Windows Vista Home Premium

• Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 379 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

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• 9 stars

  Outstanding!

  by xgabeadx on February 2, 2007

  Pros: Aero is awesome, Voice Speech Recognition,

  Cons: Same Boot Time as XP, Vista drivers not yet available.

  Summary: Forget what everybody says about Microsoft copying ideas from Apple. Did you know that Steve Jobs orginally copied Xerox Graphical User Interface?(The first interface by the way) What about ...

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  Summary: Forget what everybody says about Microsoft copying ideas from Apple. Did you know that Steve Jobs orginally copied Xerox Graphical User Interface?(The first interface by the way) What about the new ipod? You can only download from Itunes? My point is both Apple and Microsoft both copies ideas and both want your money. Ignore the Apple commercial it is way exaturating Now I got that out of the way. I have had Vista for three days now. While I haven't gone through all of it I have enjoyed it so far. The OS looks great. I like the gadgets and Vista is fast once you get to the desktop. I was skeptical at first of IE7 because on XP I did not think it ran that great. But with Vista it runs smooth. While not the greatest The Windows Media 11 is a nice change. Plays music and videos solid. I really like The Media Center where you can view videos photos and even record TV if you have a tuner. The speech recognition is a great plus. Not only can you do documents you can use the entire windows just with your voice! Once other companies are par with Vista we will see more driver releases and new hardware. Yes windows will always be able to cracked or get a virus, but remember 90 percent of computers have Windows on them. So why would you want to waste time in cracking Apple? If you don't care about all the little technical stuff and just want to be entertained and a change of scenery and have a stable systen Vista is good to go. If you have a previous computer then wait til all drivers come out for Vista. If you are going to by a computer with Vista go ahead and make the change!

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  22 out of 32 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 3 stars

  Win.XP2 is still gettig updates after 5 years

  by leopmahon on January 26, 2007

  Pros: Eye candy?

  Cons: Hidden costs

  Summary: If I were to install Vista I would have to 1.Buy a new film scanner. 2.Buy a new printer. 3.Buy a new flatbed scanner. 4.Replacement for ...

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  Summary: If I were to install Vista I would have to 1.Buy a new film scanner. 2.Buy a new printer. 3.Buy a new flatbed scanner. 4.Replacement for Norton security. 5. Not sure about system mechanic. That alone would make the real cost to me to be in four figures. "If it aint broke don't fix it"

  Updated
  Despite my 'negative review' of Vista (I'm surprised that some submissions are so vitriolic about Vista - have they Microsoft shares?) I find it excellent when it comes to organizinig and finding individual images. Also on the plus side IE7 is way more secure(can be run with XP Pro also) The photo slide show gadget on the desktop is very 'cool'- can a 68yr old use that word?! My two current critics,who's views I respect, should let Microsoft sort probs.and don't take offence when somebody doesn't trust Vista YET. BTW. I have to replace my Nikon Coolscan which will cost me 650Euro approx.and MS and Nikon inform me that there's no Vista driver and won't be.

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  33 out of 62 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 5 stars

  Many pros but just as many cons...

  by gsingh5 on February 17, 2007

  Pros: More stable, looks beautiful, more features

  Cons: requires a great deal of hardware, expensive, lower battery life...

  Summary: Well I recently got to try Windows Vista. I'd have to say, this was an OS that Microsoft delayed releasing for years (originally Longhorn, 2004), so naturally, my expectations ...

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  Summary: Well I recently got to try Windows Vista. I'd have to say, this was an OS that Microsoft delayed releasing for years (originally Longhorn, 2004), so naturally, my expectations were high.
  The first look of Vista is glorious--I have to admit, Microsoft did a great job in terms of graphics. Aero is awesome-the new alt-tab features, screen previews alone are great to look at. Furthermore, the 3d screen flip is amazing. However, Vista came with more than looks--theres many new features, such as a Search feature (which is STRANGELY similar to Mac OS X's spotlight feature), data encryption (ultimate), gadgets (which is nothing but a rip of Mac's widgets), sidebar, new start menu, added security for protection from viruses, worms, etc. The installation was also really clean and effortless. BUT MOST OF ALL IT IS MORE STABLE-NO SYSTEM CRASHES!!!
  
