What do you get when you take a product used by hundreds of millions of people every day, add a few new features / polish up the interface, and then try to get everyone to shell out a grip of money for this
delay- and bug- plagued upgrade? No, we're not talking about New Coke, although Microsoft probably could have learned a lesson from that failed experiment when it went about developing what would end up being
Windows Vista, namely that consumers demand more than some glitz and fancy new packaging if they're to abandon an old, reliable friend. And besides that impressive Aero GUI -- which many PCs can't take advantage of anyway -- what is Vista really offering us that XP didn't? A crash-prone new media player? Exclusive "ultimate extras" that have so far amounted to a lame shareware game? A thousand chances a day to feel important when bequeathing "Administrator privileges" on all those demanding processes?
You can probably tell by now that we're no Vista proponents, and having run the new OS exclusively for almost six months at this point, we're actually about to "make the leap" back to XP. But we're not willing to give up on Redmond just yet, and the beauty of all these
service packs and "Patch Tuesdays" is that some of our suggestions could conceivably be incorporated into a product that's already hit the market. So, what does Microsoft need to do to make Vista (and its price points) more palatable (short of re-releasing it based on the WinFS file system)? Loosen up the DRM restrictions? Toss the controversial
WGA? Put all possible features in a single SKU like
certain other companies? Well come on, we're positive that there's no shortage of suggestions out there, so let's hear 'em!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 9)
Alexande @ Aug 19th 2007 12:55PM
everything*
Joe @ Aug 19th 2007 7:50PM
Remove: DRM, Windows Media, Internet Explorer, Windows Security Center, Windows Genuine Advantage.
Add: Ubuntu.
ethana2 @ Aug 20th 2007 1:30AM
Yeah, basically.
With compiz fusion, of course. That really was wiiiiiide open for that.
I dual boot Ubuntu and XP. I know what I like. Vista would not be it.
...even if they open sourced it, it couldn't save it's sorry butt. I can just see Linus taking one look at it, laughing a little, taking the drivers, throwing the rest of the code at the wine project, and sanitizing his hard drive ;)
I know I would.
Rich @ Aug 20th 2007 6:42AM
The biggest problem with Vista is the one that Microsoft can least fix - driver support.
Even after all this time, there's still a lot of (even brand new) hardware I own that doesn't support Windows Vista.
Maybe Microsoft could bribe (or offer "incentives") to manufacturers to release Vista drivers for all of their hardware less than 3 years old. And make sure the drivers actually work properly.
Other than that, I think the "Ultimate" edition should actually be the only version on sale. Price it at the same as Home Premium and then at install time give the option of installing a "basic", "regular" or "expert" version of the OS.
It would save a lot of shelf space and confuse consumers less.
I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Aug 20th 2007 3:07PM
How about the price, $350 for Business and $400 for Ultimate! It's especially ridiculous considering that Vista is revamped and over glorified Windows NT.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_NT
Ant @ Aug 20th 2007 8:15PM
Ye, why bother changing it, XP works and Vista dosn't, simple. Use XP you get more done faster. Vista needs to come with a special Vista PC that can handle its clunky eye-candy code. Personaly I don't want eye-candy when I'm trying to work, just want to get it done ASAP.
hartmania @ Aug 19th 2007 12:58PM
WOW another biased article! Vista needs a lot of work, and so does the journalistic integrity of Engadget.
Daniel @ Aug 19th 2007 1:10PM
I thought engadget was more of a blog rather than an unbiased objective technology journalism outlet.
WL @ Aug 19th 2007 1:58PM
I think by change they meant improve not downgrade.
Mark @ Aug 19th 2007 2:05PM
"I thought engadget was more of a blog rather than an unbiased objective technology journalism outlet."
Every time someone questions Engadget, someone else trots out that excuse.
I could be wrong, but I at least _think_ I remember a time when I could come to Engadget and read about cool gadgets and reviews thereof. Sometime in the last year or so Engadget seems to have become infected with blog-poison: "sarcasm makes us cool and so does bashing everything".
