Tech Review

Next to the National Review, Maximum PC is my favorite magazine. This month's issue offered ten reasons why people shouldn't upgrade to Vista. Maximum PC makes decent points, but I will still be upgrading to Vista. Why? Because I’m a nerd and for a few hours on the 30th, I'll be the happiest person on my block. Besides Maximum PC’s objections shouldn’t scare off too many people. They are:

1. Vista requires a fairly powerful machine.

Obviously, if you have a fairly powerful machine, then this isn’t a problem. Most computers sold in the last three years will meet the CPU requirements (if you have AMD, remember their CPUs are P-rated , which means their clock speed doesn't match their CPU name i.e., a Sempron 3100 runs at 1.8 GHz, 200MHz below the recommended speed of 2GHz for Vista). The video card and system memory is where people may run into problems. 1GB of ram should be OK, but many Vista users are recommending 2GB for Vista. Most machines sold in the last couple of years have 1GB, a sufficient amount for XP but not Vista, and many have 512MB, which, even for XP, is barely adequate for word-processing-type tasks. You'll be able to upgrade.

As for the video card requirement, Vista requires hardware video acceleration to experience the new interface, Aero, in all of its glory, (I myself turn off all of the unnecessary video effects to save computing power for real work-like blogging- so losing Aero, wouldn't be a huge problem for me). The minimum for Aero is the Intel GMA, integrated into the motherboards of the majority of both laptops and desktops sold in the past three years and considered very low end. A discrete video card is even better. If you don’t know what discrete video card means, you probably have the Intel GMA. So, the majority of computer owners will be fine and those that can’t meet these requirements can still run the Home Basic Edition of Vista designed for less powerful machines. You can check it out for yourself with the upgrade advisor tool provided by Microsoft.

2. Application incompatibilities.

OK, this one is legitimately worrisome. Those of you with specialized software provided by your job or a favorite, obscure app need to do some research. All of my programs are fairly popular and I'm sure they got this Vista thing figured out. And if they don't, I can wait a while until they do or just use an alternative. Again, use the Vista checker tool. My Toshiba Bluetooth won’t work, but I'm confident Dell or Toshiba have a quick fix for this..

3. Vista is crazy expensive.

Yes and no. Vista home premium upgrade will cost me $150.00. The cost is mediated somewhat by all of the little enhancements and small apps included in Vista. I’ve provided a list below. My feeling is that if you plan on keeping your computer for more than a year, it would make sense to upgrade. Otherwise, wait for a new machine.

4. No hardware audio.

Of course Microsoft isn’t going to release an operating system without audio. What Maximum PC is referring to is the lack of EAX audio support for some games. First, this isn’t going to be a problem with games going forward. Second, this will only effect those games that use EAX like Far Cry, and third, it will only affect the ability to project surround sound (sound through 5 or more speakers like in your living room), which I never use.

5. Vista doesn’t work with a lot of bleeding edge hardware.

First, let me say that it’s about time technology journalists retire the phrase bleeding edge. It’s supposed to signify something more advanced than cutting edge, but this practice only leads to metaphor inflation. Cutting edge now means what? Slow? The goes for game graphics being gorgeous. This could be a problem. Check with the hardware adviser before upgrading.

6. Vista doesn’t work well with some games.

Maximum PC didn’t give any details except something used by some online game servers to prevent cheating called Punkbuster won’t work. Even if you’ve heard of this software, it sounds like something that should be fixed quickly if it hasn’t been already.

7. Vista includes consumer unfriendly DRM.

DRM, the stuff companies use to prevent piracy (copying movies) is annoying at times. So far, Microsoft hasn’t added any DRM to Vista, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility to expect something that prevents Blu-Ray or HD-DVD copying. For those of you out of the loop, those are the standards for the next generation video players attempting to usurp your $49.00 DVD player. The DVDs have more lines of resolution so the picture is supposed to be better; nobody has one yet.. So, if you plan on doing something illegal with movies you don’t have on a device you don’t need and won’t own, stay away from Vista. For others, it won’t be a problem.

8. Poor driver support.

If your hardware isn’t supported, it’s probably either very specialized or very old. If you’re spending money on Vista, you have enough to buy another hand-held scanner to replace the Mustek you bought in 1997.

9. Vista is kind of annoying.

All Windows version have been kind of annoying and I do so hate those security popups. Maximum PC mentioned that a popup comes up to warn you before you install software. I’m not that sensitive, however, and most of these things can be disabled if enough people complain.

10 You can wait.

I can’t

Below is a list of improvements.

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium UPGRADE [DVD]

Follow up:

Common to all editions of Windows Vista are:
ad hoc backup and recovery
instant Search,
Internet Explorer 7 browser,
Windows Media Player 11,
Windows Mail e-mail client,
Windows Calendar,
Windows Photo Gallery,
performance tuning and self-diagnostics,
Internet protocol IPv6 and IPv4 support,
Windows ReadyDrive,
a maximum of 4GB RAM support on 32-bit editions (up to 128GB RAM on some 64-bit editions),
Windows Sync Center for mobile devices,
Windows Mobility Center for presentations on the road,
User Account Control security protection,
Windows Security Center,
Windows Defender antispyware,
Windows Firewall,
Windows Meeting Space for ad hoc wireless meetings,
Remote Desktop for working from home,
XPS document support for PDF-like files,
improved peer-to-peer networking,
improved VPN support,
and improved power management.

Included within certain editions (and thus also included within the Ultimate edition) are
Windows Media Center,
Windows Tablet PC,
Windows Movie Maker,
Windows DVD Maker,
Parental Controls,
Windows SideShow for remote gadgets,
domain join for Windows Small Business Server,
Group Policy support,
Client-side file caching,
Roaming User Profiles for remote server access,
Windows Fax and Scan,
Windows ShadowCopy to create file backups,
Windows Rights Management Services to protect documents,
Windows BitLocker hard drive encryption,
integrated smart card management,
and various Windows Ultimate Extras to be named later.

For Connected, Microsoft points to the new peer-to-peer possibilities, some of which are the result of its acquisition of Groove several years ago. From within Windows Explorer (there are separate Explorers within Windows Vista, one each for documents, photos, and music) you can move any file into a Public Folder and then mark the file or folder for sharing on a network. Within the Business and Ultimate editions you can further mark individual files for remote access.