Wow...Just, wow. This is going to sound really bitter, and I'll say I'm sorry in advance. Since I have come to think of Stardock as the anti-MS, this blurb came as a total slap in the face. There is nothing on that list that makes me want to get Vista, and it comes across mostly as SD shilling for Microsoft.

#1
"As a result, imagine games in 2 years coming with their requirements listing what your performance ratings have to be instead of vague requirements we have today"

Frankly, I've never had any problems figuring out a game's requirements. I just read the box.

#2 The Games Explorer

Bells and whistles. Honestly, I'm yet to see anything with Vista that has more substance than being just shiny new bits with no real-world need.

#3 Parental Controls.

If you have kids, maybe a nice feature - if you don't monitor your children's games to begin with. For the rest of us? *shrugs* Whoopee.

#4 DirectX 10

Yes. DirectX 10. Step one: Convince every one that this is the end all be all, and scare all the game designers into line Step two: Only allow it in the new OS, and force everyone to upgrade for $$$. Step Three: Profit.

#5 Better casual games.

Who with the what now?


Really, if these are the big reasons for me to get Vista - when they work out the bugs, mind you - I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry. For a company like Stardock, which has been a beacon of quality, reliability, individuality and loyalty to more than the bottom line, to make a blatant plug for the corporate machine like this...It makes me wonder if the sell-out is far behind.

(Citizen)Weidbrewer
January 30, 2007 15:06:22

...There is nothing on that list that makes me want to get Vista, and it comes across mostly as SD shilling for Microsoft...

Your post is spot on - exactly my thoughts about Vista and the opinion of many other people I know.
I think MS Vista is the greatest joke in the history of pc operating systems.

Five reasons Vista is Good for Big Brother

1) Digital Rights Management

2) Product Activation

3) Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications

4) User Account Protection

5) Kernel Patch Protection

One reason to Like Vista

1) You won't need SpyWare protection. Vista is SpyWare.

I have to agree with some of the people in this thread. Windows Vista is all fluff. The ONLY reason I can think of that makes it worth the 200+ $ investment is DX 10 but Im not playing any games that support it and neither do I have a gfx card that supports it so right now there is no real reason to get Windows Vista, none.

one reason to wait a year before getting Vista: microsoft.

call me a skeptic (call me whatever you will). i just think it'll take them a while to get Vista to where they'd like to think it already is. i am looking forward to directX 10, though.

Vista is not as bad as people make it out to be. There are significant improvements to the underlying system there. It is not the ultimate solution to everyone's problems, though, and will not make things better overnight.

Driver support is likely to be an issue until at least Q3 2007, and perhaps forever for older systems. It does use more memory, although a USB stick can help a lot with swapping costs.

There is little reason for most gamers to upgrade their systems unless they are also doing a big hardware upgrade. However, I feel few are likely to install XP on new PCs. So, we'll have a mix for a while, which is no bad thing compared to the mix of 9x and NT-based Windows that has been a thorn in the side of most game developers.

I think MS Vista is a step forward. In the coming weeks the drivers will
get release and most will like it. MS Vista needs new hardware to run it, but
CPUs,hard drives, video cards and other stuff is alot cheaper now. You can get
a very nice system for under $700 not including a LCD monitor and MS Vista CD.

I also like linux, but it's don't for gaming. I use Gentoo and I like it for
work and studies. I would drop MS if a distro could run PC games without using
wine. Someone needs to make a app that translates directx into x-windows.
So, I can play PC games on linux.

For now, I'll use MS products for gaming and linux for everything else ...

One of my family frieds has a computer troubleshooting business. He is very

successfull. He tried Vista and told me not to get it. Unless you spend for the top

notch Vista version you will not get anything better than you have for secuirty now in

XP. And the top notch version is ment for buisnesses, of course I would love to just

burn a cd and have it not work on anything else other than my computer I burned it on.

That is one "protection" of the top version. It was ment for businesses so employees

can't copy sensitive data. That is an option, you don't have to have it on. With that

on, however, if someone copies soemthing to notepad and then to a disk or usb drive it

will not be able to be opened by another computer or device, period. Unless the

encyption is hacked. Vistas new way of signing stuff makes it so it will NOT interfere

with specially signed programs or drivers. So, basically, if someone who is not very

nice gets a hold of that information and signs spyware or a virus.... Everyones is

owned that has Vista because its "secuirty" won't interfere with it. I remember

reading that on the news on yahoo. A professor from some HIgh and Mighty college told

that to the world and what did Microsoft do. No response!



