Vista or XP?
 

My parents and I are thinking of getting a new computer,since ours is full of viruses and spywares.
We currently have an XP,so I would like your opinions.
Should we get a Vista or just get another XP and please give a reason for your answer.

2 years, and there won't be any software for Xp.

It doesn't sound like you need a new computer, it sounds like you just need some good antivirus/anti-spyware programs.

might as well get a new one. i imagine it may be quite dated if they are getting a new one.

For what your parents will probably use it for, Vista is ample.

what's sp1?
and in a year or 2, no xp software will come out.

SP1 = Service Pack 1.

Major updates for windows are released as service packs every so often, they usually have all the major updates released for that OS all rolled up into one install.

Xp Sp3 will come out next year and it will be 10% faster than much stable than Xp Sp2

Personally I see no real advantage in using Vista over XP. Vista is much easier to get hold of on OEM machines though, so the chances are you'll end up with it anyway.

Vista!
I was hated it before, cause...well, thats not important.
Vista is really good, all the games I've run on Vista run great.

List please? :p

The "issues" people have with Vista are, from my own personal experience, largely fictional. Do yourself a favor and just get Vista. There are a few compatibility issues but even those are minor. Only one I've had so far as been with the Nintendo WiFi connector though that is Nintendo's Fault, not Vista's.

So yeah, go Vista. I haven't had ANY real problems with Vista, at all.

Just go with Vista. It'll be better in the long run since eventually a lot of companies and what not are going to make software for Vista. Their future updates will help fix most of the oddities.

And if you ever plan to expand it for gaming, you have DX 10, so that's also good.

Vistargh

yeah, most of the games you see now, branded "Games for Windows" are built for Vista, though its still reletivly new and major patches still need to be released.

XP is good, but will go out of date eventually,

I would go with Vista

Vista... People complain about incompatibility and more taxing system requirements. They scream about bugs and errors all the time. The truth is half the people who say these things don't have Vista, they're just repeating what other people said to sound cool, or are just targeting MS with a personal vendetta. Taxing system requirements and incompatibility aren't bugs, they're what happens when: A- you run programs not originally written for Vista code, a lot will work, but some won't. Tough luck, not everything is going to be compatible, just like what happened with XP was released. or B- Your computer doesn't run it well due to no-so-good hardware. That's not MS's problem! That's yours! Buy another gig of RAM and stop running an 800mhz proc! Most home PC's going for 300 dollars or so run Vista fine! Plus it usually come preloaded!

I personally have not had any problems with Vista. I've experienced no bugs or errors, only incompatibility with some older, XP or earlier programs. This is not MS's fault. If you want compatibility, take it up with the software company that made it, and stop yelling at MS!

People can harp all they want about Vista but it's getting a bit old and people are starting to see through the lies of MS haters, rumor spreaders and the people who have no idea what they are talking about and have never written a bit of code in their life.

Vista will eventually become standard, whether we like it or not, so hold on to XP as long as you can if you're that stubborn, or get Vista and get with the program(bad pun , lol =p). In years to come, little programs will be written for XP, and MS's online support and updates will cease for it, being focuses on their new standard. DX10, a nicer interface, and some cool (and some completely useless and resource demanding, media center anyone?) features that come with it. You want to run some XP programs? Set up another partition and do dual boot, or by some cheap computer and slap your XP on that. Eventually, Vista will become standard. It's what happened with XP, and the same things were said about XP when it was released.

Bottom line, get over it!

The only complaint I have about Vista is driver support, and that's not MS's problem. It's the hardware companies problem! (Finding a good driver for my 8600m GT was like hell on wheels :lol: But the 169.09 beta drivers are like heaven!)

So yea, Vista...

I have run vista on several pcs here at home. I have said this a couple times, hardware.... If vista doesn't like the hardware, then you need to go with a driver it does like. Lol.... And you are right Geek, this is exactly what happened with 95, 98, nt, millennium and when xp was released, about it too... Time to get on then.... The only people on 98 now are those who, well... I don't see many anymore.

Use xp till it is dead, then you will get vista and be 5 years behind. Then when you are three years into vista, you will be 5 years behind the next os. Although that will only happen if Bill gates gets a copy of the new mac os that comes out at that point.... LOL
He can copy os's like no ones business. JK.

People are so funny...

