Computer prices & Windows Vista

[Paolo]

For anyone who is even remotely computer literate, this post will not be news. For those who aren't, though...read on:

Have you noticed the prices on laptops and desktops both falling?

Recently, K-Mart, Wal-Mart etc., etc., here have been blowing out 1.5 - 2.0 ghz and up machines (at least 1/2 gig ram) for $399-499.

The ones that aren't being blown out are still like $1k a whack. They say "Vista compatible." or "Includes later free Vista upgrade."

The thing with Vista is that it is such a hog, that your average current computer will NOT run it. It won't even load it and start. Most of us have a single processor machine and a nice amount of RAM now. Won't help. The PC you're using now will be useless if you want Vista. Vista, it seems, has to have its own processor just to push its fat ass around the system, while the other processor does all your real work. You're not going to be able to install Vista on that old PC. This is much like putting XP Pro on a 450 mhz machine with 128 MB RAM. Now THAT'S entertainment!

What old Wild Bill Gate$ is trying to do is force everyone to buy a new machine. Prices on desktops bottomed out a while back. There's no money in PC's anymore, especially not used ones.

Support for 95-98 went out a while back. We wont' talk about ME. Support for 2000 is now limited to critical updates only. Support for XP is going to be cut off when Vista debuts, and old NT, well, they should have stopped there. I still have a great machine at work with NT4 on it.

You've probably noticed too that anti-virus and firewall software keeps getting larger and larger and takes longer to install and forever to update. I personally think this is part of the scam. The latest Norton and McAfee won't even run on machines slower than 1.5 ghz, I've found. Well, they do, but if they do, nothing else can!

As much as I hate to say it, my next machine will more than likely be a MAC.

[Sac_mec (imported)]

I was chatting with a PC engineer this week who has to use Vista, because he needs to be fully confident to repair it. He told me that home user PC owners, in particular, will dislike Vista (in his opinion). He told me that the need for constant validation and registration needed on such a regular basis will make people very angry. He also described it 'not user friendly' to anyone with basic computer skills. All your own personal control that you are used to has, allegedly, been taken over by Vista.

In a recent BBC technology vote on XP vs Vista, {at the time that I voted}

64% of XP users said they had NO intention of adopting Vista.

Should Microsoft even consider abandoning support to XP owners, many of us with machines of less than a year old then regulators globally will need to come down on them like a ton of bricks and oblige them to continue with updates.

Manufacturers, I think, have to keep spare parts for their launched products for 10 years. Microsoft should support customers with its operating system for at least as long as this. I can't help but think that the EU will be challenging this and I'm not certain whether previous disputes have even been resolved yet. The planet cannot support the inbuilt obsolescence that is occuring today across so much of the media whether it be TV, PC, Radio or

Cameras. People wanting the latest of everything are destroying the Earth's

raw materials at an unsustainable rate. It's crossed my mind that anyone wanting a really good new PC bargain should wait till early January and buy an XP machine then; prices as Paolo has stated are crashing.

[lookinginuk (imported)]

i have been trying out linux on a old 256 Mb 650 Mhz duron pc which was in a skip at the side of the road ( ok i am a skip diver ! ) i know it sounds scary linux but it works fast even on this old pc and now looks like a half breed of windows and a mac

if you want to try it out i recomend slax its free and you dont have to install it you boot it from a cd ( you have to know a bit about pc's to change bios to allow it to boot ) download it from http://www.slax.org/ its a 192 Mb iso

image just open your cd burning program and select it and burn yourself a new o.s

a pc can run something other than windows you dont have to be a slave to bill gates !

[kristoff]

So on the last day of the year, day after Saddam's death I walked to Best Buy just to browse and walked out with a new Computer.

I was really torn between the HP slimline desktops or a laptop.

I wanted to wait but this deal was too good to resist.

This is my first laptop and it is Gateway MX 6448.It will take some time before I all figure it out. Here are the Specifications//www.gateway.com/home/products/ret/ret_MX6448.shtml

They had only one left for a 509.00 bucks,down from 849.00

I also talked them out of a $50.00 gift card...so I thing I got a good deal with a free Windows Vista. I am not sure if I use it but this Laptop can handle it.H.

Same unit I bot a couple months ago, basically. Only I paid a BIT more. Nice puter. Good deal

[Sac_mec (imported)]

Congratulations on a good purchase! It sounds like you've got a good deal and buying after Dec 25th always ensures that. With Vista coming out, allegedly,later this month you've bought at an excellent time with the option to 'upgrade'to Vista included (I think). From most of the comments and reviews I've read and heard though you'll be best sticking with XP. Vista 'supposedly' has better security but with the need to continually have each item of Microsoft software validated before you can do anything, it would appear all the pluses of Vista are with Microsoft. No wonder competing software firms are up in arms about it. If you use a Search Engine and type in ZDN News, it should lead you to a site with regular free news stories about both Hardware and Software issues for 98, XP and Vista.

