Well, I've done it. I've gone and reinstalled Vista on my ageing desktop. I had it on there toward the end of last year, but had no end of problems; the DVD drive wasn't recognised and had no online drivers (are there really no generic drivers for this eleven-year-old technology yet?), the graphics card drivers were shonky and slowed the machine (P4, 2.66Ghz 2GB RAM, 256Mb Graphics Card: no turkey yet) and several of the key components of a satisfying, stress free experience were just simply not working. In the end, I gave up on it (a relatively easy decision, as I had received Vista Ultimate as a gift) and installed Mandriva Linux, which is a brilliant alternative to Mac and Windows.
I suppose I was harsher than most on Vista because I'm so used to using Mac OS X, which, despite the murmuring of the masses, is by and large free of these hassles. I've only ever had one reason to use the 'hold power switch' technique in four years of owning my PowerBook G4 (a power-cut during a back-up to a mains-powered Hard Drive) and there isn't that infuriating restart circus that you get when dealing with Windows. Productivity? There's no doubt that you can't install the majority of the apps on Mac that you can on XP, but I've got to say that I always get more done on my Mac. There's something about the way Windows works that leads you down blind alleys, installing disappointing needless apps, servicing a protection regime of anti-virus and spyware blockers that encourages me to waste a lot of time on simply messing around with the machine itself. And some of the features that I was looking forward to using most on Vista were a little disappointing.
Take, for example, Dreamscene. This feature allows you to use a video file as your desktop wallpaper (as opposed to your screensaver). I thought this sounded fantastic, and indeed the guys at Microsoft have done a really good job at getting some relatively hi-def video files to run in the background without stealing the amount of resources that you would think. I'm sure that many people like me (most Mac users appreciate a company that tries to make using a computer more palatable) if asked in a focus group would have been very positive about Dreamscene. But, in practice, the effect doesn't come off at all. It should be an extremely impressive thing to see your wallpaper moving around (the effects are pretty good), but there's no getting away from the fact that to most people it just looks like any other movie file playing on the machine. And despite the efforts of the Microsoft crew, it does affect performance, especially on older machines. Somebody at the development stage should have realised that a lot of effort was going into something that just wasn't worth it. And that goes for a lot of what Microsoft has done with Vista: a lot of real effort and achievement in slightly the wrong direction. A lot of the system is derived from Cupertino, and it does feel a little like using Tiger, but for me it simply can't compete.
So why Vista again? Well, the drivers for my various parts have largely come down the pipe, there's more and more compatible software and you can run the system a lot faster if you shut down a lot of the eye-candy. But really it was the efforts of Microsoft in the area of online content and Vista client applications that got me back on side. The Windows Live suite has got a hell of a lot going for it, as Microsoft have learned a lot from the likes of Google and Yahoo and, in my opinion, improved on them. Integration is quick and seamless, and you get a really consistent experience using these apps online and off. I own an Xbox 360 and there is also a fair bit of integration there as well, meaning that there is quite a lot of temptation for someone like me (with not a lot of spare time) to surrender my online efforts to this deserving cause. The only real downside is that I reckon most people won't appreciate these efforts as much as I do and will continue to use the many alternatives on the market. This would reduce the appeal of Windows Live, as it relies on a good proportion of friends, family and colleagues using it, which would be a real shame (I can't believe I'm taking this tack with bloody Microsoft!).
But there is a lesson here for Apple. I love using my Mac; it is no doubt the superior system. I bought my PowerBook at the same time as I bought a Windows laptop and the value for money is in a different league. Features that the PowerBook has and the Winlap didn't are almost endless; Wifi, DVD drive (the Winlap only had a CD, not even a RWCD!), large 17inch screen, silent operation, a consistent and organic operating system, Firewire, USB 2, a fast processor, large HD, the list goes on and on. The PowerBook is still a powerful laptop today when compared with even £600 Windows laptops. But Apple's online integration into OS X is clumsy in my opinion. They put a lot of uploading features into the iLife suite (which is otherwise an impeccable set of software), and offer .Mac, which on the face of it should be a more natural way of getting content online and sharing it. But £69? £69.00 GBP? For something that everyone else is getting free? And the upload speeds in the UK are absolutely atrocious. Reliability is the worst I have ever encountered on this type of product and I have RARELY had a successful backup on iDisk, upload on iPhoto or a happy experience with anything to do with .Mac. Even the email is inferior and offline more often than Yahoo or GoogleMail. The only reason a lot of people continue to subscribe is for the @mac at the end of the address.
Am I a .Mac subscriber? Hell yes, but only because I picked up a box at ToysRUs when they were selling their Apple stock off cheap. I got it for £9.99, but I tell you that I had to give it a moments debate even at that price. Come on Apple! Get your act together and sort out a decent free online service.
Must dash, there's a lot more Christmas cheese in the fridge and I haven't come close to blocking my main arteries yet. Happy New Year to everyone and let's hope that there are lots of good techie surprises in 2008.
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