So while Engadget may just be a blog, for a while there it felt like it was something more.
mark @ Aug 19th 2007 2:11PM
Engadget's more of an apple shill--dont go accusing them of lacking integrity.
Chris Macdonald @ Aug 19th 2007 6:32PM
Since when were blogs supposed to have journalistic integrity?
Chris Macdonald @ Aug 19th 2007 6:41PM
And I think sarcasm and bashing things do make them cool. I think that it's very important for the bloggers at Engadget to be critical of technology unless it's flawless, so the people who read the blog know what products to buy and what products not to buy. I feel that it's also important to do it in a funny, sarcastic way to make it a bit easier to read. If you want unbiased reports on technology, go look at a consumer reports chart. This is a blog, not a news report.
Greg Poole @ Aug 19th 2007 8:09PM
Well unfortunately bias is a fact of life in an industry (and real life for that matter) where there's at least two of every offering and nobody seems to be able to get by liking or using both. If you think you're getting bias here then subscribe to the Slashdot news feed and watch the Microsoft, Linux and Apple fanboys battle it out to the death.
phill @ Aug 19th 2007 10:22PM
Biased ain't so bad, it is the damn flame bait that's showing up everywhere that's the problem.
Blake Kachman @ Aug 19th 2007 11:55PM
"I thought engadget was more of a blog rather than an unbiased objective technology journalism outlet."
"Every time someone questions Engadget, someone else trots out that excuse."
Every time someone questions Engadget, God kills a kitten.
Pedja @ Aug 19th 2007 12:58PM
Like Alexandre said: everything :)
Actually, better yet, I would make it more like Apple :D
Just like I would make http://www.Google.com results to be shown like http://www.PeekStr.com results ;)
Garrett W. @ Aug 19th 2007 3:28PM
interesting, this PeekStr has a great idea! thanks for the link.
Pedja @ Aug 19th 2007 4:34PM
You're welcome. It still has some shortcomings which actually come from Google Ajax itself. Basically, the results are not identical to those obtained from "regular" Google search but it's the idea of viewing pages there and then that matters I think.
Unless Google Ajax API improves a bit I think http://www.PeekStr.com will probably switch to Yahoo Search API to get more results per query and thus be more usable. Anyway, its new and it can be called a concept at this point, we'll see :)
Dae @ Aug 19th 2007 4:42PM
Thanks dude. i have never visited that site. I also like that preview view. I was using a fire fox plug-in sometime ago to get a small preview in google search results.
thanks again
PeteC @ Aug 19th 2007 8:32PM
I think I'm incredibly cynical that I just imagined you going to the lengths to register 3 Engadget accounts to pull that off. I'll put it down to the general unhappiness that Monday morning is approaching.
Pedja @ Aug 20th 2007 3:19AM
@PeteC
If you knew me, trust me, you would know better. I have one and only one account where ever I go. [porn sites don't count ;)]
Evan M-S @ Aug 20th 2007 4:13AM
Snap.com seem to do a better job of that than PeekStr, it's faster and more polished.
Evan
Pedja @ Aug 20th 2007 5:11AM
@Evan
Last I checked they were using screenshots and not live pages to view.
And some pages they had cached but still nothing live.
Remember, PeekStr is just a concept, it's NOT a release or anything. Its just one guy and his idea created in a few hours.
Colin @ Aug 19th 2007 12:59PM
Replace it with OS X?
MrGam3r @ Aug 19th 2007 1:12PM
no, i have a better idea. change only the NAME to OS X so it will sell to apple fanboys....
Alex @ Aug 19th 2007 6:46PM
How about no? I love OS X, but I need windows to make fun off! >=D
Really though, change the UI it is really really tacky, I know I can change it back to the old XP or what not but then why would I buy Vista? There isn't that much on vista you can't find on XP and XP is a really great OS!