  Unfortunately, while vista may be more stable, other outside factors cause it to crash. For example, Vista took up over 490MB of my RAM, even with no programs running!! TO get premium performance, especially with Aero, you are going to need at least 2GB of RAM. Furthermore, many applications and games are not compatible with Vista-I tried to load counterstrike on Vista but it failed. Furthermore, it is fairly expensive-Premium, which gives you aero starts at $300 and up.
  The worst part has to be the obvious rips from Mac Tiger--it really is pathetic how many aspects of Vista have been taken from Mac and have given a small remix, and then have been called amazing Windows features. Just to name a few: every window in Vista (ex: explorer) has a search feature, which was not present in windows XP. It perfectly resembles Mac's search feature, which was available on Mac years ago. Furthermore, Windows "gadgets" are the saddest thing-it just shows how Microsoft has lost its innovation, and as a result, has to take Steve Job's ideas, such as widgets which were available several years ago on Tiger,and change the name and put it on Vista.
  
  Whats interesting is how Microsoft has put alt of effort into graphics-Mac has been known for looking stunning, and Vista seems to be Microsoft's response. However, their response requires top of the line hardware--with a Mac, the same stunning looks can be achieved on slower hardware.
  
  Moreover, if your a laptop user (such as myself) you will be pleased to know that because of Vista, all laptops with Vista only have half the battery life of XP-so it is not convenient at all for business or heavy users.
  
  ALL IN ALL, IF YOUR BUYING A NEW COMPUTER, AND WANT A MICROSOFT OS, VISTA IS NOT A BAD CHOICE--IT HAS MANY PLEASANT FEATURES. BUT FOR BUSINESS USERS, HARDCORE GAMERS, AND PEOPLE WHO WANT ALL THESE FEATURES AND MORE, GET A MAC OR STICK WITH WINDOWS XP.

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  14 out of 17 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  Great Performance, Kick-@SS UI, Extremely reliable under heavy loads

  by SystemsJunky on January 26, 2007

  Pros: New UI makes things easy to find and is more intuitive than OS X by a long shot

  Cons: Driver support is still somewhat elusive in some hardware. Get with the program manufacturers!

  Summary: Although it took a long time for this release to become available, I think it was worth the wait. Not only does the OS have truly innovative features and functionality ...

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  Summary: Although it took a long time for this release to become available, I think it was worth the wait. Not only does the OS have truly innovative features and functionality in hardware, but the software is of the highest quality MS has put out to date. Vista is a fantastic business, home and gaming platform. Many services are disabled by default making it the most secure OS from MS to date. I have put RTM on 5 machines so far. A brand new MacPro, a Mac Book Pro, a Dell Optiplex GX260, and my two systems at home, Athlon XP 2400+ and a Athlon x2 4000+. All of these machines scream (well, besides the Dell). Building of the framework of the 2003 kernel makes this an extremely solid, reliable and secure OS. After installing it on the MacPro, I won’t even go back to OSX except for Filemaker Dev, Apple Scripting and XCode dev (rarely). Vista Home Premium is great for the average person, but if you want to see the true power of the OS, go with Ultimate. The beauty of this OS surpasses OS X by leaps and bounds, I’ve even used the latest seed of leopard only to find that its another kernel panicking POS like the rest. Sorry Steve, my money will go to Bill again..But hey, stay smug!

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  18 out of 29 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  Vista is fun

  by pcomitz on January 26, 2007

  Pros: Fun to use

  Cons: none really

  Summary: A quick read of many of the reviews here shows that it is impossible for a Microsoft product to get a fair judgement from many. Microsoft bashing is both fashionable ...

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  Summary: A quick read of many of the reviews here shows that it is impossible for a Microsoft product to get a fair judgement from many. Microsoft bashing is both fashionable and hip. Folks that bash Microsoft think they are sophisticated (especially true with journalists). The same folks who gush over minor Firefox upgrades bash Microsoft at every turn. (I read one review that rated Firefox superior to IE 7 because of the placement of the forwward/back buttons - does anyone really care? ) Asking for an open public rating of Microsoft is a bit like asking the general public to rate George Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees. The vocal bashers will crawl out of the woodwork.
  
  It's simply human nature to hate the "haves"
  
  Have a nice day everyone

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  17 out of 30 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  Vista is good, and it's the future, whether you want it or not!

  by bobpenn on January 26, 2007

  Pros: Aero is very nice, easier to use than XP, more stable, faster

  Cons: Some bugs remain, not all apps work yet

  Summary: Vista is great. It's the best version of Windows yet, and having both Macs and PC, it's simply not that different from the Mac OS. This will drive ...