Incidentally, I was one of the mugs who bought a Windows ME machine.I had never seen so many 'blue screens' nor had the need to reboot so much ever before and I had the software replaced back to Windows 98 which proved a good move and the moral of the story is never choose a new operating system until it has been around a while and proved itself.

PC magazines are about to go into overdrive about Vista.

This month there is still time to buy an excellent XP machine at a very good price. I'm glad you've found one Huevon

[Shortie (imported)]

i have been trying out linux on a old 256 Mb 650 Mhz duron pc which was in a skip at the side of the road ( ok i am a skip diver ! ) i know it sounds scary linux but it works fast even on this old pc and now looks like a half breed of windows and a mac

if you want to try it out i recomend slax its free and you dont have to install it you boot it from a cd ( you have to know a bit about pc's to change bios to allow it to boot ) download it from http://www.slax.org/ its a 192 Mb iso.

Those of you who would like to give Linux a trial run don't need to be intimidated by the process of going through oversized downloads and ISO creations. Whenever one of my customers expresses a desire to try Linux, I direct them to www.ubuntu.com, and tell them to click the "ShipIt - Free CDs" link on the right side of the page. There they can order CDs of a Linux distro and receive the disks absolutely free, and that means shipping also.

I've used Red Hat Linux since v1.0 way back in the mid-1990s, and while it's definitely faster than Windows on the same machine (undoubtedly because it does less), I find it definitely not as easy to use in terms of user interface. However, those who say Linux is easier to use than Windows are certainly welcome to their opinion, although I don't share it.

Just my two cents worth. :-\

[ibnmichael (imported)]

Those of you who would like to give Linux a trial run don't need to be intimidated by the process of going through oversized downloads and ISO creations. Whenever one of my customers expresses a desire to try Linux, I direct them to www.ubuntu.com, and tell them to click the "ShipIt - Free CDs" link on the right side of the page. There they can order CDs of a Linux distro and receive the disks absolutely free, and that means shipping also.

I've used Red Hat Linux since v1.0 way back in the mid-1990s, and while it's definitely faster than Windows on the same machine (undoubtedly because it does less), I find it definitely not as easy to use in terms of user interface. However, those who say Linux is easier to use than Windows are certainly welcome to their opinion, although I don't share it.

Just my two cents worth. :-\

I agree. Ubuntu is the most functional distro for those who don't wish to compile everything from scratch. Additionally, there is a huge repository of free software from which you can download. No need to buy DVD burning programs, etc.

[stewie69 (imported)]

XP is a wonderful thing - when it's working. Problem is, in my experience, is that when it crashes, it crashes hard and with little or no warning. (Backup everything, and do it often!) Customer service from Microsoft is generally useless, leaving users to find answers elsewhere. Vista doesn't really interest me. I've always sneered at Macs, mainly because of their lack of software. However, Intel-based Macs will run Windows, and Mac software is on the rise. Even without Windows, Macs will do pretty much anything I need a computer to do. So, when I decide to buy a new machine, it's gonna take a very sweet deal to make me consider another PC.

[Shortie (imported)]

XP is a wonderful thing - when it's working. Problem is, in my experience, is that when it crashes, it crashes hard and with little or no warning. (Backup everything, and do it often!) Customer service from Microsoft is generally useless, leaving users to find answers elsewhere. Vista doesn't really interest me. I've always sneered at Macs, mainly because of their lack of software. However, Intel-based Macs will run Windows, and Mac software is on the rise. Even without Windows, Macs will do pretty much anything I need a computer to do. So, when I decide to buy a new machine, it's gonna take a very sweet deal to make me consider another PC.

I would have to agree with your assessment that "XP is a wonderful thing." I've used Windows operating systems since v3.0, and XP is head and shoulders above every previous release. As far as XP causing your computer to crash, I can only say that I've used the OS since its release, and have never, ever had any sort of crash whatsoever, expecially a "hard" crash that requires rebooting. In addition, I've been selling machines that use XP for a few years now, and the only crashes I've heard about have come when the customer was multi-tasking beyond the ability of any operating system, not just XP. Especially bad is running a photo-editing program along with an office program database.

I'm wondering if your computer has less than 1 GB of RAM (the minimum necessary to get good performance with XP). A RAM upgrade is the least-expensive way to improve any computer's performance, and XP seems to need more than most other operating systems.

By the way, my wife loves your avatar. However, she thinks you need to hold the knife closer to your crotch.

[Paolo]

I'm glad someone has luck with XP, because I sure don't.

It drives me insane!

(And it's a short putt, let me tell ya's!)