Quick thoughts about Windows Vista

Earlier this evening, I installed a free copy of Windows Vista Home Premium I’d been given.  Well, it wasn’t free - it cost me $10.  I decided to install it on my laptop where it couldn’t do very much damage, as I only use my laptop for work, and there aren’t many programs installed on it.

The good news is, the installation was successful and there were no fatal errors or failures or major problems of any sort.  The bad news is that the installation took a very, very long time.  First, Vista removed a whole bunch of programs, then it installed itself, then it configured itself, then it reinstalled all those programs it had removed.  All the uninstalling/reinstalling was necessary to ensure specific drivers worked properly, but from start to finish, I’d say the upgrade took five or six hours.  Nonstop.  I did it while I watched TV, because I was constantly prompted to approve this thing or agree to another thing, so it wasn’t as if I could just put my laptop aside for the process to finish on its own.  It required attention.

So far, I love the look of Vista, and love some of the new gadgets it offers.  I think it will be very handy.  I may have to install new drivers for our wireless network printer because it was tossing out some odd warning messages, but other than that, I haven’t noticed any compatibility problems.  I definitely want to install Vista on my main desktop PC when I have money to buy the regularly-priced version of Home Premium.  I’m already running Office 2007 on it and I love it, so Vista is the next logical step.  My desktop PC is filled with so many programs, though, so I’ll need to set aside a day to upgrade, and to make lists of things I’ll need to reinstall.  Life without my laptop is just an inconvenience, but life without my desktop means I can’t do my job(s), so I can’t take major actions like upgrades too lightly.

One last pro-Microsoft note for this evening—I’m really enjoying their security program, “Windows Live OneCare”.  It has a three month free trial that I’ve been using and it’s integrated seamlessly into my desktop PC.  I had been running McAfee and CounterSpy, and while they both worked, they were processor and memory hogs.  Now that I’m just running OneCare, everything is faster, and I’ve had fewer crashes (the McAfee Firewall used to cause my computer to lock up every now and again).  The price for OneCare is right - just $49.95 for a three-computer license after our 90 day trial is up.  If you want to try the OneCare trial yourself, click here.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 03/03 at 05:01 AM

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  1. By coincidence my old work computer died right after Vista came out, so when we got a new office computer for me, my bosses decide to go for Vista and Office 2007. I’ve heard some people complaing that they hate the new Word and find it hard to use, but like you, I love it. I find it much more intuitive than the older versions. I may still be in the “honeymoon phase” though, so we’ll see how it goes.

    Posted by Helena  on  03/05  at  12:55 PM

  2. Hi Leigh-Ann,

    I spoke too soon, and now I’m having stupid issues with Windows Mail. Four hours with Dell tech support has yielded nothing. Are there any good websites you’d recommend where I can poke around looking for a solution? I ask because you seem to be way more tech-savvy than I am, and also because you’re one of the few people I know who uses Vista. (Hope I’m not being presumptuous to ask!)

    (I wrote it up here if you’re curious: http://floridagirl1.livejournal.com/272217.html)

    Thanks,
    Helenea

    Posted by Helena  on  03/08  at  01:19 PM
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