If you haven't upgraded from XP to Vista yet...

[ReyXLP]

...don't.

What a piece of garbage.

What's worse, can't go back to XP as Vista Upgrade required invalidation of XP COA.

Thanks Dell and Microsoft.

Sigh...
Rey



1994 BMW 750iL
1996 BMW 850CSi

[davidc]

Not impressed. He may not have a current machine enough to run it properely but I'm sticking with XP for while.
Dave

[Ethan W]

[Montanamike]

I just bought a new laptop and when ordering I had the option of going with VISTA. Last minute got scared and stayed with XP. Havent had any issues at all!! Glad my gut told me NOT to go with Vista.

One note.....if anyone uses "Intellimover" to transfer your info onto your new computer....It is designed now for ONLY "XP to Vista" switch. It crashes when you try to do XP to XP. My buddy the IT guy found an old track to the previous versions that supports XP to XP. It is actually hidden on the install discs for intellimover.

Anyone needs this info contact me

[lezonebay]

so they say. I have both since my wife's notebook came with Vista. I don't know, I kind a hate and love both. The Vista is more complex and more dumbed down for end users who had no computer experience (is there a single human under 40 who never had a computer?) but one thing for sure - Vista creators must have stock's or other interests in hardware manufacturing. The Vista needs - fast processor and lots and lots of memory. The Program is HUGE at least but gigantic comes as better description.
I have not had a freeze or crash with that other then not finding a wireless network and had to be shut down to actually find the networks again. But it also happens under XP as I'm told so there is no real issue. about upgrading an existing computer from XP to Vista - no I would NOT do it. Wait a few years and buy a new computer with Vista already on it. just too much mess and you most likely will not be impressed with it. upgrade your machine with at least 40-50% more speed and about double the memory and then upgrade to Vista. otherwise the speed will suffer.
<a href="http://mydrive.roadfly.com/photos/pic.php?u=56726KDZYN&i=5166"><img src="http://mydrive.roadfly.com/photos/pic.php?u=56726KDZYN&i=5166" border="0"></a>

1997 840CiA
1990 Z1
2002 Astro Van
2002 Lexus GS300
2007 Mazda CX9 AWD
1998 Yamaha Blaster/Breeze

[lezonebay]

for my personal use ?
I use Internet a lot - at any given time I have 8-9 sometimes more windows open and I constantly switch in between. I look up databases on the internet mostly and I work with old style bbs connections too occasionally but not for long hopefully.

I also use printer and scanner (do I have to buy a new one for the mac) but no high res applications, mostly just exploded view pages that I need to email to the machanics to help them out)

I do have a router and wireless modem in one unit now, gateway I believe, and I must run the Vista based PC and the Mac on the same gateway.
no spec needs and I'm using a Dell from 2003 and works fine for me as long as internet is running. I have a 3MBps Internet download and 384Kbps upload garanteed speed by bellsouth (DSL Extreme) and I just want a notebook that is simple and easy and fast enough. No gimmicks needed. I found PC based ones for about 500-600usd in a stores now. I know Macs are more exp but what model should I buy and where ?
<a href="http://mydrive.roadfly.com/photos/pic.php?u=56726KDZYN&i=5166"><img src="http://mydrive.roadfly.com/photos/pic.php?u=56726KDZYN&i=5166" border="0"></a>

1997 840CiA
1990 Z1
2002 Astro Van
2002 Lexus GS300
2007 Mazda CX9 AWD
1998 Yamaha Blaster/Breeze

[jef]

especially anything computer related for one major reason...

Old School:
Beta test the crap out of something, make lots of revisions, bring product to market.

New School:
Make something, bring product to market, have beta testers (customers) pay for it & test the crap out of it, offer revisions if a big enough problem arises (more than once).

.02

ps - oh yeah, offer "premium" support at added cost so you don't have to wait on hold forever.

[Ethan W]

You need a basic 13" MacBook and the cheapest model sales around $1099 but I can get that for you with my developer account for $989.

