Vista, XP, & Ubuntu - Your thoughts.

Big Dan

Hey Ladies & Gents,

I'm a geek at heart and really like to know what's going on with my computer at all times. As some of you know I recently bought a brand spankin' new computer with Vista Home Premium on it. While I think Vista is "okay", for me, even for my new computer it's too much of a resource hog. My computer is still very fast, I just don't think that I should be using over 1 GB of RAM at system boot with the only additional startup program being AVG Anti-Virus. Plus with all the DRM they've squeezed in, it's nearly impossible to know what's going on in the background at all times. Aside from a nicer user interface the only Vista has that I like is the sidebar but the same thing can be accomplished with Yahoo Widgets or Google Desktop so I won't be missing out on that.

I've already partitioned and installed Ubuntu BUT for what ever reason Firefox doesn't load pages as fast as it does in Windows, even Vista. I have no clue as to why and as much as I'm an advocate of open source software I have to say I'm very disappointed something as essential as an internet browser that comes bundled with the operating system should be up to snuff. With the lower overhead that Ubuntu has over Vista, I'd expect Firefox to work even better but it doesn't.

Last night, I got online with HP's live chat technical support and asked about compatibility for XP with my hardware. The tech was awesome and gave my links to download drivers for all my hardware to enable it under XP. I'm guessing lots of people are "downgrading"

I "broke down" and ordered an OEM copy of XP Pro off New Egg. I'm kinda miffed by forking over for another XP license, after all I've already paid for three of the for my old computer due to WGA lock outs.

So, I'm wondering if anyone has successfully "downgraded" from Vista to XP. If so, what were your experiences and were you happy with your choice? Secondly, what's your operating system of choice and why?

Thanks,
Dan

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@BigD845 | Big Dan | DJ Talk

Bubby

I got a new computer last year and had Dell ship it with XP instead of Vista.

I don't want Vista. XP works for me.

-Raymond

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esnagel

Are you "downgrading", or wiping the drive & installing XP?

Kaos

We got the new bad boy computer with Vista and hate it. We will probably downgrade back to XP also, whenever I see the computer again. I think Vista looks cool with all there funky graphic features for stuff but not user friendly especially for webmasters doing 10 things at once on them. But thats just my 2 cents

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"If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy?"

Big Dan

Wipe and repartition. I'll wipe with the XP install disc, once XP installs and I fully patch it, I'll use the Ubuntu disc to partition for Ubuntu and a FAT32 partition so I can share my Thunderbird & Firefox profiles between Windows & Ubuntu.

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Kaos

^ and then you're gonna come do mine right Dan

Big Dan

You buy the disc, I'll walk you through it.

Hint: It's cheaper to buy an "OEM" Copy off a site like www.newegg.com , I got XP Pro for $139.

The only drawback is an OEM copy is locked into one computer your cannot put it on another computer but if you only need it for one computer it suits your needs fine and saves you a few bucks.

BTW, NewEgg ships ultra fast Kim, I put my order in Wednesday night and it's scheduled to be delivered today. Half their products ship from NJ the other half ship from TX.. XP ships from Joisey.

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@BigD845 | Big Dan | DJ Talk

Bubby

One of my computers is needing the genuine XP, but I'm thinking I'd be much better off getting a cheap new second computer than dishing out to put XP on an old one with questionable hardware.

-Raymond

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Big Dan

Yeah, I wouldn't fork over for another license, especially an OEM copy like I bought if I wasn't on good hardware.

On my old computer I wound up paying for windows 3 times. First time with the computer but I lost the recovery partition . Then I bought the full version of XP Pro and discovered Ubuntu between formatting and installing so many times I my product key got deactivated.. Lastly I bought an OEM copy of XP Home for that computer and so far so good.

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yukon

last weekend I dropped twin baracuda 7200.11 (500GB) in a mirror, partitioned into 4 bits:
30gb - xp64-bit, 15 -xp32, 100 - fedora 8, remainder - NTFS shared across all OS's. I generally use both KDE and GNome depending on what I'm doing (usually gnome for work, kde for home type stuff - I like keeping separate profiles with the same username).

I have not noticed an significant difference in speed of firefoxes across any of the OS'es. I did a few months ago "upgrade" my fiance's laptop to Vista via the upgrade coupon I bought when i bought her lappy just before Vista was available. It lasted approximately 2 hours before she pleaded with me to revert it back . . .

I *have* noticed a huge speed increase (upwards of 25-30%+) over the previous root drive (an older WD 300gb). Most notably this is expressed during large data transfers (ie. ripping or burning a DVD). I have been thoroughly converted to the school of "always buy kick a$$ hard drives."

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