Vista works great, simply put. There are a few annoyances that are simply just change. Its different from XP and thats why people don't like it, they don't get it. And drivers? Please, unless you have complete crap it will run on Vista! nVIDIA, realtek, ATi/AMD, and Intel hardware is fully supported under Vista through drivers. One thing I see people do when they install something is pop in drivers disks, STOP! WHY! GOD WHY! Those drivers are ALWAYS DATED! Go on to the websites and get the latest that support it! I always update my drivers as often as I can!

To be fair, you can't lay the blame for software incompatibility squarely on the shoulders of independent publishers. Operating Systems should, in theory, be backwards compatible, which is something Microsoft has never been good at. They're far too focused on new products (and the profit they bring) to worry about customers who still use older applications, which is never a good thing for the end-user.

For example, there is a vast library of 1980's era UNIX code that will still run on modern *nix-derived machines with very little effort. That's, what, 30 year's worth of applications? And yet Microsoft somehow manages to make programs that are barely 5 years old a complete headache to install or operate on their latest, shiny, 'superior' operating system.

That being said, all this stupid bickering over operating systems is getting very old, very quickly. Personally I could not care less what software you use - if you have XP or Vista, great. If you have a Mac, great. If you use Linux, or OpenBSD, or even SCO, great. As long as it works for you, it really doesn't matter in the end.

This is true. But people need to get over software incompatibility, nonetheless. It's happened before, and it will certainly happen again. I don't see why we need to make this any different. Believe me when I say I'm no fan of Microsoft, and they do make very large mistakes from a consumers point of view, but they deliver what they describe. Vista works fine, and incompatibility is just something people need to get over.

The only good thing about Vista is it's look and the fact that it can support DX10+

You can tweek XP to look (not 100%) like vista, and you can get all the desktop stuff as well.


Lolol, why don't you just install both?

Do you have XP already??Why do you want to another XP then??I don't get it.You could install that on the new computer

My parents only use it for checking their e-mails,everything else is of my use.

I personally like XP better myself, but in 1-2 years it won't be able to run any new game that comes out (as they will require DX-10), So Vista is a better choice and at some point they will get the kinks worked out of it just like in XP and it'll be a very nice OS.

Sorry for the double post but I just noticed this post you had.

The answer to your question arcadeplayer987 is that with most OS the licence only allows it to be installed on one computer, installing the same product key for a OS on two systems is illegal (I'm pretty sure of this but not positive).

True, but also you should be able to uninstall it and reinstall it on the new computer. I think this may involved contacting Microsoft and getting your key "cleared" from the old computer though. But don't quote me on that, I only recall reading something about it once, and I've never had to install the same copy of any OS on any two computers.

Any way you slice it though, go with Vista. Yes, I won't deny there are some minor issues with it, but they are generally very minor, and chances are SP1 will fix a good chunk of them.

I'd recommend XP.

In my opinion, Vista is just plain horrible. I hate all the warnings and restrictions Microsoft has put on this OS, hindering people from making changes to their systems "for their own safety." Please! If I want to run IE with minimal security, that's MY business, and I don't want to have to click thru warnings and ultimately a message that Vista can't/won't make the changes.

Vista came pre-installed on my laptop, but when I decided I wanted to move that computer to XP, the process was a real pain requiring a total reformat of my hard drive. "Upgrading" to Vista is a largely mindless process, l-o-n-g install time aside.

Mainstream support for XP will expire on 4/14/2009, however extended Microsoft support will be available until 4/8/2014.

Microsoft Product Lifecycle Search

Regarding gaming and DX10, that *may* be a consideration, however I'd guess that you'll upgrade your computer again before that becomes a requirement, making such assertions a moot point.

I rarely jump on with new operating systems, most often because, in my opinion, they're buggy until at least the first service pack release. XP is now largely "fixed." Vista is waiting for SP1. I opt for the side of ease and proven reliability vs. new and buggy. (I'm not a n00b, I remember using DOS, 3.1, WFW, 95, 98, 98SE, NT4, ME, 2000, and XP, and I regularly beta for Microsoft)

Hang on to XP, let others work out the problems, then take the leap.

That depends on what he does with his current computer. Generally speaking, if he pieces it out for parts or formats the HDD and sells the system barebones, he is legally entitled to install that copy of XP on a new system. (But only on ONE computer) There may, however, be exceptions if it's an OEM version of XP.

WPA is a pain in the butt, especially for people like me that routinely upgrade their computers and/or do a lot of beta testing and format their HDD a couple of times a year. The process is fairly painless though, simply requiring you to call the Microsoft activation line and explaining the situation.

If it's a pre-built machine then it will almost certainly be OEM, and I believe Microsoft can get a bit tetchy about those unless the machine it's on has actually died.