After running various beta and RC versions of Vista in vmware I was always a bit disappointed. The one cool thing in Vista that I wanted to see was the new Aero windows theme. But running on vmware didnt allow for Aero.
So when Vista finally was released in november 2006 I was quick to backup my laptop and install the fresh Vista Ultimate downloaded from MSDN. Now after nearly three months of use here is my verdict.
My PC is a HP “portable workstation”. It’s got a Centino Duo processor, 2GB of ram and a 7200 rpm disk. For a laptop this is quite good. The videocard i ATI FireGL which I suspect is more a 2D card than 3D and most suited for CAD and PhotoShop work.
After backing up my old XP installation and installing Vista on a fresh formatted harddisk I was pleased (I never upgrade OS’s, it’s like buying a completely new car, but taking the interior from your 10 old Toyota with you). It felt good, response was good and the Aero theme was great.
It was like getting a new computer, but then again that the feeling I get every time the PC is reinstalled. I always forget how a computer inevitably transforms into a sluggish snail after running for a year or so. This is a good time to postulate my law of Windows: “The speed on Windows(tm) is inversely proportional to the time since install”.
After installing Visual Studio 2005, Sql Server 2005 (express), Office 2007, FireFox, and a host of other applications I use Vista is behaving more or less like XP. It still annoys the hell out of me that when I “right-click” a folder the hard drive starts to rattle and it takes several seconds for the menu to appear. Trying to delete a single small file often takes for ages. The change is that I’m now accompanied with a nice animation. btw here’s a tips: Click “cancel” when the delete takes forever. Most of the time the file is already deleted, Windows seems just not know it yet.
Problems:
- The lack of MS-CHAP v1 in Vista means I’m unable to connect to work via VPN and use the WLAN at work.
- The User Account Control (UAC) drove me mad. As a developer (or any user trying to do more than start Word and Powerpoint) you have to “run as administrator” and answer “yes” on all those damn dialogs all day. I disabled UAC after just a few days.
- Aero is nice, but a responsive GUI is nicer. Creating a new folder, deleting a file etc should happen instantly.
More to come…