Zach Fichtler @ Aug 22nd 2007 1:44PM
Well, XP *is* a really great OS, right. But was it that way from the start? NO! It's taken a couple years of updates and development to make it run the way it runs now. I remember when XP first came out... it crashed every day, my internet didn't work right, installers failed all the time, etc... I almost switched back to ME (gasp!). But now, I have had NO trouble with XP in the past six months. Vista will be the exact same way. Give it a year. It will become the primary Windows OS in use, companies will stop supporting XP, XP will be phased out by the schools, libraries, etc. But it will take time.
JuggleNuts @ Aug 19th 2007 1:01PM
@"replace it with os x" comments: *yawn*
skinnypup @ Aug 19th 2007 3:37PM
More "fanboy" comments... Lame.
Andir3.0 @ Aug 19th 2007 1:01PM
Make it follow standards that aren't contrived by MS.
Remove all DRM.
Include Firefox/Opera options on install.
Include any kind of options on install ... (I don't want all that crap in my build. Why should I have to take it out after it's been installed?)
Tighter code, more open, don't gimp OpenGL by layering it on DX.
Smaller memory footprint.
Open and documented standard APIs.
Did I mention standards?
rudebo @ Aug 19th 2007 5:15PM
I agree wholeheartedly except for the opera/firefox bit.. others peoples products .. wtf?
The last thing windows needs is to become more like OSX. More scalable in terms of performance and a bit more open and it will be fine.
Samo @ Aug 19th 2007 4:00PM
Personally, I hope they *don't include Firefox as an option to install. If they do, it could mean that my favourite browser will beocme the most targetted browser, hence making it more secure.
...And I think I'm still the *only* one that actually likes Vista who is not a fanboi (there are MS fanbois?! o.O)
For me, I would like the following changes: -
No big price tag please
More stability with core components (Win Mob Dev Cntr, I'm looking at you)
Less resource hungry
More customasation without third party apps
Better search function (It's better, but not fantastic)
Better updating... My AV updates important stuff without asking, why can't you, Vista?
Thanks, I know MS will never listen, but a stab in the dark is better than none :p
thetinguy @ Aug 19th 2007 8:38PM
It's a well known fact security through obscurity isn't really security.
gkendros @ Aug 20th 2007 10:24AM
You might wan't to read up about Vista and OpenGL. Considering that half your list is devoted to criticizing the way MS handles open standards, it would really help your credability if you weren't completely wrong on the one actual example you used.
Jason @ Aug 19th 2007 1:01PM
I'm using Vista, and I'm actually fine with it. I do have a problem with my DVD drive, and that's it. Others, I have all 64-bit drivers for everything, and I don't see what the big deal is.
I would prefer these things, however.
1) Give us more Ultimate Extras! What did I pay for?
2) Not requiring me to upgrade my RAM, graphics card, and processor to have a speedy system like I did with XP.
3) Make the transparency effects even more transparent.
4) Force Adobe to release flash for IE 64-bit.
5) Let me move my Favorites folder to a different drive and still let me create favorites.
6) Make the UAC less annoying, especially when renaming files and move files.
7) Improve compatibility with games released before Vista.
mattclarkie @ Aug 19th 2007 1:16PM
I am fine with Vista. What really cracked me up was when Engadget said XP was reliable. I have had 3 XP machines and all of them became slow and unusuable but not because of spec, XP itself.
I agree that Adobe should push out the 64bit flash already, but my Vista rig is great, I built it making sure all components played well with Vista and they do. It is speedy and reliable. Plus I got to buy the OEM at 1/3 of the normal cost, at the expense of installing on multiple machines, which I don't need to do.
Engadget get off your high-horse and go lick Jobs arse, that's what your good at.
bombastinator @ Aug 19th 2007 1:47PM
How hard are you pushing the software? I run some fairly high end apps and from my perspective Vista is a total POS.
all my hardware lists as compatible too, and while I have not had the OS that long, already I have had at least 3 total input lockup - power button doesn't work - pull the power crashes, one of which necessitated a full clean reinstall with major data loss. Regular OS crashes happen weekly, sometimes multiple times a day. It seems anything that pushes the OS hard, particularly in the graphics arena, will crash the thing.
