Feeling vindicated about Vista

Now, more than ever, I feel vindicated in my decision not to "upgrade" my new computer from Windows XP (SP2) to Vista.

The Dell XPS computer I bought last December was advertised as "Vista Ready," since Microsoft's new operating system hadn't yet been released. The purchase price included an install copy of Vista when it became available.

My disc came in February and, as you can see, it's still in the shrinkwrap.

I chose not to install it because:

1. Vista is a memory hog and would use much of my 2 gigs of RAM just to run the OS.
2. Nikon has apparently decided to "orphan" my negative/transparency scanner by not issuing a driver for Vista

I learned this week that Don Reisinger, a digital journalist who posts at cnet blogs, wrote a Sept. 26 column under the headline:

Why Microsoft must abandon Vista to safe itself.

 

Reisinger cites flagging Vista sales and the inclusion of DRM (digital rights mangement) features that prevent a user from copying/backing up a movie.

This is my favorite paragraph from his piece:

Never before have I seen such an abysmal start to an operating system release. For almost a year, people have been adopting Vista and becoming incensed by how poorly it operates. Not only does it cost too much, it requires more to run than XP, there is still poor driver support, and that draconian licensing scheme is a by-product of Microsoft picking on the wrong people.

At a time when you would expect Dell to offer only Vista-equipped machines, you can also get your new PC with XP or Linux operating systems.

My personal favorite computer guru, Leo Laporte, urges those who are using XP to stay with XP and not "upgrade" to Vista.

So my copy of Vista will stay in its shrinkwrap as Vista becomes more and more widely acknowledged as an operating system that represents a hell of a high price to pay for rounded edges on your windows and marginally better security.