XP back on Dells -- uh, yipee?
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Apr 20th 2007 7:52AM
posted Apr 20th 2007 7:52AM
"If it ain't the latest, it ain't the greatest" -- a consumer war cry we're all certainly very familiar with. Not so for Dell users apparently. According to the BBC, users "swamped" Dell's feedback site with a demand for the return of the ol' XP pre-load. In response, Dell has reversed their Vista-only policy which loaded Microsoft's latest onto nearly all Dell machines destined for home use. Why the outcry? It's not exactly clear. Analysts cited XP's familiarity and its ability to work with all the peripherals people have amassed. So, if you've been holding out for a Dell with XP, now's your chance... you know, in case you somehow missed it for the last 5 years.[Thanks, Josh]
This is great news!
http://www.chasetheglow.com
From what we've heard at Best Buy, Vista only plays nice with Microsoft office programs. For programs like Adobe Photoshop there's apparently no support at all, though I've yet to confirm that myself.
I've actually put this to the test.
Photoshop runs about the same.
Games run considerably faster (I know...WTF?) especially newer ones
Compilers seem to run slower
I've heard Best Buy sales people are unreliable and often only repeat what they've heard other sales staff say or what they need to say in order to sell you something expensive.
...? No idea what Vista you're using, but the computer the family bought with Vista, a hefty 1,500, runs terribly, having built my own PC I know for certain that computer is up to spec, yet it can hardly handle any of the latest games, whereas my comparable PC handles F.E.A.R and HL2 on maximum settings just fine.
Makes sense to me if there's no support. And from other articles such as this: http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/10/microsoft-vista-drm-tech-security-cz_bs_0212vista.html
..it's no wonder people don't want Vista. I will forgo Vista until something better comes along.
"..it's no wonder people don't want Vista. I will forgo Vista until something better comes along."
Well let's see...Mac OS X Tiger has already been out for two years and Leopard is just around the corner. What was your excuse again?
Something better HAS come along! It's Mac OSX which Vista is a poor copy of! The gap is about to widen even further with the soon to be released OSX 10.5 (Leopard) which will have features Vista users won't see for at least 5 years. And please don't say you're a "programmer" or code writter, or whatever, and you NEED a PC to do your work. Mac OSX is the fastest growing OS in scientific-medical research, mathmatics and business as well as UNIX based programming. That dead albatross around your neck is Windows. Cut yourself free with a Mac!
Mac's are for arrogant fools who barely know how to power their computer up. Ubuntu FTW!
Mac OSX is itself a copy of GNOME.
I've encountered one person that asked me to "put xp back on" after buying Vista. My guess it isn't an uncommon scenario.
Vista Home Premium has been working fantastically on my Vaio for weeks now. No driver problems, no incompatible software (except for ZoneAlarm and WusikStation). Working on my old PC with XP feels like going back in time.. it just feels so dated now.
Why stick with the old now that all innovation and development will be happening on Vista from now on?
Why stick with the old now that all innovation and development will be happening on Vista from now on?
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Vista#Criticism
Those are some reasons. Plus 'innovation' doesn't always go in the direction the people want it to. (ie. sometimes it only benefits the corporates)
Why?.
because the exceptions.. in your case zonealarm (of course its' redundant)
Once again Dell makes the mistake of thinking a vocal minority equates to a majority. I'd wager 95% of people would rather have Vista but there are those 5%, the Neanderthals, that are too afraid to use current technology or have fallen for the FUD that seems to be all over the internet.
Maybe we should get rid of minorities then, huuh? I am looking forward to freely park in blue zones, yeaahhh
OMG! I just figured it all out! Vista is the "New Coca-Cola" of the software world. Now everyone will be screaming for the "Coca-Cola Classic," or Windows XP.
7of7, one issue there, is that that vocal minority is generally that that goes for their mid-to-top of the line offerings, which afaik have far higher margins; 3D designers, Hardcore gamers, professional buyers (not talking about the large-order clients, they order XP anyways) with XP-specific apps... so it's in Dell's interest to let them chose between XP and Vista till driver and application support firms up a little.
I wish they'd have done this three weeks ago. I bought a new Dell w/ Vista Home Premium. Only took me 10 minutes to reach for my XP Pro disk. At least Dell gave me the reinstall CD in case I decide to try Vista again. But from what I saw, I didn't like it.
This won't last long...
It seems like everyone is releasing Vista software and driver updates now. They've had a long ass time to work on it, that's fo sho
I'm only using Vista Business at work. A scanner that worked fine under Windows XP no longer works on Vista.
