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redbeard · 06-09-2007, 10:06 AM

I've had my HP Vista machine for four days, now. (It arrived unexpectedly early on Tuesday, shipped from China on Monday morning. What a world.)

There has been some gnashing of teeth: Vista sometimes has trouble 'finding' other computers on the network. Okay, I lost my temper and broke the phone headset at one point. That's when wife and kids left the house...

Bottom line: after an extended session with HP's online help/chat service, I'm up and running with a Vista machine. It sees all my existing computers, I can surf the net, and I'm typing this on the Vista machine. I believe that, while there are problems with Vista (and I have more adventures ahead), most support techies have seen them already and have a fix in hand.

It's amazing how many different recommendations from colleges are posted on this thread. I would be the last to actually recommend Vista/Office 2007. But, I've found the new MS products can be made operational, and the good outweighs the bad. My worst fears were not realized. My worst fears?
- Bloatware that drags down the computer to the point it is slower than existing computers.
- Security "helping hands" that degrade performance more than the viruses they're meant to protect me from.
- Software and driver incompatibilities that would force me to buy even more hardware or software.
None of those things have happened. And, I got the expected improvements, such as new features and neat new inventions. In the end, it was a net plus. And, now I have a machine that is only at the beginning of its obsolescence cycle instead of the end.

06-09-2007, 10:06 AM	#57
redbeard Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Fairfax County, VA Threads: 15 Posts: 299	My Vista Experience I've had my HP Vista machine for four days, now. (It arrived unexpectedly early on Tuesday, shipped from China on Monday morning. What a world.) There has been some gnashing of teeth: Vista sometimes has trouble 'finding' other computers on the network. Okay, I lost my temper and broke the phone headset at one point. That's when wife and kids left the house... Bottom line: after an extended session with HP's online help/chat service, I'm up and running with a Vista machine. It sees all my existing computers, I can surf the net, and I'm typing this on the Vista machine. I believe that, while there are problems with Vista (and I have more adventures ahead), most support techies have seen them already and have a fix in hand. It's amazing how many different recommendations from colleges are posted on this thread. I would be the last to actually recommend Vista/Office 2007. But, I've found the new MS products can be made operational, and the good outweighs the bad. My worst fears were not realized. My worst fears? - Bloatware that drags down the computer to the point it is slower than existing computers. - Security "helping hands" that degrade performance more than the viruses they're meant to protect me from. - Software and driver incompatibilities that would force me to buy even more hardware or software. None of those things have happened. And, I got the expected improvements, such as new features and neat new inventions. In the end, it was a net plus. And, now I have a machine that is only at the beginning of its obsolescence cycle instead of the end.