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  Summary: Vista is great. It's the best version of Windows yet, and having both Macs and PC, it's simply not that different from the Mac OS. This will drive the Apple supporters nuts, but feature for feature, it's really not. Yes, Microsoft stole many great ideas from the Mac OS, and Apple is planning to steal a couple from Vista, but it's not like we're comparing DOS to Windows. It's one graphical OS vs. another.
  
  My feeling is that no one with Vista will lovingly gaze into a Mac and wish they had one, and no one with a Mac would have any reason to consider Vista. Microsoft got it just close enough to close the UI gap, and arguable, Vista has more features and certainly supports a much wider variety of software than the Mac, for those actually bothering to look beyond the UI.
  
  As to those who aren't going to upgrade because XP is just what they need: Vista is Microsoft's future. People wrote the same letters when XP came out because Windows 2000 was perfect and XP was this incremental and unnecessary upgrade. Now it's the gold standard for Windows.
  
  Well, the same letters are now reappearing regarding Vista. Yet a year, perhaps two years from now everyone will be on Vista and it will be the new gold standard. Vista is the future, there is no alternative in the Windows world.
  
  We might as well welcome Vista and learn to love it, because it's not going away.

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  12 out of 18 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 6 stars

  great with a new machine-not worth it as an upgrade

  by gadget fanatic on March 13, 2007

  Pros: Great looking UI, native dvd burning, snappy performance

  Cons: Over priced, not much of an upgrade, terrible driver and app support

  Summary: I bought a new Dell notebook with vista Home Premium pre installed. After dumping all the Dell crap-ware formatting and reinstalling vista, (for that clean machine feel), I must say, ...

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  Summary: I bought a new Dell notebook with vista Home Premium pre installed. After dumping all the Dell crap-ware formatting and reinstalling vista, (for that clean machine feel), I must say, I really enjoy vista. The UI is beautiful, not much of a learning curve from XP, great search function, and (because it was shipped with a new machine), I've had no application or driver issues. The performance is quick and snappy, no OS crashes or lock up's and i love the native DVD burning.
  
  I don't like the Vista upgrade advisor, a little tool that reminds you there are better more expensive versions available, however, this is easy to ignore and not intrusive. Also almost no recent applications run properly on vista without the hassle of installing upgrades and even then your taking your chances: I tunes just released there upgrade and apparently there are still some ,( although minor), glitches and issues with compatability. On Internet explorer 7 there are a couple apps i use for work that cause the Browser to crash, this problem doesn't effect or harm my machine but there are things I just can't get done until updates are released for the browser Apps. However, this is more IE7 then Vista. Overall it's worth the hassle to have the latest and greatest and the most tasks work just fine with a little know how.
  
  UPGRADE: On my dell desktop that is one year old I ran the Vista upgrade advisor and found that my video card,sound card, and some applications were not yet supported by vista. This is a deal breaker for an upgrade and proof that Microsoft is lost when it comes to serving the customer. Also XP media center edition is still a great problem free, worry free OS. so is it worth the money and hassle to upgrade now. I say NO!! The pros do not yet outweigh the cons for an upgrade. Wait until July or August. Then format your hard drive and do a full installation of Vista. don't use an upgrade CD.
  
  For a new PC: Vista is great and worth it
  
  As an upgrade: wait a few months.

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  7 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 7 stars

  The best version for the avg pc user

  by Cobra_R on January 26, 2007

  Pros: DirectX 10, Media Center, Aero Glass.

  Cons: Not many drivers out for Vista yet

  Summary: This version of Vista is the best version for the avg pc user. Vista Home Basic is too stripped down, while Vista Ultimate is too over the top for most ...

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  Summary: This version of Vista is the best version for the avg pc user. Vista Home Basic is too stripped down, while Vista Ultimate is too over the top for most peoples needs.
  
  If you are going to build a new system or buy a new system then Vista Home Premium should suit just about all your needs.
  
  P.S. The OEM Vista full versions are much cheaper then the Retail Vista full versions, but the only draw back is that you can only install the OEM version on one pc compared to the Retail versions.

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  9 out of 13 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 7 stars

  Vista as an OS and a gaming prespective

  by nycphilorican on January 26, 2007

  Pros: Direct X10 will have some of the best graphics avaiilable on any platform, more stability

  Cons: May need to upgrade or get new computer to get full benefits, direct X10 games will be in short supply for a while, eats up system resources

  Summary: Vista as an OS seems more of a slight upgrade from windows XP as opposed to a true change. Beta testers I have talked to have told me it is ...