There is no way I will be switching to Vista for home until there is more peripheral support. Why should I have to upgrade a perfect working inkjet printer or flatbed scanner? I know for the inkjet there are a few work arounds, but that's just crap. I could do it, but I am willing to bet the majority could not.
Not all games work, including the popular Steam (Half-Life 2) and GameTap (digital on-demand service). Vista's system requirements are steeper. For example, for C&C3, they want more RAM and a better chip to run on Vista. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but the perception was created by MS with all their product choices and optional Aero, etc.
To put this in perspective, Apple's OSX got very comparable visual and search and security effects running on the equivalent of 5 year old PCs - but the most popular laptops can't run Vista, even months after release. So MS is doing something wrong.
Since no one actually owns Vista or XP anymore (just restore discs) and it costs and arm and a leg to buy separately, it's important to get XP preloaded if you want it. I've put off buying a second PC because I can't decide if XP's better speed will help me play games in the next 4 years or so. Some people say it's faster, EA says that it's slower, and others say no difference. This is why people have ps2's to play games...
I use both Steam and GameTap all the time with absolutely no issues. I'm using Vista Ultimate.
For most tasks (games and otherwise), Vista has been faster for me. Some games are slightly slower, but most games are faster. I haven't found any that won't run at all.
Steeper system requirements? I guess. But if you actually care enough to be playing the latest games, then your computer is more than good enough, so it's non-issue.
I have a laptop in the shop that the owner wants xp back on. He bought Vista for it, but it's a Toshiba laptop and they aren't going to release vista drivers for that particular model.
Two other observations - Vista is still suffering from a bit of 'new OS' lag where video drivers are concerned, and their security model is new, different and rather obtrusive.
The first issue is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that, as of yesterday, the 'Second Life' web site still specifically stated that it is unsupported on Vista. The second was lampooned with wicked accuracy by one of the Apple vs. PC ads, which conveys an accurate model of several acquaintances' impressions of the Vista security tool.
Burned early adopters have been quite vocal about both issues, and also voting with their wallets for systems which use XP
Like I told a buddy of mine, now is not a good time to be buying a PC. Vista is still too new so its going to have lots of bugs and incompatibilities. Plus Vista should only be running on a PC with at least 2GB of Ram. I would wait a year until all PCs will come with 2GB of Ram standard and Vista is polished.
ALL OF YOU ARE CRAZY. VISTA IS THE MOST INNOVATIVE, STABLE, SECURE, ORIGINAL OS OF ALL TIME. VISTA WILL CHANGE THE WORLD. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. IT IS BETTER THAN OSX, WHICH IT DID NOT COPY AT ALL IN THE LEAST.
THE iPHONE IS OVER PRICED, AND NO ONE IS GOING TO BUY IT, EVER.
Hahahahahahahahahaha, did you do that monkey dance of your's after typing that Steve?
YEEAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!! WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!
THREE WORDS:
I
LOVE
THIS
COMPANY
!
developers developers developers
Wow, I've got some sweaty pits going on.
That's funny!
If you look at the selection of xp machines, you will notice they are mostly business class - the vast majority of businesses aren't touch vista for at least a year - this is a logical choice for Dell in that case.
I think people's attitude to Vista is really quite daft in many cases. The fact that it has higher system requirements than XP is normal, predictable, obvious etc. It is a new OS for PCs built in 2007-2012. When I bought XP, it didn't run very well on my then 5 year old PC. I wasn't surprised - it was an old PC.
Vista IS prettier, and there can be little rational argument about that. It is also a GUI for my computer, and what it looks like IS relevant - I have to look at it all day.
Even Symantec has conceded that it is the most secure OS available right now.
I'm using Vista on one laptop, and can easily see why Dell would do this. Vista is nice, but not good enough for professional workers yet. I've had issues with web plugins & activex things not working, some Cisco software has had issues, the security config is a burden I don't need, and let's face it, driver updates aren't there. I had to wait 2 weeks for Microsoft to update their own LaserMouse drivers, which is pathetic.
XP is stable, and you can't argue with that, Vista may not offer enough reason for some folks.
It's a smart move. I was looking for a laptop about 6 weeks ago. When Dell I couldn't get a non-Vista laptop from Dell, I didn't call support. I didn't whine. I just didn't buy a Dell.
I'd bet Dell is offering XP because refusing to is costing them money. I know it cost them about $2k from me.
mj: you said that HL2 doesn't run on vista. ho ho ho.
