-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*Out of date software applications.*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of out of date applications that must be removed and/or updated.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.
--
Dzomlija
Peter Alexander Dzomlija
-Do you hear, huh? The Alpha and The Omega? Death and Rebirth? And as
you die, so shall I be Reborn...-
_*Prometheus*_
MOBO: ASUS MB-M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi-AP
CPU: AMD Phenom 9600 Quad
RAM: 2 x A-Data 2GB DDR2-800
GPU: ASUS ATI Radeon HD 2400PRO, 256MB
BOX: Thermaltake Tai-Chi Water Cooled
OS: Windows Vista Ultimate x64
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