My friend also said Vista will not let you alter things like you can on your computer

wiht xp. When he had it it would not let him look at his files like the "My Computer"

icon or button does. A message came up asking him to call a Microsoft technician. I

forgot if he had to call microsoft to change the secuirty settings or to look at his

files like we can now by just clicking on "my computer." It won't even let you delete

stuff in there once you get a look at it. Anyway it is rediculous! He told me that

Microsoft is protecting itself by limiting the the ways users can edit the operating

system. Vista just does all the "setting" stuff for users. All they have to do is

worry about installing and then using a program, nothing else. Your just a terminal on

a mainframe. Vista is the mainframe and all you can do is stuff it lets you. You can

only install each version twice and then you have to buy a new license. If you upgrade

your computer... your screwed because you have to enter the 2nd of the two liceses you

got for buying the version you have. So let's say you get a computer that has windows

vista. You put more RAM in it. The stupid operating system says you need to enter in a

license for your new computer! What the .... You get a new video card... hey your

screwed, go and get another version of Vista becuase you've exceeded your limit of

liscense uses. The first time it was installed before you bought it counts as one use

of the liscense. That was brought to Microsofts attention too. A group of college

students asked Microsoft and MicroCraft didn't respond to that either. Oh, and

somehting new for Vista is you can go and buy a computer at a store for a low, low

price. But you have to buy time cards from the store or from microsfot or something.

And you can only use the computer for the amount of time you bought. Basically when it

says you need more money to use it you stick a digital card in it and then you can

contiue using it. Microsoft says that will allow low income people to get computers.

Eventually, after you've used a certain amount of time cards, the computer will be

considered bought and you will not need them anymore. Who wants to guess if the total

amount of money for time cards will be more than buying the computer for full price?

How is that going to help low income families or households get a computer? "Hey Dad,

you got any more money, I need to do my homework for school." Or "Crap, I can't play

my favorite game anymore until I go out and buy some digital cards to extend the time

I can use the computer." I take it Microsoft learned from World of Warcraft.

MicroCraft is going to charge people to use computers in their own homes. Hey

Stardock, can you possible make GalCIv2 work on a MAC? Of course Bill Gates owns the

majority of shares of Apple so we are still supplying Microsoft with money,

indirectly. But Hey, at least we wouldn't have to be governed by our computers. Nortan

Antivrus and McAfee complained to Microsoft becuae of that signing problem. Basically

it wouldn't let their scanners and firewalls have any control on some signed programs

and processes. So going back to the signed virus or spyware problem... anybody want

Vista now? Microsoft finally relented, a little bit, and let them look at a little

more code or whatever those antivirus people need to look at to design scanners and

firewalls that can have a little more control than they would have had. But there are

still things they won't be able to detect or block if some big nasty virus or spyware

comes along. I'm not saying it will, just that it's stupid what MicroCraft has done to

everyone. They have decided to screw the user. I don't think that monopoly hearing

Microsoft had some years back really changed anything. In a nutshell. Vista is more

secure for Microsoft, not the users.

Sorry, I'm trying to edit it again but the edit button is gone.

*****Here is my original post with major editing so it can be read eaier. Sorry for my silliness ealier.*****



One of my family frieds has a computer troubleshooting business. He is very
successfull. He tried Vista and told me not to get it. Unless you spend for the top
notch Vista version you will not get anything better than you have for secuirty now in XP. And the top notch version is ment for buisnesses, of course I would love to just burn a cd and have it not work on anything else other than my computer I burned it on. That is one "protection" of the top version. It was ment for businesses so employees can't copy sensitive data. That is an option, you don't have to have it on. With that on, however, if someone copies soemthing to notepad and then to a disk or usb drive it will not be able to be opened by another computer or device, period. Unless the encyption is hacked.



Vistas new way of signing stuff makes it so it will NOT interfere with specially signed programs or drivers. So, basically, if someone who is not very
nice gets a hold of that information and signs spyware or a virus.... Everyones is
owned that has Vista because its "secuirty" won't interfere with it. I remember
reading that on the news on yahoo. A professor from some HIgh and Mighty college told that to the world and what did Microsoft do. No response!


