Comments

1. newscientist2000

   
   Posted on: September 05, 2007 at 8:03PM  

   Interesting, Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) compliance is a real pain to deal with, nice to see that Bitlocker can lower the risk somewhat, and thus lower the overall cost of compliance.

   My company had to remove all the screensavers on communal machines at work so that we could be sure confidential info wasn't accidentally displayed on a screensaver to someone who shouldnt have access, kinda overkill, but hey thats the world we live in!
2. ekwoodard

   
   Posted on: September 05, 2007 at 10:29PM  

   i doubt i am in the right place... but i am looking for help in finding why my vista home premium computer w/2 turion tl 52 processors and 512mb hypermemory and 2gb ddr2 operates slower than my old pc which had a p3 processor. if you can give me directions in finding a resoulution to this problem please respond to me by email ekwoodard@mail.boisestate.edu

   thank you
3. Good_Bytes

   
   Posted on: September 06, 2007 at 2:03AM  

   Operate? or startup time?

   From my understanding (please correct if I'm wrong), Windows Vista SP1 that will be released soon (Q1 of 08) will have significant improvements on laptops. Also it could be drivers issues. If companies moved more (or actually moved), Windows Vista would actually be interestingly good. Microsoft should work on that next time. Just a quick question, is Vista NT6.0? Or Vista is simply Vista with a new NEW core.
4. Nick White

   
   Posted on: September 06, 2007 at 12:39PM  

   Hey ekwoodard:  you're better off posting technical help questions in our public newsgroups:  http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/en-us/default.mspx.
5. Nick White

   
   Posted on: September 06, 2007 at 12:41PM  

   Hey Good_Bytes:  Windows Vista is loosely based on the NT kernel, so while I'd not refer to it as NT version 6, you could call it Windows version 6.
6. bezee

   
   Posted on: September 06, 2007 at 3:52PM  

   I am very confused about these TCO studies.  Our attempts to test and deploy Vista have only cost us money and time.  We as a company (a Microsoft Partner), are very concerned about what do about Vista.  Our best users don't like it at all (lots of UI gripes), and we know our less computer literate users are going to be completely overwhelmed to the point of rioting if we ever take away XP.  How do you measure that cost...?
7. Good_Bytes

   
   Posted on: September 06, 2007 at 11:19PM  

   People want change... yet they don't want any. Interesting...

   I'm no expert but you can put Windows Classic skin. The only new thing they will see is the blue back button on windows and search bar oh and new start menu. In fact with this UI setting, I don't think you'll have to upgrade the computers with a better video card. So you should save money. Moreover, installing the OS will not require IT's to bring a pack a CD's to install those drivers for all those devices. Install>Update, create the account and poof your set, image it and install it on all computers, and if you have 2-3 computers that are different, you can repeat the task without doing an image, as you'll install it directly on it, and you'll be done in no time, specially with the ultra fast install.

   My personal experience with Vista was only good. Under XP I always feel I needed a bigger screen or dual screen, but those transparent boarders helps A LOT to a point I'm fine with my 17inch 1280x1024 display. Which is great because I have a high-end CRT monitor and I can't find any other monitor that is at least near equivalent to the high detailed, better and more colors, and at 85Hz refresh rate and perfectly flat double glass it feels like an LCD.

   AN other personal experience is with my mother. She know NOTHING about computers. In previous version of Windows she got lost when she minimized a window, she used to panic and go "where did it go", and it was impossible for her to use MS word or similar programs.

   With Vista, I see her browsing directories and running application herself, heck even change the background! I think it's because of the perfectly balanced animation (animated windows but not to a point of watching a movie playing like some OS's) so the user knows what is happening. And the descriptions on each options really helps. Moreover, the new more graphical and easier to understand (bravo Microsoft for it) Help document.

   As with MS Office 2007 new interface, she manages very well. As she always goes "ok I'm inserting a table, so I click on "Insert">"Table". That simple."

   So far, I have more freedom in doing my own work, and I know Vista is taking care of it self with auto-defrag, anti-spyware, etc...

   So know I can be more to help for real problems (if any).

   Sure Vista has not the best utilities in the world, and frankly I think I should get better and more then what I paid for and for the long wait, but that's fine. At least it's not horrible, and give a descent level of overall (expect anti-virus) protection.
8. Brytown

   
   Posted on: September 07, 2007 at 12:07AM  

   good_bytes i couldnt agree more i find my self doing less maintenance and worrying with smoother runniung machine indexing protection beter help beter over all experince ect. All i really have to do is just have to remember to check for updates. oh wait it does that too. Sure it needs work but theyve done more for this OS in the first X months than XP in 2 years. I think that says something. I think most peoples "problems" from what ive fixed on other machines running vista was vendor related. There are still some getting their stuff together and thats understandable, but ive been able to reserch or fix most problems. Its always an endevour buying on launch day but it hasnt been as bad for me os alot of people claim.
9. john

   

   
   Posted on: September 07, 2007 at 1:11PM  

   Hello Bezee,

   What problems have you encountered as far as attempting to test or deploy Windows Vista? I would like to know what tools, hardware and software, you employed in your expensive effort. If you have a plan that didn't work out, if not confidential, please pass it on as well.

   Talking about your best users, how did you determine this? is it by their dexterity with computers, or with Windows? In our deployments, I have found the converse to be true: the UI is the one thing that users, especially power users seem to love.

   With adequate training, which 'should' be an integral part of any test regime, even the most computer-illiterate user would find Windows Vista to be a breeze.

   I believe the calculation methodology was included in the paper.

   Finally, I would really be interested in trying to replicate your issues. If you click on my name link above, it would take you to my blog where you can email me using the convention: firstname dot lastname at absolutevista dot com.
10. bezee

    
    Posted on: September 11, 2007 at 2:26PM  

    Beezee here,

    UI gripes:

    Start Menu; Icon at top changes, no visual/icon que, have to read list to find 'computer', etc.  

    Where is the UP folder button?!  

    Where is the back button (in a dialog windows)..."oh up there...?"  

    First problem with Vista:  Copying files takes forever!  Deleting files takes forever!  Uninstalling applications takes forever!  No it isn't a hardware problem.  Solution to follow.

    Second problem with Vista:

    Hard drive running ALL the time (not under XP).  Turned off Indexing...still running ALL the time.  Finally found a good blogger who pointed out that Off line files is the culprit, turned off Off-Line files and seems normal FINALLY.  Vista was giong after all our network drives...fine for home users, not good for businesses.  

    Third problem:

    The bosses label printer doesn't work.  No drivers.  Very big problem, since he owns the company I work for.  He requested we buy a copy of XP to install over his new computer's OEM Vista copy.  Back to XP for him.  

    Fourth problem:

    Peachtree accounting. They swear it works with vista.  We load it, it doesn't work, no patch (at that time) we reload XP because we need to keep the accountants that write the paychecks very happy.  Peachtree finally has a version with a patch that works...but we had to spend money on an upgrade just to retry a Vista deploy.  More time installing Vista, installing new Peachtree...again.  

    The typical business user does not want change.  Businesses need features that improve efficiency and if they don't, nobody wants them.  None of my users save maybe one, wants a new OS.  They just want their computer to work reliably and in a consistent way.  The home users and gamers want the new bells and wistles.  

    Vista does not make good business sense for us...maybe someday.