I'm one of those users who has been using Vista with no problems ever since Microsoft gave out RTM copies to beta testers. However, as a writer, I've watched the media completely destroy the public opinion of Vista, leading many to stick with Windows XP or to look for alternatives, even before they had tried Vista. Even with SP1 out, many have not bothered trying Vista on recent hardware and therefore could not realize the fact that it really is worthy of being XP's successor. If I had to lay the blame on one party for Vista's poor public opinion, I wouldn't lay it on Microsoft, I wouldn't lay it on hardware companies incapable of producing good drivers, I wouldn't lay it on the fact that XP is so good, I would lay it on the media for blowing things out of proportions.

Yes, the problem is exaggeration (it's in this article's title too, in case you missed it); bloggers and journalists alike use their personal experiences to prove their point in their writing. The blame doesn't solely lie with us, as Vista was by no means perfect, but we did manage to amplify the problems beyond reason. And if the beta is anything to go by, Windows 7 is going to fly. This is, by far, the best beta operating system the software giant has ever released. The media has locked on to this, and is using exaggeration already, before Windows 7 is even ready for prime time.

Full Story: http://arstechnica.com/journals/micr...-windows-7-fly

I have a couple of observations.

Let's all hope that Windows 7 is all that good. Since if it's not, we'll have to listen to a few more years of Apple ads featuring a pseudo-intellectual twit and a fat kid that looks like Bill Gates.

If Windows 7 isn't all that good, it won't matter anyway since M$ has virtually eliminated the competition via questionable business practices. And so it goes.

BTW, the media you're speaking of, is this the same pinko communist liberal press that torpedoed the MILF Queen? (Sarah Palin)

Guys, two of the best posts that I have read here in a long time. Slimy, I couldn't agree more with your assessment. I know builders and gamers that swear by Vista and the gamers using the 64-bit version all say the same thing: They would never go back to XP.

I can't tell you how many people I've talked to who don't want Vista because of what they have read or heard. Then I tell them about the Compaq laptop I bought my daughter almost two years ago for college and that it has Vista and it is rock solid with absolutely no issues. They don't know how to respond to this.

And how many people here have come to TechSpot asking for help because they didn't want Vista on their laptop, so they uninstalled it and loaded XP only to not have it work? They barely tried Vista.

One thing I would disagree with you Slimy is that Microsoft did come out a few months ago and blasted hardware manufacturers who dragged their feet on producing drivers compatible drivers with Vista even though they had Vista to work with before its release. I am particularly thinking of the Nvidia card drivers that were wreacking havoc because of instability with Vista.

And captaincranky. you had me LOL. And torpedo Sarah Palin? Absolutely. The media has agendas upon agendas.

By the way, I've read somewhere that 7 won't run DX9 games. Is this just another rumor?

Thank you William Randolf Hearst!

With Vista, M$ did sort of make a unilateral decision to obsolete everyone's hard and software. This was, in good measure, caused by a desire on the part of M$ to make money, pure and simple. The new sales of XP obviously coudn't equal the prospect of sales of the new OS, plus the sales of retrofitting all the XP machines in existence. But, that's the nature of business, for better or worse. In light of that, we should temper justice with mercy regarding any failure to keep pace by other suppliers. There were rumors that M$ didn't make available sufficient design information available to after market vendors, but who could know who's lying there.

Intel elected not to adopt Vista at all, citing no real need. Something to ponder, is it not?

Vendors have a synergistic / incestuous relationship;

1. little or no profit on Hotfixes or SPx deliver
2. creates the need to develop OS Version++
3. so new features are added as a 'motivating factor'
4. which bloats the install and degrades performance
5. so minimum sys-requirements go up
6. which sells new hardware (eg dual core, gig memory and HDs)

It's called Capitalism ....

But he had agendas! Remember The Maine! by the way, I'm pro-capitilism, I just hope it survives.

captaincranky, I believe blame goes all the way around. I was just responding to slimy in that it was more than just media.

Oh dear, the vanishing institution, with we the impoverished, left to hunger at it's crumbling altars.Now you've gone and gotten me aroused. Wow, I didn't see that coming.

WRH asked a reporter to go to San Juan and report back on the progress of the war.
The reported questioned "What War?" to which WRH replied "You go to San Juan; I'll show you the war".

Peace.

That is the media for you. they blow anything and everything way over board. Doesn't matter what the topic is. They focus on all the wrong things and/or focus to much and yes they do have agena's especially when it comes to politics but lets not get into that at least not in this thread. but I won't get into that (media in general wise) because that could lead to entirely different topic.

Route44 I believe mentioned that they've heard alot of users who want to uninstall vista. We had a few customers who would come into my work (after pack 1 was out) who would be looking to buy XP so they could uninstall Vista. What they don't realize is that when they uninstall Vista especially within warranty period they're voiding their warranty so to speak. I don't know the details as I'm by far not a tech person but I do think you're right that it's way over done.

The computer I'm using (not mine) has Vista and it's fine. Different and a tiny bit annoying at times but not bad (and more so annoying because it's not what I'm used to. The buttons when I click on stuff are usually a little above or to the side of it for it to react). I think the bad rap comes from all the customers who had problems when it first came out but since Pack 1 came out I haven't heard to many bad things about it but I'm also paying alot less to it then I'm sure you guys are!