My friend also said Vista will not let you alter things like you can on your computer wiht xp. When he had it it would not let him look at his files like the "My Computer" icon or button does. A message came up asking him to call a Microsoft technician. I forgot if he had to call microsoft to change the secuirty settings or to look at his files like we can now by just clicking on "my computer." It won't even let you delete stuff in there once you get a look at it. Anyway it is rediculous! He told me that Microsoft is protecting itself by limiting the the ways users can edit the operating system. Vista just does all the "setting" stuff for users. All they have to do is worry about installing and then using a program, nothing else. Your just a terminal on a mainframe. Vista is the mainframe and all you can do is stuff it lets you.



You can only install each version twice and then you have to buy a new license. If you upgrade your computer... your screwed because you have to enter the 2nd of the two liceses you got for buying the version you have. So let's say you get a computer that has windows vista. You put more RAM in it. The stupid operating system says you need to enter in a license for your new computer! What the .... You get a new video card... hey your screwed, go and get another version of Vista becuase you've exceeded your limit of liscense uses. The first time it was installed before you bought it counts as one use of the liscense. That was brought to Microsofts attention too. A group of college students asked Microsoft and MicroCraft didn't respond to that either.

Oh, and somehting new for Vista is you can go and buy a computer at a store for a low, low price. But you have to buy time cards from the store or from microsfot or something. And you can only use the computer for the amount of time you bought. Basically when it says you need more money to use it you stick a digital card in it and then you can contiue using it. Microsoft says that will allow low income people to get computers.Eventually, after you've used a certain amount of time cards, the computer will be considered bought and you will not need them anymore. Who wants to guess if the total amount of money for time cards will be more than buying the computer for full price? How is that going to help low income families or households get a computer? "Hey Dad, you got any more money, I need to do my homework for school." Or "Crap, I can't play my favorite game anymore until I go out and buy some digital cards to extend the time I can use the computer." I take it Microsoft learned from World of Warcraft. MicroCraft is going to charge people to use computers in their own homes. Hey Stardock, can you possible make GalCIv2 work on a MAC? Of course Bill Gates owns the majority of shares of Apple so we are still supplying Microsoft with money, indirectly. But Hey, at least we wouldn't have to be governed by our computers.


Nortan Antivrus and McAfee complained to Microsoft becuae of that signing problem. Basically it wouldn't let their scanners and firewalls have any control on some signed programs and processes. So going back to the signed virus or spyware problem... anybody want Vista now? Microsoft finally relented, a little bit, and let them look at a little more code or whatever those antivirus people need to look at to design scanners and firewalls that can have a little more control than they would have had. But there are still things they won't be able to detect or block if some big nasty virus or spyware comes along. I'm not saying it will, just that it's stupid what MicroCraft has done to everyone. They have decided to screw the user. I don't think that monopoly hearing Microsoft had some years back really changed anything. In a nutshell. Vista is more secure for Microsoft, not the users.

So far, I do not see a single "REAL" reason to waste money on that junk.

For every successful business there are Legions of people lined up to slay them, bad mouth them, and demonstrate the Company's obvious evil intent to rule the world - much as most commentators would like to .... but the Company got there first

Windows V3, V3.1, win 2000, Win 95, Win 98, XP etc - all were deemed by the doomsayers as the end of mankind as we know it, as they demonstrated Microsofts evil intentions. PCs were doomed to fall pray to an operating system so full of holes and obvious failures we may as well pack up the PC, go Apple and be done with it.

17 years later ..... we are all still using it - we always will for the simple truth that for whatever its faults, genuine or contrived, its what there is. For 99.9% of people it does its stuff for 99% of the time. Thats why even inveterate moaners will quietly go away, buy it and use it.

Will there be hassles and holes in Vista? Thats for sure. Equally certain they will be eventualy filled either because of internal Microsoft actions or as a result of constructive external criticism (note the word 'constructive').

It'll be the same for "Son of Vista" - and we will still go on using it ...   

Regards
Zy

#1 Windows Vista comes with included, standardized performance benchmarking.

Okay. But where's the difference between "you need x GHz and y GB RAM" and "you need x points on the z scale"? I'm pretty sure you'll have to keep telling the users: "Use the latest drivers. Really.".

#3 Parental Controls.

Parental Controls - yeah...
Sounds like cosmetics to me. Once a game is in the house, the kids will find a way to play it. The real task starts a lot earlier (and isn't up to Microsoft, of course).