Shoutbox

Hello,

In the last couple of months, I’ve read many stories about Windows Vista and comments from people complaining about it. I shared some of their frustrations while testing Vista Beta 1&2 myself but until now, I kept using the “hey, it’s a beta, stop complaining and wait” argument. I said “until now” because Windows Vista’s first release candidate version is expected to be out soon. What more can I say than “it’s not ready”? In the past 10 years I spent as a software developer, I’ve always been eager to test new operating systems and update my products accordingly, always been a supporter of Microsoft in one way or the other. I really believed that Windows Vista would be an exceptional piece of work and this trust started to erode when they announced the list of features that they were pulling out from the final release (that many people tend to have forgotten now). Now, they are talking about a release candidate built from a beta version that’s nowhere near what a public product should be and this really concerns me a lot.

Recently, I tried working on Vista Beta 2 to make Messenger Plus! “Windows Vista Ready” and I couldn’t do a satisfying job, for two simple but important reasons: lack of new api/behaviour documentation and constant battles against Vista to make it do what I want it to do (nothing pleases more than getting 3 confirmations to copy/replace a file to finally realise 10 minutes later that the file never got replaced as it should have). If I’m getting so many problems while having the will and interest to work on Vista, with a project of the size of Messenger Plus!, imagine how bigger companies must be feeling right now. Chances are they’re more actively working on PR sheets telling people that their new line of Vista products will be released in late 2007 rather than working on the products themselves and if that’s true, what good will Vista be without good third party software and drivers?

I know some of you may say that we still have to wait for the next testers’ release but I don’t think that’s true, you cannot expect to create a good release candidate from such an unstable beta version. My concerns have now surpassed my original beliefs and seeing that I’m not the only one thinking this way, I though some of you may be interested in reading about it. For that reason, I invite you to check out the recent news post from my friends at Neowin as well as the blogs linked in the article. I still trust Microsoft for doing the right thing and I don’t think there should be such a difference between “shareholder’s interests” and “public interests”. If you don’t get the second, how can you expect to maintain the first?

Patchou

What can i say.. i guess you're right

i have beta 2, never installed it, and i never will.

You're so right.

I've not used Vista myself yet and probably won't for some time since I'm satisfied with XP, but I happen to help run #windowsvista and #vista channels on EFNet (trekie actually owns the channels) so I've seen the sort of questions and issues people have had and on the whole the majority of people have found it pretty okay/stable to run and use from day to day - granted most of them weren't developers. There are some hardcore testers around though and they have found it fair-average to dev on, one of my close friends has switched to it as a primary OS and she has made almost no complaints about it. I think neowin are overly pessimistic.

To be honest when Vista comes out, I won't be using it for a while. Same with most people I guess, the minority will be using Vista, and therefore release dates do not bother me. I would rather have the finished OS, that is just wonderful, than a rushed OS that makes me want to just downgrade again.

I guess there will be a load SP's for vista. I don't use it until at least SP1 is there. Then still...

tbh i don't think Microsoft will release a bug riddled OS with major performance and stability problems. Microsoft aren't stupid - all the stuff people have been "suggesting" they would have been considering a long time ago.

Sure, there is going to be minor problems on release that will be fixed up in service packs. But i can tell you for certain (running Vista for awhile now) that once its released and you install it you definitely will not beable to downgrade to windows XP again.

technically, but i'm sure i'd want to

Tbh i think vista is being put up as something it isnt ... its not all its said to be. The developers should put the users needs first. ffs they are the ones who will buy your product and without that, you are fuxed.

Anyways i wont be shifting anytime soon. I was eager to come on xp cause 98 was butt ugly and old and ME was crappy. Xp is far better imo and ill stick with it Looks good and performs even better

Well when Vista comes out I won't be useing it. It's way to fancy for me. Too much preatty graphics and its to secure (wells trys to be) like I remember at one time it asked you 3 times if you were sure you wanted to delete a file. And also every driver has to be signed with Microsoft. Which is stupid because now my older mixing hardware wont work with it.

I'll stick with XP then I'll eventually move to Linux or I'll get a Mac.