times, I’m pretty certain you’ve got a trend forming.

Microsoft is crapped out, intellectually, concept wise, SOL and the marketing department has caught the bug as well, hence such breakthroughs as the “squircle” on the new Zune2 – “the pain continues” line.

As the sun slowly sinks in Redmond,we see Bill Gates in Silouette lighting a cigar with his last 100 dollar bill, is that a tear in his eye?

# 35 Jay J said, on October 24th, 2007 at 9:56 am

As far as I can tell from my own personal experiences vista is just not worth it. In the fall of 2006 I purchased a new computer a dual core XP it was very exciting for me its the first computer Iv had with a dual core CPU with DDR2 RAM this PC made me say WOW this is awsome dual core DDR2! The only thing I could think was this is super nice for a XP. Ok now to the point in the second week in Feb. I went to the local wal-mart picked up vista home premium for $160 did a clean install my jaw dropped when I saw it using 800MB RAM just at the desktop WTF! hmmm… oh gee thats great its pegging both CPU cores at 100% WOW see I knew vista had a WOW that they advertised as in WOW this is a complete P.O.S. so being wise I found the recovery XP disc that I made and put the original OS back on now the RAM is roughly 300MB used and the CPU core at about 0-1% idle ok thats better. Why does vista need so much RAM just idling? No im not talking super fetched I mean actual usage. Why does my dual core AMD 3800+ hit 100% for no reason? Why does my hard drive constantly thrash? 2GB RAM should be enough right? with a 7600GT GPU.
So I give vista another try a few weeks ago I purchased a extra 2GB RAM for a total of 4GB thats right 4GB RAM WOW WOW WOW! Also purchased a 8500GT 256MB GDDR3 for the DX10 I like to game.
Lets do some math
Vista $160
Extra RAM $200
DX10 card $110
And its still junk pure garbage ITS NOT WORTH IT I STILL HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS crazy cpu hoggish memory usage HD thrashing.
Gaming is horrible even if I put in the 7600GT. Microsoft says it supports 4GB RAM get ready for another vista WOW when you discover 3.50GB total WOW WOW WOW.
XP is back on my PC again I removed the extra 2GB ram you see XP only needs 1 or 2GB RAM to be happy and my 3800+ dual core has plenty of muscle. I will not be going back to vista. XP will be on this PC forever Im very upset with microsoft. Lot of money down the drain. I guarantee you my next computer will not have a microsoft OS on it!

My honest thoughts VISTA is Windows ME with turd polish!
Microsoft you have lost be as a customer. I hope you have fun with the money I gave you.

# 36 Humpty Dumpty said, on December 6th, 2007 at 1:56 am

I have found a total cure for all Vista problems – I have wiped hard-drive and installed LINUX! The best yet, and as a free big bonus, I have also regained total control of my PC – without “Big Brother” watching every move!
HD

# 37 Narf said, on September 8th, 2008 at 12:00 am

Fuck Microsoft. Just Pirate the fuck out of XP Pro and tell Bill Gates how he can kiss your ass.

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