Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Monday, February 19, 2007
Well. I'm now running Windows Vista on my desktop. As upgrades go this could have been far worse. The only piece of hardware I had to replace was the sound card. I came close on the scanner, but I was able to hack together a driver using a method I'd found for XP 64 along with an updated version of the SilverFast TWAIN replacement. The latter falls under the category of "don't try this at home, boys and girls" - unless you really know what the heck you're doing. Thing is, I love my scanner. The replacement is going to cost $200, and the only real difference I see is driver support.
So what about the rest of the upgrade experience? Well, we found out (through FOX News of all places that the only way to upgrade from XP 64 to Vista 64 is to wipe the disk and start over. Not very friendly if you ask me. Fortunately for me, I'd decided to use this upgrade as an opportunity to replace the hard drive with a better, stronger, faster SATA hard drive. My old one was fine, but I could tell that speed was an issue with XP 64.
The other issue was lack of tuner support for the video card. That was promised for Vista, and now it seems the manufacturer isn't going to deliver on that promise. Tuner support was a big reason for the upgrade to Vista, so I am massively disappointed. This isn't a problem with Vista or Microsoft; it's all down to the card manufacturer. I'm on my fourth incarnation of this particular brand of video/tuner combo card, and this is the first time I've ever run into this sort of issue. I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that the manufacturer is under new ownership?
There are always glitches with this sort of thing, and I'm happy that they weren't worse.
Now what about the good stuff? I love the sidebar, and I've even put together my first gadget - a CatCam viewer. I'll make this available for general use once I get the bugs worked out and fix the look and feel.
Windows Mobile Device Center replaces ActiveSync for connecting devices such as the PocketPC and Smartphones. Of course, I didn't realize that and ended up downloading and attempting to install ActiveSync before I realized what was going on. Oops.
I would still like to turn some of the security features off or find a way to tweak the settings. When I was installing updates and re-installing software Windows kept asking whether or not I approved of the software install. Well yes. I clicked on the icon, didn't I? Once I got through the spate of installs things have settled down on that front.
And yes, Vista has a very "Mac" look to it. Some of it I like, some is annoying. I'll play with settings later, once I get settled in.
If you're planning to upgrade to Vista, head over to the Microsoft site and download the Upgrade Advisor. That will let you know of any "gotchas" ahead of time, such as outdated drivers or hardware. This is a good thing! Unfortunately that widget does not work on XP 64, or I'd have found out about the sound card issue in advance.
Back to work. More later.
Tags: Technology, Windows Vista