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2096945,00.asp
i can understand dell's move - after all they probably have a stock of XP licences left over and it doesn't cost them more to sell them off. in a business environment it might also make sense to stick with XP until all the legacy hardware either has drivers or are phased out.
i can hardly imagine any consumer who would want to stick with XP, though, especially on a new computer :p
We're talking about the PC realm, not the Mac realm. You can't compare apples to oranges.
I wish others would do this. I've had to remove Vista and install XP on about a half dozen notebooks and not one was a cakewalk. These OEMs aren't supplying XP drivers for these Vista loaded models so trying to find the correct drivers is very difficult scavenger hunt.
This comment system is pure garbage
This is great, personally I think Gaming PCs should allow for XP, I'd say, for about a year and a half, with Consumer PCs, maybe six more months, HOPEFULLY by then these lazy developers will have made more software compatible with Vista, I'm a bit shocked at how developers have openly balked at making their products Vista compatible in time for launch, and even now.
Tell that to our stakeholders.
I just looked and Vista is still the only option for Dell's desktops:/ A.
It's still a fair request. I love Vista, and for me, with a RAM-loaded machine, Vista's far faster. But someone wanting to buy a budget PC would probably experience quite a lot of slowdowns in Vista compared to XP. This means they need to spend more for a product that can run Vista as fast as XP.
Operating systems really do have a fair amount of staying power; Windows Me or 2003-era machines can still run pretty much anything a typical user needs today- and the average user doesn't care that it's Word 2003 and not 2007. So sticking with XP on a new budget PC today, and upgrading in four years is certainly doable, although it violates my personal standards of bleeding-edgeness and inner nerdiness.
I just got a new Dell XPS M1210. Dell wouldn't allow me to have XP Pro SP2 loaded, even when I offered to pay extra. Spent a week trying to get wifi hotspots and remote desktop working. Not to mention Adobe! To top it off, the LoJac Vista drivers didn't work. Just sent them a note saying I wanted XP Pro SP2 loaded when I saw this article.
I've only had good luck with Vista, runs much better than XP and supports everything except my sound card, but that's just Creative being cheap about updating the drivers for older hardware.
Why are Engadget posts always written in such an arrogant smart-a** fashion, and why are they idiotic, on top of that?
"So, if you've been holding out for a Dell with XP, now's your chance... you know, in case you somehow missed it for the last 5 years."
I have a client who happened to be replacing some old machines right when Vista came out and did not want Vista on the new machines. I had to buy them from Dell's outlet to get XP, and, otherwise, would have considered a different brand. Now that Dell is, again, offering XP, businesses that decide to purchase new machines with XP do not have to settle for refurbs.
and ubuntu is for geeks who have a lot of free time inbetween shifts at white castle..
Oh I guess not only are Mac users arrogant, but ignorant as well. Every Mac user I've met, and even the Mac users who post comments on this site all act the same. They happily eat up all the shit Steve Jobs feeds them, then they go on to ramble about how much they love their overpriced, under-featured computers.
I'm actually glad to see this.
At a tech for a local university I would much rather support the devil (and vulnerabilities) we know then the one we don't.
It's kinda like how MS auto-updated out I.E. 7 as a security update and it was different then the one we were provided for testing.
All of our web based financel/instructional/HR webs apps stopped working.
(Well... the main campus did... we use Firefox in my little neck of the woods.)
Our plan doesn't call for the inclusion of Vista till a few more service packs roll out the door and it's had a lot more time to be tested by people who value whiz-bang over stability.
"Since no one actually owns Vista or XP anymore (just restore discs)"
Ha...funny you should mention that. Through my JC's MSDN program I got a Vista Business license for $5 (and that is technically just for them to burn the freakin' DVD, the license is free with registration to MS based classes). It was a 5 unit class, and at this school units are $13 each, so for me the total cost of vista would have been $70 even if I had enrolled just so I could buy Vista.
And I must say I'm very glad for that program, because if I had paid $200+ for Vista at this point I would be rather disappointed. I know Vista is the wave of the future and everything, but at present it doesn't serve me any better than Wink2K does...in fact it's worse since I haven't upgraded my main rig since 2003.
I'm multi-booting for now (Win2k/Vista/Fedora Core 6), but when I build a new system in the next couple months I'll probably start using Vista more. Until then it's more or less a novelty for me.
James.. you're a clown.
Users like you think it's normal to reboot 5X a day.