Eagle117 @ Aug 19th 2007 2:05PM
Great comment. I'm running Vista Ultimate x64 with no problems at all. All drivers work great and system is just as stable as my XP build. All of the games I run work without issue and I have yet to find a program that has issues with my build. Overall I'm fine with Vista. It may not be the greatest thing ever, but I don't have any problem with it.
I do agree with several of your points:
1) Give us more Ultimate Extras! What did I pay for?
4) Force Adobe to release flash for IE 64-bit.
6) Make the UAC less annoying, especially when renaming files and move files.
ucla74 @ Aug 20th 2007 8:58AM
@bombastinator: You say you're running high-end apps on Vista and that, IYO it's a POS. So, what high-end apps? I'm running high-end apps too, and I have no problems with it at all (64-bit Vista Ultimate). I'm also running 4 GB of RAM and the top of the line video card. Horsepower helps, but simply because the OS works better with better equipment, doesn't make it a POS.
Keith Policano @ Aug 19th 2007 1:03PM
File transfers!
After a month of taking 3 minutes to transfer 5k files (that's five KILOBYTES) back and forth I just ditched Vista and switched permanently to linux. Couldn't be happier.
Zeke @ Aug 19th 2007 1:42PM
They just fixed that this Tuesday, bud. Run Windows Update.
crucial @ Aug 19th 2007 2:10PM
Link to the update? I know the 2 updates that were leaked supposedly had a fix for file transfer speeds but I just reinstalled vista and got all the updates and I'm still only seeing 5.5MB/s when transferring over the network from an XP machine on a 100m network. I routinely get 10MB/s on the same network from xp to xp machines.
Daniel Smith @ Aug 19th 2007 3:12PM
The updates aren't available on Windows Update yet but you can manually download them from MS.
kb938194
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=ae2f819d-c33d-48db-a7e3-62eef7c1f7c2&displaylang=en
kb938979
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=3FB80BB9-D832-425B-B42C-D3EB2071BBEC&displaylang=en
Fabián Cañas @ Aug 19th 2007 10:51PM
Fixed it THIS TUESDAY? That's just unacceptable.
germania @ Aug 19th 2007 7:09PM
If they released that fix this Tuesday, then the operating system wasn't ready for release until this Tuesday (which isn't to say that it is, now that the fix is out).
Jeff @ Aug 19th 2007 1:06PM
"and so does the journalistic integrity of Engadget."
How many times does it need to be said? This is a BLOG. By nature, every single post is an opinion post - this is not a news site. If you haven't figured that out by now, then you need to read a dictionary and look up the definition of the word "blog".
About Vista, MS needs to throw out the baby with the bathwater on this one. This OS is a complete and utter failure. I ran the beta and I've tried the final OS and I am *never* upgrading fully to Vista after my experience. It's just conceptually flawed from the start, and the code base itself is a buggy mess. I'm sticking with XP, and I'm "downgrading" any new machine that I buy to XP.
I don't know how MS could fix Vista, honestly. I'm not sure it can be fixed without a ground-up redesign. That probably means waiting until the next OS from MS... if there is one. And I'm not convinced there will be - even MS has talked about getting away from these huge OS projects. After the failure of Vista, they may want to hasten whatever change in plans they've been contemplating.
Mark @ Aug 19th 2007 2:10PM
Like I said earlier, it may be just a BLOG, for at least a good year or two it seemed like it had become something MORE than JUST a BLOG. Some of us need these reminders that in the end, Engadget really is JUST a blog after all.
Pity, really.
chezzo @ Aug 19th 2007 2:41PM
@ Mark
Is it Vista making your Caps lock key turn on and off like that?
MarkR @ Aug 19th 2007 2:54PM
I completely agree with you! I can't stand Vista! Btw, if you buy a computer, make sure to check the manufacturer's website for XP drivers. Some of them aren't doing drivers for xp now even though there is demand for it... :\
The computer industry is becoming very frustrating.