Some great articles I found about Vista&o-source

http://badvista.fsf.org

I _highly recommend_ this site and its links and I think everyone should read it. Its not just some "blah blah vista sucks thing", it has articles on...

- How to get a refund when Windows comes pre-packaged.
- How Vista is bad for developers.
- Vistas retarded security measures and non-stop warnings.

Some of it might not be new, but anyway I'm going to take the next step - instead of just not getting it myself, I'm going to make sure no one I know buys this crap.

This site cannot be taken seriously. It is blind ideology, placed on the same level of FUD as Microsoft's marketing department usually operates when it talks about Open Source.

If you want to prevent others from spending their money for Vista, you have to give them serious arguments AND alternative solutions.

There is an old historical/political saying, that somehow also applies to the "free software" discussion: "One cannot eat freedom."

You will find it quite difficult to convince somebody who needs Windows and its applications to make a living to switch to "free software" when this will bring his cash flow to an abrupt halt.

And Linux will most likely not be a viable answer for that kind of user.

Just been reading through the Content Protection article
I'm not ""paying"" for an O/S which imposes such heavy restrictions on me, and thus treating me like a potential criminal.

For me, Vista offers NO significant reason to upgrade.
Windows XP is the best version we have to date.
Why everyone gets excited over Vistas new mac-like interface just puzzles me.
If you really want a new GUI look just download a theme.

Jim: That is also my personal attitude towards Vista. Vista is a sinister product, no doubt about that, but that does not make the "badvista" site any better.

half the stuff they come up with in these anti vista campaigns predate the newer RC and release versions and are a load of FUD.

One being the non stop security warnings.

It's typical that people shunt Vista. Firstly, it was all the complainers that said Win98, 2000, Xp were not secure enough and slated those OS's. MS finally decide to release an OS that is 100 times more secure and lo and behold we have complainers again.

The reason Vista is so geared towards security is because of the state of current OS's. When you download an attatchment from your email or visit a website and click a link, where XP would excecute any malicious software automatically, Vista stops it and asks you if you want it to run. It removes the ability of crap running without your knowledge.

Also, Priracy. A PC novice in this day and age, equipped with a PC can Pirate anything. Anything that can prevent this is a good thing. Digital Rights is the future. People are entitled to be paid for their creation if they chose to sell them. If people like it they can buy it. DRM and protection of this sort is Vital to keep small busineses, artists and programmers like us alive.

Plus, Vista is the best OS I have ever used. If you don't want to deal with all the restrictions Vista puts on you it takes about 3 minutes to configure Vista to give you full admistrative rights.

My 2p :)

Just ask yourself this - if Linux were modified enough to be as popular/easy to use as Windows is now (keep in mind the majority of the computer user base are not power-users and don't wish to be) would it not suffer most of the same problems?

I don't mind those who have a preference for Linux, but I don't understand the crusades.

No, because its open source and pissed off users can make it work however they want it.

I don't believe people will have gripes about the O/S having stronger security. However, people were right to complain about Win98 and XP having security holes.
Afterall, MS proclaimed Win98 and XP to be "MORE SECURE THAN EVER!"
Try using XP with SP1 and see how long you last for before something bites into the O/S.

I guess security flaws will eventually show up in the "NOW EVEN MORE SECURE THAN EVER BEFORE!!" Vista until SP2 is released.

I've been testing my stuff (and other stuff)) with Vista for months now. I can confirm how crap it currently is, XP certainly seems better everyday in my eyes.

But then it wouldn't be as easy to use as Windows - the average user wouldn't be patching their OS every couple days.

Besides, an open-source OS that was the predominant OS in the market-place would have tons of hacked versions floating around. Another issue is that every possible exploit is open for any old hacker to mess with.

It's just a case of the "bad" big-guy - or the "Big Bad Guy Syndrome" as I like to call it. People will always complain about the faults of what is popular simply because it is popular all the while focusing on the merits of what is unpopular simply because it's unpopular/the under-dog.*

*Note: this behavior isn't always a bad thing. Often times there are legitimate complaints regarding the "big-guy" that should be addressed. However, whatever is addressing those issues needs to excel not only in the areas where the big guy failed, but also in the areas where the big guy succeeded. Linux may be able to do the former, but it definitely can't claim the latter - at least not yet.

..why just not go for MAC...I have been blinded by M$ sooo long..not anymore..

No.

And as it turns out Windows XP was the least secure Microsoft OS ever - so bad the FBI issued a statement against using it online until several critical vulnurabilities where fixed.

How do you figure that? What do you think the Windows Update Scheduler Service does? Other than blindly restart your computer for you at the laest convinient moment, and/or nag you every 15 minutes that it needs to restart your PC?

..hahahahah...I love this Duck...:)

Linux mentioned as alternative is always fun pure ...
Sorry, a develop community that is active insisting on "we want only opensource" is just useless. Especially on the graphic driver end, where they mention that Intel is giving out their driver sources etc. Logically that is no problem, the intel cards can't get any slower because of the zero degree in optimations their drivers get, my second core is faster than the GMA950 even with intel linux drivers.

I really ask myself if their next step is to ask Discreet and other big players to release their applications open source if they want to use linux any further. Would be the same as giving out highly optimized driver sources to the concurrence.

I think that its very legitimate to complain this time, its not just security but its also anti-competitive. Not to mention upgrading costs for hardware. Microsoft should just apply those annoying alerts and other tiny features into Windows XP, but no - they want us to buy a whole new operating system plus a new computer.

If Vista is the OS for home users then why do you need 1GB of ram to run it properly? And the "aero" 3d menus? Who needs them? Why can't it be more like Linux? Home users want simple. Buying a new computer is just stupid - no wonder why Microsoft requires such good specs; it keeps contracts with companies like Dell, HP, Compac etc. And those companies will accept what Microsoft does because it justifies the excessive sales of new computers.

The recommended specs on the box need to be moved up, if you run Vista at the minimum it will hardly run at all. Vista is not user friendly, people should not need to upgrade their hardware to run an OS just to check their emails on a secure system.

This is going to be the trainwreck of all trainwrecks - we're seeing the end of Microsoft. Opensource is reaching home users and more people hate Microsoft. Its no wonder why. Vista is promoted for having a desktop search feature - we already have a Google desktop search that works for XP! Microsoft just wants to cause chaos in terms of compatibility so that theres only ONE firewall, ONE office suite etc - which will all be made by Microsoft. We're seeing the end and theres no doubt about it.

you don't need to upgrade most puters to use Vista. It runs well on older systems just fine. It won't let you run the fancy UI if you don't have a shader 3 card, but otherwise its generaly more responsive than XP.

The computer I run Vista on is all 2+ years old and for general desktop use it runs better than XP here.

There are a few good open source projects, the two I like are Ogre3D and VideoLAN player.

Most open source is still garbage, just like most indie games are.