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Listen to the podcast: Why I chose XP
Transcript This is Leo Notenboom for askleo.net. I ordered a new computer this week. It's a desktop machine, and as you might imagine I ordered it with lots of memory, processor, power capacity, disk space and so on. So far it's a fairly nice machine, and I'll probably report on it some more in upcoming articles after I've had a chance to iron out a kink or two. When I placed my order I had my choice of operating systems: Windows Vista, Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux. I ordered the machine with Windows XP Pro pre-installed. Now it wasn't that easy a decision; I actually had to think about it. As I've said before, for most people Windows Vista just isn't as bad as many might have you believe. Yes, there are absolutely people having significant problems with it, but while those problems get a lot of publicity I believe that they are really the exception, rather than the rule. Particularly when pre-installed - in other words not an in-place upgrade over XP - Vista's a reasonable choice. That's how my laptop came, and I've been running Vista quite successfully on it for well over a year now. "So why did I decide on XP?
In a nutshell: because it works."
Last week's podcast notwithstanding, Ubuntu Linux was also worth some serious consideration. The fact that it was available only without support, coupled with many of my requirements I alluded to on last week, made that a non-starter for me. (My plan, however, is to install Ubuntu on my current desktop which this new machine is replacing.) So why did I decide on XP? In a nutshell: because it works. I'm not saying that Vista wouldn't, but the probability of XP working is a little higher. One particular area of risk for Vista is in graphics and media. I ordered this machine with the capacity to do some video editting and right now XP's drivers and overall performance seem ... safer. For all it's flaws, XP has a track record that extends back several years now. With SP3 just around the corner, XP is a reliable, stable operating system. Vista has yet to establish something like that same track record. Given my eventual reliance on this new machine, I simply decided that until I need Windows Vista, Windows XP would do just fine. And of course with XP perhaps disappearing in the coming months this could perhaps be my last chance to get it pre-installed. So what should you do? Good question. To be honest, today I think you'd have a hard time going wrong by following my example and choosing Windows XP. But the good news, in some senses, is that it's not necessarily a obvious decision. For the average user, Windows Vista is still a fairly safe bet as well - at least for pre-installed systems. I'd love to hear what you think. Visit askleo.net and enter 12330 in the go to article number box to access the show notes, the transcript and to leave me a comment. While you're there, browse the hundreds of technical questions and answers on the site. Till next time, I'm Leo Notenboom, for askleo.net. Related:
• Recent Comments
Leo I agree but probably for other reasons than those you listed. I like Windows XP and I also beta tested that program when it was part of the long wait for its release. And it was really the program I became to like. To me it is easy. I also prefer to use keyboard short cuts. I found Vista an economic waste for a lazy person like me. It takes to many keystrokes to get something very simple done. It is the same thing as with Microsoft office 2007 versus M.O. 2003. I even uninstaled MO 2007 Word and reinstalled Word 2003. And are thinking about doing the same thing with Excel. I think that Microsoft tried to make everything simple and achieved the opposite. Posted by: Paul Mierop at April 11, 2008 09:34 PMVery informative viewpoints from readers. Have had only 1 desktop since coming on board and will apply the info to new machine which will be bought soon. (With XP!) Thanx for opportunity to get info on line Leo! Goete Grus! Joop Posted by: Joop at April 12, 2008 07:07 AMLeo, if you had ordered the new computer with Vista, could you have downgraded it to XP, leaving you with the option of putting Vista back on it later when it meets your needs? Or does downgrading Vista to XP prohibit the future reinstallation of Vista per the EULA? Just curious. Thanks. Posted by: Gil at April 12, 2008 07:25 AM-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- I would have had to have purchased both versions, and I Aside from those issues, though, yes, I could have ordered Leo
iD8DBQFIAN2/CMEe9B/8oqERArp/AJ0Shk7kJQWzdqL0mzTZu0WkQUg74gCcDR+E Leo- I LOVE your newsletter thank you. I have heard nothing but horror stories about Vista. Many from people with "real" machines and not just knock-offs. I have XP running on my office machines and the devil you know is definitely better than the devil you don't. Not everyone has hrs and hrs to get their PC's to work. Microsoft likes to change things for the sake of change (see moving the Home Button on IE 7). It really makes people think about Mac. I also heard Microsoft Windows 7 might be released in 2009, which is supposed to be 'smoother' and easier than Vista. So will Vista be another Windows ME? Leo, agree with you 150%. Would absolutely hate having to lose my Windows XP. Been through several different types: XP has them beat, hands down. Posted by: H. Clark at April 12, 2008 05:12 PMXP RULES! It's the only way to go. vista is doomed to failure, and an early grave. Posted by: Steve at April 13, 2008 03:37 AMI learned on Windows 2000 Pro so stepping up to XP wasn't much of a change. I love XP's simplicity and features. Most of my friends' newer PC's of course came with Vista and none are overly thrilled with it, but thought they 'must' have it for various reasons. I just built myself a desktop and used XP. One big reason is many of my software programs aren't compatible with Vista. I realize eventually I, too, will have to switch - especially since I'm now learning software and game design, but my main home computer will probably always be an XP machine. I think a friend of mine said it best that "if you learned on Windows 2000 or XP you probably won't like it, if you learn on Vista you won't have as much of a problem with it." Posted by: Dave Markley at April 13, 2008 05:00 AMI bought an HP laptop (dv9220us) pre-loaded with Vista. It took 9 months for my HP printer to print. In fact none of my externals worked for at least 8 months. Now MS Zune software will not start and MS cannot figure out why. I have a $200 brick on my desk that I cannot change the music on. Posted by: Jim Moss at April 15, 2008 08:27 AMHi Leo I have been running Vista without problems, including running XP on it as a virtual PC. This way I have XP if I need it for any legacy applications that I am not happy running under Vista. Posted by: Peter M at April 15, 2008 04:04 PMPost a comment on "Why I chose XP":
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