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  Summary: Vista as an OS seems more of a slight upgrade from windows XP as opposed to a true change. Beta testers I have talked to have told me it is much more stable but is not much different. In addition, some have complained that Vista will use a lot of resources to give you the new graphical effect they are touting. This is especially troubling for laptop users since I have been told battery life has been cut to almost on half w/ the OS. So as an OS if you are happy w/ XP then no need to upgrade.
  
  Now here is where things get hairy. Vista boasts Direct X10 which they say will revolutionize PC gaming w/ it's stunning graphics. In addition, Vista has parental controls on games so only certain users can play a game as well as a game will cut off at a certain time.
  
  Microsoft is really making Vista more of a gaming OS since the gaming industry is one of the few places in the PC market that causes growth. They are pushing games for windows in all PC stores and game stores. They are really trying to make games on PC's more user friendly.
  
  If you are getting a top of the line computer soon then you will be happy w/ Vista. People running older rigs may suffer more from the upgrade. In addition, most new cards games will be running direct X9 for a while so you will be ok, but in the upcoming months newer more visually pleasing games will be out; start saving up for the new rig now.
  
  One last thing, for all the Apple users out there, yes your system 'runs' or just works and there are bugs in windows, but give a review that says something rather than just bashing to drop a rating. Do you know why there are no viruses/people trying to hack macs? There are not as many Mac users as PC users so as a thief I would logically go for the bigger number rather than a handful. Simple numbers games there. MAcs are great, I have one myself (a tower and laptop), but I use it for work and nothing else.

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  7 out of 10 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 4 stars

  No WOW here

  by toolium on March 23, 2007

  Pros: shiny look, great search feature, networking is fast and easy to setup,

  Cons: Slow, compatability with my existing stuff.

  Summary: Ok, I know I'm gonna get slammed here as the others who have not been happy with Vista have been, but I'm really disappointed. I'm just an ...

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  Summary: Ok, I know I'm gonna get slammed here as the others who have not been happy with Vista have been, but I'm really disappointed. I'm just an average user, no expert. I've been working with Vista for about a month now. My HP CP1700 no longer prints anything but blank pages from any program (excepting the test page which works fine). I've tried changing ports, configuring ports, changing the print processor (all options including the setup that worked - and still works - with XP). I did find one configuration that let me print from Word, but not Outlook, Access, ArcGIS, XLS, Quickbooks, or PPT. HP says the driver is included in Vista (no download available) and if it doesn't work consider upgrading my equipment (go to their site and check it out). Office 2003 asks me every time I open a program to accept the license (and every few times I open Outlook it installs a new short cut in my quick launch bar – if I don’t delete them I end up with several). I've tried uninstalling, reinstalling, reinstalling the whole system from scratch. Outlook crashes frequently now - no suggested solutions yet from MS. And I know it is a security thing, but I'm tired of the user account control window coming up and asking me to give permission for the computer to do something I just asked it to do (like looking for updates - in the case of updates if the computer checks automatically it doesn't ask me to approve it but if I ask it to check I have to approve it). Start up and shut down are slower than XP. Also, the system now pauses on things - i.e. I click on control panel and the computer just sits, then about 10 seconds later it finally opens the window. My programs don't behave this way, just system stuff. Lastly, it thinks that programs are not responding and fades them out even though they are running - you can see the status bar moving on downloads or if you go into task manager the CPU usage and memory usage for the program are changing, and when the program is done working on the task they are running Vista unshades them and they keep working just fine (it has even greyed one out while opening a drop down menu and the menu keeps coming down but now I can't do anything 'cause windows thinks the program is not responding). Other things are changes to the interface that I will get use to with time. Basically, I'm not wowed by anything yet, and am down right frustrated by other things like sitting waiting for the machine to start and shut down, and for it to decide my program is actually running. My XP was working fine and I'm not upgrading my desktop. I suggest that if you don't have to buy Vista, stick with XP. In my experience XP has been very stable and great to work with. I don't have to think about it being there like I have to with Vista. On the plus side, my Canon scanner set up just fine and works great as do my external drives and PDAs (some of these items took a while to get configured correctly with XP). Any suggestions on fixing this stuff, let me know, as I'm sticking with Vista for now on my laptop (I don't want to waste my time trying to go back and I spent the money).

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  5 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.

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