Dell fixes Vista...

SLO-BOB · 04-21-2007, 04:00 PM

....by offering XP! Due to popular demand, Dell is selling XP machines again. Not a big surprise as Vista blows and computer companies are getting record returns of their product. I have bought, tried, and returned 2 Vista machines and can vouch for their suckiness. I finally sought out a "Geek" who verified much of what I already knew. He told me it will be awhile before Microsoft fixes Vista and told me to hobble along on my old stuff. Now I don't have to. I just ordered a Latitude 520 with XP Pro.

Yes!!

Mac guys- I just couldn't do it. Plus your new OS has been postponed and Geeks are also recommending holding off for now.

rcecale · rcecale's Garage

Bob,

Have to agree with you about Vista...so far.

Picked up a new HP laptop for my wife with Vista. So far the thing has been a royal PITA. Gonna let her work with it for a wjile...until she gets tired of having to figure stuff out all over again, and will then "upgrade" it to XP Pro. :-)

Randy

Joeaksa · 04-21-2007, 04:51 PM

Dell fixed Vista AND XP long ago when it offered computers with Linux...

rcecale · rcecale's Garage

I've tried a few flavors of Linux but just can't seem to get wrapped around it. Suse 9, Ubuntu and most recently, I downloaded an obscure (to me) version called Linux-XP which is supposed to appear pretty close to WinXP.

I'm not saying thee is anything wrong with Linux, but I'm slowly coming to a realization that maybe Linux just isn't for me.

Randy

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

I put WinXP Pro on my new Dell Inspiron 9400 because our company's VPN client will not run under Vista.

SLO-BOB · 04-21-2007, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rcecale
..until she gets tired of having to figure stuff out all over again, and will then "upgrade" it to XP Pro. :-)

Randy

Careful. The "Geeks" told me that the new hardware often does not like "backdating" to XP.

Linux- I know nothing about it. XP has worked so well for me for years that I'm resistant to change. My entire home office network is built around XP. It just works. I'm so happy Dell did this that I ordered a desktop to replace one of the older ones at home as well.

I figure this buys me about 2-3 years. By then, hopefully, something truly excellent will be available.

cool_chick · 04-21-2007, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by azasadny
I put WinXP Pro on my new Dell Inspiron 9400 because our company's VPN client will not run under Vista.

We've had issues with Outlook Webaccess too.....

Shuie · 04-21-2007, 05:32 PM

I can't believe I'm typing this, but I'll probably end up buying another Mac.

cool_chick · 04-21-2007, 05:36 PM

I was just looking at Dell's website. They're putting Vista with 512 mb RAM. What the hell is wrong with them?

(I can't seem to find the option to go to XP)

SLO-BOB · 04-21-2007, 05:37 PM

I think it speaks volumes that a company as big as Dell is re-releasing an old operating system. Vista just plain sucks. I heard the first SP will be HUGE. Bill Gates must be freaking.....or driving his 959.....or roaming his 35,000 sq ft mansion.......or laughing all the way to the bank.

SLO-BOB · 04-21-2007, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cool_chick
I was just looking at Dell's website. They're putting Vista with 512 mb RAM. What the hell is wrong with them?

(I can't seem to find the option to go to XP)

It's upper right after you click on what you (in general terms) want, i.e. laptop, desktop, etc. Look for the XP logo and click.

512 for Vista?? Will it even turn on? I had a Vista machine with 1g RAM and it barely did anything. Another one with 2g RAM still sucked.

YTNUKLR · YTNUKLR's Garage

I have a Mac, and I've been extremely pleased with it. I don't want to start a war, but what do Mac bashers use as ammunition??

cool_chick · 04-21-2007, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SLO-BOB
It's upper right after you click on what you (in general terms) want, i.e. laptop, desktop, etc. Look for the XP logo and click.

512 for Vista?? Will it even turn on? I had a Vista machine with 1g RAM and it barely did anything. Another one with 2g RAM still sucked.

Ahh, found it. Thanks.

Yeah, they're nuts. I wouldn't consider less than 2 g. I would probably start selling at 1g, but me personally, as a buyer, I wouldn't consider less than 2. IIRC, Vista requires 1g. Wonder why Dell is selling 512 with Vista....????

SLO-BOB · 04-21-2007, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by YTNUKLR
I have a Mac, and I've been extremely pleased with it. I don't want to start a war, but what do Mac bashers use as ammunition??

I had an i-book 2 or so years ago. It wasn't so much the OS I had issue with as the hardware. I burned out a bunch of logic boards pretty much immediately and in rapid succession. My laptop spent more time at Apple than my house. After 4 months of torture they replaced it with a new one. I promptly sold it on Ebay. Other than that, I don't like them because they are expensive as well as sold out by using an Intel chip. Wtf?

