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Vista users: Feel like you were used for beta testing?

Feel like you were used for Beta testing?

  • Yes

    Votes: 7 21.9%
  • No

    Votes: 14 43.8%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 11 34.4%

  • Total voters
    32

Athenian200

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Well, as most of you probably know, Windows 7 is coming out (I'd always hoped they'd go back to version numbers and stop with the retarded names ever since they released Windows 95).

The thing is, from what I've seen of it, it seems like it should be a service pack for Vista (or even what Vista should have been to start with) rather than a whole new version of Windows we should have to pay $150+ for. It's not really going to include a whole lot of stuff that won't run on Vista, it's just going to be more efficient than Vista and do most of what it does better.

The thing that really sucks (to me), is that XP users are eligable to upgrade at the same price as Vista users. Essentially, you get absoultely nothing for putting up with Vista's inefficiency for the past two years, not even a cheaper upgrade. You're stuck with a lame, inefficent stopgap that's clunkier than XP, and has less refined and buggier versions of most of the features of Windows 7. I'd be angrier if it were my money that had been used to purchase Vista (a relative purchased this computer for me and stuck me with a 32-bit version of Vista Ultimate on 64-bit hardware due to concerns about 64-bit backwards compatibility), but it's still very frustrating. Basically, people who stuck to XP and resisted Vista for the last couple of years are the winners.

I noticed that this reminds me of something... the difference between using a beta version, and a finished product. I actually feel like Microsoft somehow screwed Vista users into paying THEM to for the priviliage of beta testing their software, when most companies have to pay for beta testing. I'll admit, it's rather clever on their part that they got paid for something other companies pay for, but it leaves me feeling cheated.

Of course, this probably isn't the first time Microsoft has done this.

Lousy trick versions:

Windows 3.0 (post 16-bit era), Windows 95 (early 32-bit era), Windows ME (late 32-bit era), Windows Vista (post 32-bit era).

"Golden" versions:

Windows 3.11 (post 16-bit era), Windows 98SE (early 32-bit era), Windows XP (late 32-bit era), Windows 7 (post 32-bit era).

This is one of the reasons I always used to crusade against Microsoft back when I was young and idealistic. Now I just suck it up and whine occasionally when they do something particularly irritating, like everyone else.

I'm probably not going to be upgrading to Windows 7, since my computer has 4GB of RAM and thus runs fine with Vista anyway, and Vista will be updated to include enough of the features of Windows 7 for compatibility (like IE 8, new DirectX versions, and new driver compatibility) that I'll feel silly upgrading, but will still retain the wasteful memory management and other undesirable "beta" quirks.

Does anyone else who uses Vista feel like they got the short end of the stick, or is it just me?
 

Argus

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Have you used Vista or XP on it in Boot Camp?

(I also secretly own a PC.)

I've used both, but right now I'm running the Windows 7 beta.

I went school for computer science, the majority of the curriculum was based of off XP.
 

Athenian200

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Woohoo, I'm a winner! :happy:

Sorry, I have nothing more substantial to add to this thread. Carry on. :)

Hehe. Somehow that doesn't surprise me. :)

You know, my gut actually told me not to get Vista, to wait until the next version. But the relative who bought my computer insisted on it, and now Vista has enough of the features of Windows 7 that I can't justify the expense. :doh:
 

nanook

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you are obviously right about your series of golden and lousy versions. we knew this in advance. vista was a "beta". but i wont allow a software company to use me. i use them.
i had no use for this beta called vista, though.

they own the world, rightfully, but they are not meant to own private individuals, by any moral reasoning. therefore private individuals are not meant to pay for the OS, except when buying a computer (in which case it should be cheaper. i believe it is, usually).

ramblings like yours are understandable from people who have a business, but if a private person thinks he has to pay for a "beta", then he is acting "responsible", if you know what i mean ;)


it's not like MS could act differently. they have to publish something, now an then. an OS is never finished, and its always a test in a way, be it beta or release candidate. they could only charge less. or we could pay less.
 

entropie

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Ya its a bit shitty, I bought vista in december last year and since around July this year I am beta testing win7 with a license that expires next year in July.

Could have done that more elegant.
 
P

Phantonym

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You know, my gut actually told me not to get Vista, to wait until the next version. But the relative who bought my computer insisted on it, and now Vista has enough of the features of Windows 7 that I can't justify the expense. :doh:

Hey, if it works, it works. And you're right, why bother paying for the extra money when you already have enough of the features. I like new and shiny stuff as well but I think my computer would blow up when I'd try to install Vista with all of its system requirements.
I'll wait it out and see what people say about W7 and when my current computer finally dies, I'm game, or maybe not, depending on how long I can slave drive it. :)
 

Oaky

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I own a mac and used xp on it for boot camp. I'm gonna get windows 7 for it.
 

EcK

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Well, buying vista wasn't exactly a smart move either.
 

entropie

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They sold it with a sixpack of beer and I couldnt resist :D
 

Athenian200

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Well, buying vista wasn't exactly a smart move either.

That's why I'm glad I'm not the one who bought it. ;)

Seriously, someone else got it with my computer, and I didn't want to buy a second copy of XP (I already had one running on my old computer), so I left it on there.

But at least now I can feel satisfied that I was right, and that it wasn't a good buy.
 

Kalach

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I live in China. Operating systems cost 5 or 6 yuan. About 1 dollar US.

We're in yer economiz, inflating yer pricez.



And when I bought a laptop recently, it came with Vista. Did not want. Downgraded that sucker as soon as I got home.
 

BlueScreen

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I'd want to vote, but I use XP at work, OSX on my Mac, and XP and Arch on my desktop. I had to use Vista once in a meeting for Powerpoint and ended up asking someone else to do it for me. I've also wiped Vista OEM once.
 

BlackCat

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I had a laptop with Vista. It had a decent graphics card and 1 GB of RAM, but ran like it had 256 MB of RAM. :doh: I hate that fucking laptop, I just use my desktop computer with XP on it.

Is there any real reason to swap to Windows 7?
 

entropie

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more ram again :D, Vista used like 1,2 GB of my 4 GB RAM after a fresh installation with nothin running, while win7 is at healthy 350 mb again.
 

EcK

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That's why I'm glad I'm not the one who bought it. ;)

Seriously, someone else got it with my computer, and I didn't want to buy a second copy of XP (I already had one running on my old computer), so I left it on there.

But at least now I can feel satisfied that I was right, and that it wasn't a good buy.

Oh, I'd be blasé of being right all the time if it wasn't such a good reason to love myself. ;)
 

Feops

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I've found that the "dud" windows upgrades are pretty easy to see coming.

If the new thing adds enough functionality to warrent the expense, buy it. Otherwise wait. Vista didn't add any value over XP for me, so paying money for nothing was a no-brainer.

Microsoft could have forced the option though. If they stopped patching I would have eventually become paranoid of security vulnurabilities.
 

The_Liquid_Laser

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It's kinda nuts to me that people talk about upgrading their OS like they really have no choice. It just goes to show how monopolistic Microsoft still is. I heard Google was working on their own basic OS. Microsoft's answer to this is not to improve Vista, but instead to launch Bing, their own search engine. ;)

I voted other, because I was happy with XP, but my computer died and the one I bought just happened to have Vista on it. I try to resist "upgrading" my OS as much as possible. Also if you haven't seen this video yet, then yes it is for real, and yes it is totally creepy:

[youtube=1cX4t5-YpHQ]Creepy Windows 7 comercial[/youtube]
 
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