I was wondering about the pro's and con's about windows vista, and if it was worth buying or not?

To sum up my experiences with windows Vista...

Pro:
Prettier
More eye candy
Supports newer hardware OOTB than XP
DirectX 10.
Easier programming WinAPI because the .NET Framework 3.0 brings them to managed code (less P/Invoke)

Con:
Slower
Needs more RAM
Buggy as hell

Unless you are some kind of developer or just want to jump the boat and test out Vista now, definitely wait a while longer until they release some kind of service pack for it. The programmers at Microsoft have put in a lot of time for Windows Vista and I'm sure that a lot of bugs are fixed, but as with all their other operating systems, more are to be found.

One major issue from what I read is drivers. Some of the older devices don't have a compatible driver made for Vista yet (or ever). So this will also require the user to get newer parts for their computer that supports the Vista operating system.

I just swapped my computer back to the WINNT 5.x series because Vista is way too slow for gaming on PC.

Even running Battlefield 2142 at 800x600, it lags like crap.

Specs:


Yes, my computer is old, but I have to live with it, I don't have money for a new one.

Best to wait until you buy a new computer with at least 2 GB of RAM.

xboxrulz

My computer is slow as hell, so It's impossible to install Vista on this. However, buying a new and faster PC won't make me install Vista either. The layout seems pretty crazy and wild (things are everywhere) and as I am a very simple person (blank desktop wallpaper) I'd prefer getting WinXP instead. I'd mainly use the PC for gaming and developing, now since gaming in Vista seems to be too slow, then WinXP is better.

I've never tried Vista before (except for mucking around with those at the shops), but I can say the following through reading magazines:

Pros: Spiffy look; Alt+Tab thingomobby that swivels through windows; Vista's requirement/suggestion for decent RAM and storage; the limitations on cheaper versions of Vista (never buy Basic!).

Cons: The bugs? (People have talked about the bugs, but I would think that there are less in Vista compared to XP); "Allow/deny" (Mac advertisement on TV haha).

That's all I can think of, despite never trying Vista before (hopefully I didn't get anything wrong).

I've been experiencing the opposite actually, and have yet to encounter a BSOD or system crash. I've been using retail version it ever since RTM was released.

User account control? The first thing I switched off. Go to control panel -> user accounts -> disable UAC. Done.

The main con is the requirements. I have a high-end gaming PC, and thus I experience no slowdowns and such and my FPS is actually higher or at the very least the same as an XP with this hardware. Of course the power consuming options can be turned off though, but I understand why those with older hardware are reluctant to move. There are no trials available, but any CD can be installed without a key for 30 days - so if you want to try it out, you can by borrowing a CD from a friend.

Driver support has been great with this release. Programs like Nero that had issues first have been resolved, I think there is still one with dreamweaver. If you aren't held back because of the hardware requirements, I wouldn't worry about the patching. There is no need to wait for a service pack as there was with XP, consider that the development time of Vista was considerably longer. Updating is also much easier now it is built in to vista and no longer operating with a website.

My main pro reasons would not be the alt tab switch thing, but ease of use everywhere. It's more pleasant to work with in almost all aspects. i'd say you try before you buy.

I recently 'upgraded' (I'm not even sure if that's the word to use with this computer) because my old one was two steps away from frying on me, and as much as I didn't want to, I bought a Vista computer. Yes everything looks more polished and prettier, but at what expense? You need to spend a good $800+ (unless you find a better deal) to run 2gbs of RAM (most computers costing up to that much already have 2gbs unless it's customized) so everything can run smoothly. Unfortunately I have 1 and it's amazing that on the third day of having this new PC the bubble screensaver was lagging. It's own screensaver.

Program-wise I haven't had time (moving issues and all) so I've only installed Photoshop 7.0 and it seems to be running smoothly. Game-wise I've only tried American McGee's Alice, Rayman Raving Rabbids, and Battlefield 2142. Out of those three only Battlefield didn't work. Probably needs more power. I'm not so worried about it though, since this was an emergency purchase and will be upgrading to a media PC soon enough.

You need to make sure that you allow Administrator mode for the game under the Compatibility tab in the file's property box.

xboxrulz

Yes. I think it's worth it but there are some annoying things like the User Account Control, and constant dialog boxes that needs permission to continue. I'm also annoyed with the fact that Task Manager can't be easily accessed anymore with the mere pressing of Control + Alt + Delete.

It has lot of eye candy but is kind of slow. It even took more than an hour to shut down. I had to take off the batteries so that it will turn off.

Maybe it's because I'm using Home Basic so it sucks.

I just hope they fix the bugs though.