Link to cheap model

For what you described as your daily or regular tasks this Macbook should fit the bill. No need to buy another printer or scanner since the MAC OSX operating system supports all of that.
As for multitasking and many open windows you have expose in OSX that takes care of that and here are few links to that.

Expose Demo One
Expose Demo Two

And you can have virtual desktops as well and here is a link to that
OSX Virtual Desktops

As for the BBS connections I assume you do this over telnet terminals or so. Regardless, the OSX is built on UNIX BSDI so is pretty much the father/mather of the internet :)

In terms of internet access, this will network just like a regular PC so you can configure it to use your existing gateway/router and wireless network if you have on in place.

I hope this quick summary will help, and I would love to guide or help you through this process. Feel free to ask any questions.

But the best of all, there is no such a think as virus/spyware/broken XP or Vista and all that miserable stuff from Microsoft. The MAC OSX just WORKS :)

Ask anyone here using OSX and they will tell you the same thing...

Ethan

[ReyXLP]

My machine is only a few months old with top of the line CPU, HD rpm, and RAM specs, plus it included the Vista upgrade, so I didn't think performance would suffer too much.

Actually, everything works fine except the networking - that's what's killing me. Anything to do with surfing is so slow, and I'm getting a solid 6Mbps download speed when I test the connection, same as with XP.

From some initial research, sounds like this is a common complaint among Vista users and the most suspected sources are the IPv6 protocol and immature network drivers.

XP I just left alone, but with Vista I've spent all my free time the last couple of days learning how to streamline and tweak it to improve performance, but seems like no matter what I do surfing is just painfully slower than in XP.

At this rate, I might just bite the bullet and buy another XP COA. I doubt no matter what I said that Dell/MS would re-activate my old one.

Sigh...
Rey



1994 BMW 750iL
1996 BMW 850CSi

[ReyXLP]

Yuck! ;-)

No offense, but I don't know how you MAC guys do it.

I keep trying MACs when I get the chance, be it at a friend's house, office, or Kinkos. I have yet to do ANYTHING on a MAC that I didn't prefer doing on a PC. They also always seem a lot slower to me.

Since Windows 2000 (I skipped ME/Millenium) I've never had any of the instability/crashing issues people always complain about on PCs.

Even the famed video editing issue - tried Final Cut Pro and then Avid XPress Pro and I never looked back to Mac.

Love the iPod - the rest, not for me...

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the main selling point for Macs the superior Motorola CPU design (ground-breaking RISC architecture back in the day, etc.) and didn't they recently switch to Intel?

Help me out, Mac people - what am I missing? I'm genuinely curious - not trying to be an [Oops!].
Rey



1994 BMW 750iL
1996 BMW 850CSi

[ReyXLP]

Rey



1994 BMW 750iL
1996 BMW 850CSi

[Ethan W]

As for the risk processor it made total sense to jump to Intel for the sake of economy of scale, right. Why custom design on the Motorola PPC when you can buy the Intel or AMD at a wholesale price, almost by the pound :) Steve Jobs is a smart guy....

And that's just a small portion of the why Mac and not Windows.

Windows is bloated, insecure and the only worth component from Microsoft is the Office application and nothing else. MS Office is a good thing in my opinion, but everything else is crap....

Even Linux is better than Vista or XP, and people just need to get more exposed to those Operating Systems....

My 2 cents :)

[SupremeBein]

Sence the new MAC computers use a intel processor can you install MAC OSX on a pc? If not why?
Blake Edwards
'92 850i, Mauritius Blue Metallic / Light Parchment

http://mydrive.roadfly.com/blog/SupremeBein
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2649347

[ladislav]

Apple hardware is too expensive. Linux runs on commodity hardware.

[ladislav]

You might get them to let you go back for little.

Or just follow link below for a freebie. Get it over with - you'll never look back.

