Re: Windows XP - What you'll miss about Vista
Alias wrote:
> 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 *Out of date software applications.*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 of out of date applications that must be removed and/or updated.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.
>>
>>
>
> Not very convincing, sorry. Who needs IE7 and Windows DRM Media 11? And
> Defenseless? You *must* be kidding! At least the writer didn't complain
> that UAC isn't included with XP. I wonder why ...
>
> Alias
Don't worry sheep-fukker...you'll never be able to afford or steal W7.
Best you stick with that POS toy os upyurbuttoo!
Frank