BlogHer - Windows Vista: Is it irritating you? - Comments

How about the next Mac OS X?

Virginia DeBolt — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 05:10:41 -0500

I heard a guy from Apple talking this week at a conference. At the very end of his talk, he mentioned that the next Mac OS X version will have a built in podcast creator. That sounds great for bloggers. I wonder if it will lure more disgruntled Vista users away from Windows.

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I'm Still an XP User!

Beanteacher — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:36:40 -0500

Hi Virginia,

I SAW heard the audio of this interaction on the radio, of all places. It was a classic exchange and I chuckled out loud!

Many of the tech types I speak to don't have many nice things to say about Vista.

I have a lot of legacy software that I have to use for my business and for the classroom, so I simply cannot make the change right now.

As if that's not enough, we also use Macs in the classroom (along with Windows).

Aloha,

Lisa N.
Owner and Founder
Hawaiian Shirts at Beanteacher Hawaiian Style

It's tough to change

Virginia DeBolt — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 19:03:23 -0500

when you've spent hundreds, maybe thousands, on software for an OS and then wish you could use a different one. We're trapped, I tell you, trapped by our software.

http://www.webteacher.ws/
http://first50.wordpress.com/

I go back and forth a lot

Virginia DeBolt — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 19:00:05 -0500

between Windows and Mac, and while the right-click vs. ctrl-click thing doesn't get me, my fingers absolutely refuse to switch from the command key to the control key for keyboard menu commands for cutting, pasting, printing, etc. But that's just habit. The incompatablility issues are serious. Is Office 2007 available only for Vista users?

http://www.webteacher.ws/
http://first50.wordpress.com/

I'm also having a problem with...

Catherine Morgan — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 12:39:44 -0500

My two main problems with Vista is...my "new" laptop is slower than my old one...it's running very slow. I also can't get my printer to work with this new laptop...I have to go back and forth from my old one (that I gave to my daughter), and the new one, based on what I need to do. It's very frustrating.

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan
also at Women 4 Hope and CatherineBlogs.com

That Blankety-Blank OS is Bonkers!

Gena Haskett — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 11:26:31 -0500

This summer I I bought a new laptop with Vista on it. First thing it did was do a black screen of death or non-life. I had to reboot two times before I got any action. Got it up and running but it shouldn't have hung up the first time I plug the sucker in.

I've watching the spastic cursor move places I didn't tell it to, having it crash just as I was finishing a report, or not see the wi-fi at the conference where moments before it had.

There is more but my mind has blank out the horrors. My desktop is XP and staying so. I have a Knoppix CD disk around here someplace that I can use as a substitute OS when I travel.

I've updated the laptop to the latest SP1 update. It is better but I pity the poor chumps who paid extra for the upscale features that M$ has yet to deliver and word is they have no plans to do so.

I know that the first year or so on a new OS from M$ is rocky but they have been working on this for 4 or 5 years before release. It behaved like an Alpha level program that should not have seen the light of day.

Really looking at Ubuntu or some of the other LInux distributions for a transition to a new operating system. I wish I could go Mac (I have an old Mac SE someplace) but I can't do it just yet.) Tux is calling my name and the Penguin is looking better and better.

My problem is that I do need to edit videos and for the moment I'm locked into the Windows OS.

Gena - Out On The Stoop

Backward comparability? Who needs it.

Elisa Camahort — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 10:38:21 -0500

Being a lifetime Windows user that switched to mac 4 years ago, first just for personal stuff, then as my sole machine I can affirm that switching can be frustrating. "Intuitive" it may be for a new computer user, but if you've been using one system for years and switch, you will find some things confusing. (My favorite tip: you can find most right-click menus with ctrl-click.)

That being said-the most asinine thing I've noticed about the transition to vista and office 2007 is the decision to make office 2007 documents have new extensions that make it backward incompatible not only with non-windows users, but for windows users who haven't upgraded. Every time an Office 2007 user sends around a doc there are a flurry of extra emails asking the sender to save in a backward compatible version and re-send. Most anoting, and most inefficient for all concerned.

Elisa Camahort
BlogHer
elisa@blogher.org

My new iMac is a dream...

Liz Rizzo — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 09:03:28 -0500

And so is OS10 - Feel like I've dead and gone to computer heaven.

I'm just saying...

;)

Liz Rizzo

I blog at Everyday Goddess.

Not bugging me personally

Valbee — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 17:59:26 -0500

But there are a whole lot of college students where I work who were quite annoyed for a while. Our wireless network in the library wouldn't recognize computers with Vista. I'm not an IT person, but our techs told me it had to do with the authentication process. This doesn't reflect well on an university that's trying to promote "student-centered service." The last thing you want to have to do is tell a student, "Oh, you're running Vista? Sorry, you're out of luck."

We've since upgraded the network and all of the lab computers, but staff are still using XP. I hear we're upgrading soon, though, and I can't say I'm looking forward to it OR Office 2007.

Disorderly Conduct

Or . . .

Kalyn Denny — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 16:34:54 -0500

Or possibly that I'm a teacher and used to having so many things related to technology be out of my control.

Or maybe I don't know enough to realize what's wrong!

Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen

Unstuck

Virginia DeBolt — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 15:36:51 -0500

Also, as I pointed out, Microsoft is making XP available again. Unless, like Maria, this isn't your favorite option.

Most people who use Ubuntu love it. They are as avid about their OS as most Mac users.

We should keep in mind that Microsoft has mentioned the heavy demands of the OS and said it isn't for everyone. (Does that statement take care of fairness doctrine demands?)

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http://first50.wordpress.com/

Lisa and kperfetto and other switchers,

Virginia DeBolt — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 15:30:46 -0500

I secretly think that a lot of people have complained about Vista because it's getting too Mac-like. But then I thought the same thing when XP came out. The blue screen of death and other issues people have raised are definitely not Mac-like. Switching teams is a bold move--have fun with it.

http://www.webteacher.ws/
http://first50.wordpress.com/

This either means

Virginia DeBolt — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 15:26:14 -0500

that you are not frightened by change or that Steve Ballmer will love you when he finds out about your opinion.

http://www.webteacher.ws/
http://first50.wordpress.com/

Hey, if you do

Virginia DeBolt — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 15:23:30 -0500

figure out how to get a mailto link to open in a browser-based email program, let the world know.

Or are you using a POP mail account for gmail? If you are, you should be able to set a preference to make it your default email. I don't know where to tell you to look, though. Sorry.

http://www.webteacher.ws/
http://first50.wordpress.com/

You are NOT stuck with Vista

QAmom — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 15:11:04 -0500

I too hate Vista, but have to use it on occasion for my job. However, noobdy is stuck with Vista. I would strongly recommend becoming an Ubuntu linux user. It is simple to install, does everything you need.

If you want to try it out - there is a demo mode on the install disk. Another option is to make your machine dual boot. That way you can try them both and decide what works best for you.

There are tons of resources online and in book stores.

Windows Vista: Is it irritating you?

Virginia DeBolt — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 10:24:54 -0500

Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer appeared at the Gartner Inc. Symposium ITxpo conference in Orlando earlier this week. He was interviewed on stage during a conference forum by Yvonne Genovese and fellow analyst David Smith. Genovese told Ballmer she'd purchased Vista on the recommendation of her 13 year old daughter. She used it for two days and reinstalled Windows XP.

Many male bloggers, like these, had a great time playing this up as an outraged mom laying into the good-natured Steve Ballmer, who took it like a man and pointed out the security features of Vista in rebuttal. It seems to me that Genovese created a storm simply because she had the nerve to mention to Ballmer that many people are not crazy in love with Windows Vista—while being female.

According to the male blogger interpretation of the conversation between Genovese and Ballmer, it was all about Ballmer having his hands full with an attack from outraged mom. No notice was taken of the fact that this was a professional conference where an industry professional, whose job it was to interview Ballmer in a forum, asked a question that has been on the minds of women and men alike since the release of Vista. She framed the question with a refernce to her daughter, so she became nothing more than a mad mom.

According to a report at Computer World, Genovese said,

"What we're seeing and what we're hearing from users is a very similar thing. It's difficult to implement. What should we be seeing that we're not seeing?"

Oddly, Ballmer didn't mention that Microsoft reintroduced Windows XP in stores in September to make it easier for customers who wanted to "downgrade." Seems a whole lot of Vista users want to "downgrade," not just mothers.

Here, for example, is a man's opinion of Vista: the YouTube video "Vista install in 2 minutes."

What are women saying about Vista?

BlogHer Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan told me in an email,

I had to replace my lap top a few weeks ago, and had the unpleasant surprise of Vista being my only option. I HATE IT. I don't have a problem with this operating system being available, I just have a problem with not having a choice of whether or not to use it. If I had a choice it would be XP.

Barbara Darrow, writing at Channel Marker says about Vista,

It . . . shows that despite all the PR and marketing glitz in the world, solution partners are canaries in the coal mine for such launches. They have long maintained that Vista wasn’t ready for prime time. Many have good businesses continuing to sell Windows XP-based systems which are scarce at retail.

Speaking as a resigned-but-not-happy Vista user, Microsoft needs to focus on what it really needs to do and filter out the noise. That means an operating system that works without forced reboots, that boots up and shuts down in less time than it takes to get a cup of coffee, and a browser that doesn’t hang.

At Where's the Mute Button, blogger Kathy T makes no bones about her attitude toward Windows Vista.

I bought this new computer this summer… an HP Pavilion dv6000, complete with Windows Vista. I HATE IT. Not only does it seem to randomly shut down for stupid upgrades and uploads in the middle of important work, but now my mouse is double clicking everything. I just hit publish on my lipstick blog down there and apparently it clicked twice, thereby causing me to have to go in and delete one. I go to click something on my favorites and it double clicks which means I go to TWO sites instead of the ONE I wanted.

To channel some Pink Floyd, is there any body out there? Anyone who can help me figure this damn thing out to keep it from these frickin’ double clicks? I hate Windows Vista. I hate this laptop. I want my IBM Thinkpad back (the motherboard went out on it). Aaargh!

A woman had the guts to ask Steve Ballmer a question in a public forum that a lot of Windows users probably wish they could ask the man. Good for her. The whole angry mom in conflict with a good old boy from the corporation story is just a lot of sound and fury that boils down to gender bias.