Re: Windows XP - What you'll miss about Vista
Dzomlija wrote:
> -This post is an extract from article
> "-'-http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/xpsp3_02.asp-'
> (http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/xpsp3_02.asp)-" appearing on Paul
> Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows.-
>
> _______________________________
> Paul Thurrott's article basically covers the comparison between XP and
> Vista quite nicely, and hopefully will give people a better
> understanding of why Vista is better than XP - even if XP SP3 is
> installed.
> _______________________________
>
> Aside from obvious look and feel issues, the most striking thing about
> downgrading from Windows Vista to XP is the sheer number of things that
> need to be installed and configured in order to bring the older OS up to
> speed with its more recent stablemate. Just some of these issues
> include:
>
> *Hardware drivers.*
> On three different systems, one a desktop and two portable devices, XP
> required me to install a huge number of hardware drivers, most of which
> had to be manually downloaded on other PCs because the XP-based PC
> initially lacked networking facilities.
>
> *Out of date software applications.*
> Even with the very latest version of XP, there are an alarming number
> of out of date applications that must be removed and/or updated. I
> removed MSN Explorer, Outlook Express, and Windows Messenger using Add
> or Remove Programs. Then I manually updated Internet Explorer 6 to 7 and
> Windows Media Player 9 to 11 by downloading the latest versions from
> Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center.
>
> *Missing applications. *
> Windows XP does not include certain applications, like the
> aforementioned IE 7 and WMP 11. But it's more than that. You have to
> manually find, download, and install Windows Defender (or the
> anti-spyware application of your choice), an application that (like IE 7
> and WMP 11) is included in Vista by default. And like Vista, XP doesn't
> ship with any form of anti-virus. So you'll have to find some kind of AV
> solution on your own as well.
>
> *Microsoft Update. *
> Windows XP ships with a lousy Web-based version of Windows Update,
> which will not automatically provide updates for non-Windows products.
> To gain this functionality, you have to manually install Microsoft
> Update, a multi-step and time-consuming process. Once Microsoft Update
> is installed, you can't get it to appear in the Start Menu's Most
> Recently Used (MRU) list, no matter how frequently you use it. But the
> old Windows Update appears in the Start Menu MRU, even when it's been
> replaced.
>
> *Start Menu. *
> XP's Start Menu, which relies on pop-out menus that never remember how
> to stay sorted alphabetically, is demonstrably less useable than
> Vista's. As you install more and more applications, the Start Menu grows
> and grows, necessitating manual pruning and organization, a process that
> isn't required on Vista. And don't get me started on the lack of Start
> Menu Search.
>
> *Hidden applications.*
> Tied to the lack of Start Menu Search, you simply have to know that
> certain utilities exist in order to access them. Device Manager is a
> typical example. To find it in XP, open the Start Menu, right-click My
> Computer, choose Properties, and then go to Hardware tab. Obviously.
>
> *Desktop.*
> Unlike with Vista, XP's desktop icons are too small ... or way too big,
> assuming you can find the place in the UI where you can change their
> size. Vista's more configurable desktop is easier on the eyes,
> especially with the high-resolution screens of today.
>
> *ClearType.*
> Microsoft's ClearType sub-pixel rendering system is not enabled by
> default on Windows XP and must be manually enabled.
>
> *Windows Search.*
> Windows XP's unbelievably annoying Search Companion, which for some
> bizarre reason utilizes a cartoon dog, isn't just condecscending to
> users, it's also lousy at what it does. To fix this and provide XP with
> something approaching the power of Vista's Instant Search functionality,
> you need to know about, find, and then manually download Windows Desktop
> Search.
>
> *Networking. *
> XP's networking functionality is laughably bad compared to Vista's,
> which features simple, plain English auto-configuration capabilities
> that utilize location concepts like Home, Work, and Public Location. In
> XP, you have to enter the WPA network key TWICE to initially configure
> wireless networking. There are repeated "Now connected" pop-up balloons:
> Yeah, we get it, you're connected. And then there are those annoying
> disconnected network adapter icons in the tray. You can't make them go
> away unless you disable the connection(s) or connect them to something.
>
> *Power management. *
> You have to enable the power management tray icon in Power Options on
> portable machines. You also have to manually enable Hibernation,
> regardless of the PC type. And then you have to hope that it works,
> since power management is so much more dicey in XP than it is in Vista.
> Good luck!
>
> *Backup. *
> XP's backup utility dates back to the earliest days of NT and it shows.
> Not surprisingly, Vista features a completely rewritten backup utility
> that really works, and provides both image-based full PC backup and file
> backup functionality. Oh, and Previous Versions, which lets you get at
> older versions of documents and other data files. XP has none of that.