Fwiw-Had Dell not offered XP, I probably would have gone to a Macbook.

Rot 911 · 04-21-2007, 05:49 PM

I bought a Toshiba Satellite laptop about a month ago with 1g ram and Vista and have had no problems at all with it. Got a warning about a compatibility problem with my printer, but the printer works just fine. Maybe I just got lucky.

Purrybonker · 04-21-2007, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rcecale
Bob,

Have to agree with you about Vista...so far.

Picked up a new HP laptop for my wife with Vista. So far the thing has been a royal PITA. Gonna let her work with it for a wjile...until she gets tired of having to figure stuff out all over again, and will then "upgrade" it to XP Pro. :-)

Randy

not sure why all the handwringing over Vista. PITA? How so? Of four PCs in the house I now have 2 on Vista 32bit, one on Vista 64bit and one left on XP Pro. I really, really prefer Vista to XP by a landslide, I can see no reason whatsoever to prefer XP other than it's the "old pair of shoes". XP certainly feels like a stinky old pair of sneakers after using vista for a while.

Vista is quicker to boot and has a number of operating efficiencies (given adequate RAM) over XP and has been relatively (compared to XP) trouble free since it's broad release. I simply like the user interface (eg aero) and appearance better than XP. 64 bit Vista will certainly be a charm when software (games) catches up - big bump in OS RAM recognition.

The only negative about Vista I've found is non-compatibility with my old Epson scanner (I blame Epson for not offering a driver). Also, I'm disappointed in OEM makers like ASUS and nVidia for being unreasonably slow out of the gate with drivers and properly configured hardware for Vista - particularly 64bit. Even MS is slow in properly supporting the 64 bit version though.

Halm · 04-22-2007, 04:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SLO-BOB
I think it speaks volumes that a company as big as Dell is re-releasing an old operating system. Vista just plain sucks. I heard the first SP will be HUGE. Bill Gates must be freaking.....or driving his 959.....or roaming his 35,000 sq ft mansion.......or laughing all the way to the bank.

Let's be clear. Microsoft has no plans to drop XP until 12-31-07. This was a Dell decision to try to force Vista.

And why is Vista such a PITA??? Because MS caved in to all the whiners out there that their O/S's weren't "secure." Starting with Vista, Exchange 2007 and Longhorn Server, they made the philosophical change from easy to use (ie "insecure") to "secure" (ie totally screwed up).

Good news / bad news??? Who knows. But as of now, Vista is not what anyone wanted, that's for sure.

SLO-BOB · 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Purrybonker
not sure why all the handwringing over Vista. PITA? How so?

Vista is quicker to boot.

This is true. I enjoyed the quick boot-up of Vista. Unfortunately, restarts were glitchy. Sometimes (on 2 different laptops) the restart would freeze. I had to force a shutdown.

has been relatively (compared to XP) trouble free since it's broad release.

WRONG wrong wrong wrong. How you formed this opinion I can't even imagine. Walk into any computer retailer, find an honest, knowledgeable computer guy and he'll tell you the truth. There has been a deluge of returned Vista machines. The general public hates Vista - and not because we're all idiots. It sucks. Vista was released too soon and MS's focus has changed to security and copywrite issues-not user friendly and versitile OS's.

The only negative about Vista I've found is non-compatibility with my old Epson scanner (I blame Epson for not offering a driver). Also, I'm disappointed in OEM makers like ASUS and nVidia for being unreasonably slow out of the gate with drivers and properly configured hardware for Vista - particularly 64bit. Even MS is slow in properly supporting the 64 bit version though.

My two were incompatible with pretty much anything I threw at them including new software that proclaimed itself "For Vista!". It wouldn't consistently communicate with my home network, and it won't work with pretty much all of my software. I was particularly offended by the pop up message stating that my programs were being "blocked" when I tried to load them because Microsoft deemed them unsuitable. It was glitchy beyond reason, and even those that sell it say to wait 6 months. My bet is it still blows then.

SLO-BOB · 04-22-2007, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Halm
Let's be clear. Microsoft has no plans to drop XP until 12-31-07. This was a Dell decision to try to force Vista.

While that may be true, try to find anyone selling an XP machine. I looked and found none until Dell offered it as an option - And that was a recent move on their part. I checked 2 weeks ago and all they sold were Vista machines.

Halm · 04-22-2007, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SLO-BOB
While that may be true, try to find anyone selling an XP machine.

Wrong. Most of my clients are Dell shops and none of them have had any problem getting boxes with XP.