RSS Feed
Print Story
E-mail Story
Windows Vista vs. XP? You decide what's best
| Friday, Jul 4 2008 12:00 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Jul 3 2008 11:55 AM
Usually when people hire a computer technician, it’s because they want to fix a broken computer or install an upgrade.
BAKERSFIELD.COM HOT TOPICS:
Loading Stories
Advertisement
Related Stories:
But local independent computer technician David Ojeda has clients who have actually paid him to perform a software downgrade. That’s how much some clients hate Windows Vista, the operating system Microsoft Corp. introduced last year along with a new version of Microsoft Office.
“A lot of people have problems with it,” said Ojeda, 21, of Bakersfield. “I’ve encountered a lot of bugs and it’s harder to network things.”
Ojeda doesn’t have Vista on his computer, and he doesn’t recommend it for clients unless they can afford high-end computers with enough power to accommodate it.
Soon, though, users will have little choice. As of Monday, Windows XP was phased out. Retailers can sell existing inventory, but they won’t get any more.
It’s a move designed to nudge XP loyalists to Vista, but some will only go kicking and screaming.
Microsoft declined an interview, but directed a reporter to a Web site with information about the merits of Vista and positive feedback the company has received.
In a January poll it commissioned of 6,000 PC users in five countries including the United States, a majority of those who used Vista said it was safer and allowed them to do more with their computers than previous operating systems, according to a Microsoft news release.
The survey also found that more than 85 percent said Vista made it easier to use advanced features such as gaming, managing pictures and video, and monitoring Internet use.
Still, the resistance is enough of an issue that Microsoft is allowing computer makers to sell computers to business clients with both operating systems. The company said it was trying to assist buyers with extensive networks who need more time to make the transition.
“People who have busy lives don’t want to have to learn to use a whole new interface when they weren’t that good at the old one to begin with,” said Bakersfield computer technician David Campbell.
Many also are annoyed that Vista is not compatible with older hardware and software. Vista might not work with certain printers, scanners or game consoles, for instance, so buyers may have to upgrade all of those, too.
Ditto for related software. Excel, PowerPoint and Word files created on Microsoft Office 2007 cannot be read by users of older versions of the programs unless users download a compatibility pack.
Even more important is Vista is a very greedy consumer of memory and hard drive space, said Barry Bailey, center dean at DeVry University, Bakersfield.
“If you purchase a lower end machine — less than 1 gig of RAM for example — Vista will run much slower as the program is more robust in terms of the size of the software,” he said.
If you are going to purchase a new machine and run Vista, Bailey recommends at least 2 gig of RAM, which “of course raises the cost of the machine.”
On the upside, he said, Vista has some new features that are nice.
The system looks for drivers when new hardware is installed (Plug and Play in the old days) and will actually search the Web for driver updates.
Bailey added that “the firewall is excellent and provides much more security against potential threats.”
Still, for his part, he’s holding off. “Bottom line: high cost, little value,” Bailey said.
Technician Campbell is so worried about being blamed for Vista’s idiosyncrasies that he’s seriously considering not accepting clients who use it.
“People start having issues with it after I’ve worked on their machines, and they assume it’s something I’ve done and want me to come back and do all this free work under warranty,” he said. “That costs me time and money.”