Okay… so this is something that I knew was absolutely inevitable, and something I’ve felt has been ridiculous and pathetic for a hell of a long time. And, more importantly, something which is simply not aligned with any reality beyond what has been fabricated by zealots and haters globally. Basically… it’s something people have decided to bandwagon against which has no real flaws beyond what we already have. So what am I talking about? You guessed it, Windows Vista.
For the love of God, shut up about it already people. Seriously, none of your points are at any scale valid. I know I’ve had my misgivings with Microsoft in the past, and I know that I’ve had problems with their software the vast majority of users would never encounter. However, and I emphasise the however, those incidents are isolated. The majority of them are doing things you wouldn’t even remotely encounter until you’re a power user who is doing things like running mixed-OS environments with clustered DNS servers taking care of multiple subnet pools and multi-daemon httpd stacks (if you don’t understand that, you’re pretty-well assured to not fit into this classification).
Now I’ve heard a lot of bullshit being flung at it unduly. For instance, I’ve been told that building the entire OS from the ground up instead of recycling an older codebase (for instance, Windows XP) is moronic because it wastes time and resources. Okay, I can see that. But what that doesn’t take into account is that a) Windows XP is a recycled kernel itself (borrowing from the Windows NT core), and b) that it had a huge amount of holes and bugs in the core, hence Service Pack 2 was such a massive undertaking. Not only, but it completely ignores the idea of software development’s cyclic flow, only maintaining and reusing certain elements a number of times before it becomes impractical and there is a need for completely renewing it. Being that XP was NT core, it would’ve been through a number of generations (NT Workstation, 2000, XP) which on its own spans 5-odd years, right in the middle of our major advances in technology in computing. Between 1996 and 2001, the speed of computers jumped massively, allowing for vast advances in software requirements and capabilities. Tack another 6 years onto that, and imagine just how far we’ve come. That in itself is a major need for a complete rewrite; the software needs something to allow it to work to its full potential.
Another thing I’ve heard is that the hardware requirements are giant compared to XP. Yeah, and? XP is 6 years old. It was designed to run on mid-range computers then, Vista being designed to run on mid-range computers now. Personally, I notice no slowdown between the two, in fact, I’ve actually gained speed with Vista because it can properly page all my RAM and use my dual-core CPU properly. Sure, XP Professional can multi-thread kinda okay, but Vista absolutely mauls it, no questions asked. All of this is without even mentioning the networking stack Vista has… personally I’ve noticed between 3 and 4 times the speed for network throughput between Vista Ultimate and XP Professional, running identical hardware, interfacing to the exact same computer. It just doesn’t compare, and nor should it; I know what I’d prefer.
Some things, I will admit, are counter-intuitive. The start menu for instance. The search function at the bottom is cool, but the lack of a fly-out menu for the start button really irks me a bit. The menu size is far too small in my opinion, and makes the UI difficult to use in certain situations. Another major thing with the UI is the newly-formatted Control Panel. Sure, it’s understandable what was the intention… but it hasn’t quite been done right. The biggest culprit of which is the networking centre. Um okay Microsoft, what the fuck? It’s cluttered, it’s hard to use, and it’s essentially bombarding us with a bunch of useless information. I want simplicity in my networking analysis so I can worry about more important things. But… it can be worked with. It’s not impossible to use.
Now, the issue of drivers. Oh dear god people, grow up will you? If you’ve got hardware capable of running it, chances are you’ll have drivers for it. And if not… then how can you feasibly blame the people who created the software while letting the people who made the hardware get off without even a moment of disdain? It’s hypocritical. Hell, I’ve not had a single issue with hardware, even if no drivers were immediately available either directly from the manufacturer or the OS itself. Hell, even some legacy XP drivers will work if you perceiver with them. Stop complaining and try things, you slack bastards.
Simply put, if you’re whining it’s too slow, get faster hardware. If you don’t like that it’s a new codebase, stick to XP which is by far outdated. If you’re worried about drivers, search around for a solution. With the simplest tweaks and fixes, Vista absolutely blows XP away in every corner of the ballpark. There is no competition, and there shouldn’t have ever been a ridiculous comparison between the two to begin with. End of.
WHAT'S ALL THIS THEN?!?! No comments have been left yet! My god man, it's horrific! :(
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This entry was written 7:47 pm September 25, 2007 by Benjamin.
Categorized: Accessibility, Design, Software.
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