[Ethan W]

they're trying too hard to replicate windows. Trying way too hard and the entire GUI interface gnome, kde, etc, etc are a total failure. Hard too navigate and non-intuitive.Put a linux box in front of someone and watch them getting lost and don't even talk about hardware support for the generic hardware. The linux code is almost as bloated as the windows one, but at least there is more quality in it. Is that good? Not really... Who cares for bloated code, stable or unstable. You need manageable code, simple and easy to use and that what OSX did. I remember when Jobs got kicked off Apple and he started Pixar studio and NextStep OS and then they begged him to come back... Everything he touches really works and is very user friendly...
He did what linux could not do. He took the power of Unix and put an almost perfect interface on top of it.. So here you have the stability and security of a robust Unix OS plus the awesome intuitive interface of the NextStep OS.... Expensive? Hell yeah. Worth the money? Sure it is... So what's the justification for using OSX? O well, where do I start...

But never the less I am big Linux fan, but I just gived up on using it for the daily stuff. I used Linux for a main server but then moved that to OSX as well. Is UNIX BSDI and it does all the appache, ftp, php, perl, dns, sendmail, and you name all the other Unix stuff...

And I could go forever....

And talking about the iPhone. O MY GOD....

[Ethan W]

volume like the Dells, HP and others so they don't need to install OSX on any intell box and then sale it. They have specialized hardware for a very different OS.... and I am glad they're keeping like that.... Better control when it comes to hardware support and all of that...
Apple makes between 20% to 60% margin on hardware so it is a good business to be in :) The OSX operating system is what brings it all together.

I just dropped $670 on an iPhone. You know how much $$$ took to build that? Parts and labor about $249, and trust me I know some guys in the main plant in Shenzen China where apple is building all their stuff. So with that in mind they just made $421 profit on that piece of hardware.

And talking about the iPhone. Touch and use one and you will see what I am talking about :)


So after all why would they move their stuff to a Dell, IMB, Gateway or HP???

[gtessier]

Bought a new notebook and Vista Ultimate was the only option. So I figure what the heck, I'll try it and see how it works. It is bloated, sucks memory and takes some getting used to. I cant get it to connect to my networked printer. :(
<font face="Andy" size="4" color="#666666"><b>GregT</b></font>
<p><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/gtessier/M5Small.jpg" width="271" height="155">
------------
"That's thirty minutes away. I'll be there in ten." W.W.

[ReyXLP]

Can't find the link right now, but you got me curious and just Googling around I came across a couple of sites suggesting there are people running OSX on PCs.

One is on Wikipedia and I forget the other - maybe "Insane Mac" or something like that?

Looks like people are doing it.
Rey



1994 BMW 750iL
1996 BMW 850CSi

[ReyXLP]

Vista was fine except that all my networking was SLOWER THAN DIALUP!!! No joke!

It wasn't the ISP or anything outside of the OS, either - tried two other systems, wireless/wired, router/direct to modem, even "borrowed" a couple of unsecured local WiFi's just to test momentarily. Vista brought all surfing and internet related access to a CRAWL.

Strangest thing about it was, once you got the data flowing (i.e. like in a download or bandwidth test) it flowed right around 5.5mbps (service is supposed to be 6.) Somehow, though, everything in between was unbearably slow - even different frames on the same page.

Did a lot of research online and many attribute this to the IPv6 protocol it now checks for in addition to the standard IPv4, so negotiating which protocol will be used with each page takes twice as long, if I understood this correctly.

Used various tweaks and recommendations to disable/simplify this procedure and other general tricks to speed things up. Helped a little, but not nearly enough.

I tried to re-install XP expecting it to refuse to activate since when you do the Vista upgrade through Dell they very clearly warn you that once you upgrade your XP COA/KEY will be toast, but to my pleasant surprise, no problems going back to XP whatsoever. Haven't read Lad's Dell post yet but sounds like they've had to let people roll back.

Back to XP Pro off a clean install and WOW it's sooooo much faster!

---

STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS VISTA!!!
Rey



1994 BMW 750iL
1996 BMW 850CSi