>
> *Taskbar. *
> Seriously, make the Language toolbar go away. Why does it appear? Why
> does it appear after I close it?
>
> *User interface. *
> I'm not going to harp on XP's out of date user interface too much. But
> I will point out that there is a decent XP UI available called Royale
> that debuted in XP Media Center Edition 2005. It doesn't come with XP
> Home or Pro by default, but you can download it from the Web. Why it's
> not just included in XP is beyond me, but anyone stuck using XP should
> search for it, download it, and install it.
>
> What makes this list even more daunting is that Windows XP, unlike
> Vista, does not include any automatic degunking technology. Over time,
> Windows XP simply gets slower and slower, and eventually you have to
> reinstall from scratch to recover lost performance. That's not the case
> with Windows Vista.
>
> *::Other features I missed from Windows Vista::*
> Windows Vista's detractors like to spread the myth that Microsoft's
> latest desktop OS doesn't offer enough unique new functionality when
> compared to its predecessor, Windows XP. That's not true at all. In
> addition to not suffering from most of the many issues listed above,
> I've found my time using XP to be quite painful at times because I
> missed, among other things, the following Vista features:
>
> *Windows Aero. *
> Dismissed as eye candy, Vista's Aero user interface is nicer looking
> than anything found on XP. It's also more functional: Aero's glass
> effects and taskbar icon previews make it easier to find other windows
> when you're multi-tasking. Subtle animations tell you where to look for
> minimized windows. And live icons give you previews of document
> contents. (One Aero feature I don't care for or use, however, is Flip
> 3D). Possible solution: Download Royale at the very least or put up with
> a potentially buggy UI replacement like WindowBlinds.
>
> *Start Menu Search. *
> It doesn't get a lot of press, but this just may be one of Vista's best
> and most important features. In my case, it affects my daily workflow in
> ways that weren't appreciated until I downgraded to XP and immediately
> missed its presense. Possible solution: Download a third party launcher
> like Launchy or Enso Launcher
>
> *Windows Sidebar. *
> I actually use Windows Sidebar regularly though I wish there were more
> quality gadgets available. After initially promising to port Sidebar to
> XP, Microsoft eventually gave up on the project. Possible solution:
> Download a third party sidebar replacement like Google Desktop or Yahoo!
> Widgets.
>
> *Breadcrumb bar. *
> The new breadcrumb bar in Windows Vista's Explorer windows is a huge
> improvement over the ancient address bars in XP and older Windows
> versions. The big advance, however, isn't the simplification of the
> location display, it's the ability to quickly jump around in the folder
> hierarchy using the breadcrumb bar's node-based navigation scheme. As
> with Start Menu Search, this is a feature you don't realize you use so
> often until it's gone.
>
> *Disk Defrag. *
> Windows XP does include a disk defragmentation utility, but it doesn't
> run automatically in the background so you have to remember to run it
> regularly.
>
> *ReadyBoost. *
> A lot is made about how much better Windows XP runs on older hardware
> than does Vista, but then why wouldn't it? A more important potential
> market for Vista is those PCs that are less than two years old and on
> the edge of meeting realistic Vista hardware requirements. For these
> systems--with 1 to 2 GB of RAM and a pre-Core 2 Duo processor--Microsoft
> has provided a truly useful performance feature called ReadyBoost that
> makes all the difference in the world. Plug in a 512 MB to 2 GB USB
> memory fob and suddenly that dog of a PC will run Vista just fine, thank
> you very much.
>
> I know, I know. You're looking at this list and you're thinking big
> deal. Remember, however, that this isn't a list of unique Vista
> features--a list that would include such technologies as BitLocker,
> Media Center, and Windows Calendar, among many others. This is a list of
> things that impact me, as an individual, on a regular basis. A list that
> should be combined with the list of issues from the previous section to
> provide a wider overall picture of the real world day to day differences
> between using each system. In this light, the advantages of Windows
> Vista are very real. Very real indeed.
>
>
>
What a crock, regarding how XP "slows down". I've had XP loaded on my
desktop Pavilion for about over 4 years, and its no slower than the day
it was purchased. I haven't had to reload any of my OS's since I got
WIN3.1. I use each PC until i get the urge to buy another one in a few
years and the new PC has another version of Windows on it. I don't
understand why so many people claim they NEED to reinstall windows from
time to time. IMO, if they knew what they were doing they could keep
windows running as well after 2 years as the day they bought it. And
NO, I'm not just unaware of slowdowns--I can tell if somethings wonky.
I've used 3.1, Win 95, Win 98SE, XP, and now Vista. Unless the hard
drive dies on my Vista machines, I anticipate the same longevity with
ONE installation of the OS,. rather then the PC-hobbyist mentality of
reloading it 3 or 4 times a year.