To Vista or not to Vista?

You —

ok, my copy of Windows Vista arrived today. (home Premium as a free upgrade as I only recently purchased my PC. Had top pay for delivery though.)

Only thing is there are reports of its unreliability out there.

Should I install it now, or wait a while?

Any essential programs?

EDIT - Moved to the main forums from Guys Only as later posts may be of interest to everyone.

Forum

MuslimBro — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 - 01:10

My laptop came today (yesterday to be technical) and man was it full of cr@p. I had to spent hours going through the computer to see if it was alright to delete the programs that were installed.

I then had to download and install atleast 50 updates, not including upgrading internet explorer, windows media player and other software. But it was all worth it in the end :D.

It really does make a change having genuine software, you get quite a few good upgrades. Internet explorer doesn't look bad, looks like they might have copied firefox though. Windows media player looks sick (in a good way).

Give me a couple of weeks, I'll soon change my mind :P.

Mr Honey's Day Out — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 - 01:23

After you spend ages with a computer and get a new one it is indeed very annoying to be without all your customisations. But then, once you've got rid of the promotional software, installed Firefox and modified the interface, it's nice to have a blank sheet to work with. Congratulations on your new laptop.

MuslimBro — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 - 01:58

Oh why thank you.

7.zip - is it better than winzip and winrar?
VLC - any better than windows media player, WinDVD, realplayer and quicktime?

I will be getting openoffice, I don't want to install any copies on my precious pc :).

You — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 - 02:10

[quote="MuslimBro"]Oh why thank you.

7.zip - is it better than winzip and winrar?[/quote] Yes. it supports more formats. It is legally free and does not nag you to upgrade. IIRC WinRAR and WinZIP are free for only 30 days, ans support less formats.
[quote]VLC - any better than windows media player, WinDVD, realplayer and quicktime?[/quote] It is faster, less annoying. But its full screen interface could use an overhaul - one is on its way.

It also plays almost any file out there, from DVD's to real media to quicktime. (you may aswell keep winDVD as a backup as you probably got it free with your laptop. quicktime and realplayer may be needed for their browser plugins.)

[quote]I will be getting openoffice, I don't want to install any copies on my precious pc :).[/quote]

Good to hear.

Phoenix CG — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 - 11:13

I'm putting my order in for the Axiotron. 2.0 GHz Dual Core with 2GB ram, good tablet it is, 512 levels of sensitivity. And then 8 Months down the line I'll get ma powerhouse Mac Pro B) 16GB Ram, dual 3.0 Ghz quad core xeons thats a hell of alot, 3.5TB, dual 30" Monitors,, Nvidia Quatro Card, saweet

MuslimBro — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 - 15:29

Went to the 7-zip website and there's two options:

32-bit and x64 - which one do I choose?

I'm guessing 32-bit is for Pentium and x64 is for AMD?

Phoenix CG — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 - 16:25

[quote="MuslimBro"]Went to the 7-zip website and there's two options:

32-bit and x64 - which one do I choose?

I'm guessing 32-bit is for Pentium and x64 is for AMD?[/quote]

ones for 32bit cpu ad ones for 64bit, depends what cpu you have, is it 64bit or 32?

You — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 - 16:50

It depends on your OS.

XP is mostly in 32bit (but you can get 64 bit)

Vista has two versions.

If kin doubt, go for 32 bit.

You — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 - 00:00

[quote="Phoenix CG"]64bit OS XP runs on 32?!??[/quote]

?

64bit will only run on 64 bit processor - 32 bit will also run on 64 bit processor.

Most modern (x86) processors are 64 bit. Most, but not all people run a 32bit OS.

(x64 is jargon - no such thing really.)

Phoenix CG — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 - 11:47

[quote="Admin"][quote="Phoenix CG"]64bit OS XP runs on 32?!??[/quote]

?

64bit will only run on 64 bit processor - 32 bit will also run on 64 bit processor.

Most modern (x86) processors are 64 bit. Most, but not all people run a 32bit OS.

(x64 is jargon - no such thing really.)[/quote]

Thoughts so :idea:

Ya'qub — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 - 13:13

I think this forum has taken a turn for the worse, it is now littered with geek-speak.

this is the geekiest think I know how to say:

"if you look on a computer keyboard, u'l notice U and I are together!"

MuslimBro — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 - 17:18

[quote][b]Users force Dell to resurrect XP[/b]

Responding to customer demand Dell has restarted selling new PCs with Windows XP installed on them.

The decision reverses a policy begun in January that meant Windows Vista was the only operating system available on almost all new home machines.

The change came after Dell's feedback site was swamped with calls for the return of the venerable software.

Now customers can opt for the Home or Professional version of XP on six models of Dell machines.

[url]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6575089.stm[/url][/quote]
I would have bought a dell machine myself but they only sold it with vista, and now that I've bought a laptop, they've decided to sell it with xp....great.

You — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 - 17:18

[quote="Ya'qub"]I think this forum has taken a turn for the worse, it is now littered with geek-speak.

this is the geekiest think I know how to say:

"if you look on a computer keyboard, u'l notice U and I are together!"[/quote]

Correct saying should be:

[quote]"if you look on a [b]Qwerty[/b] computer keyboard, u'l notice U and I are together!"[/quote]

There are other standards out there aswell. [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard]Dvorak[/url] is one which is supposedly better for the typist. (Incidentally I just noticed it also has the u and the i together.)

Nowt wrong with a techno discussion now and again.

Now lets get onto phones.

My contract is up. [url=http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_ke850_prada-1828.php]Prada[/url] or [url=http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone-1827.php]iPhone[/url] or [url=http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_f700-1849.php]Samsung F700[/url]?

Featurewise, the Samsung has the best camera. iPhone looks better and will have other defininf features. at a cost.

The prada is simpler, but is out now.

Phoenix CG — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 - 17:21

well personally id go for the iphone, I believe id be changing from one of the best phones p910 to the iphone so that means something.

Ya'qub — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 - 12:48

I'm awfully sorry, but I'm afraid my quote was innaccurate and frankly, rather crass. The correct quote should be:

"This isn't the monsterometer, its the frog [b]exaggerator[/b]!"

I really am terribly, terribly sorry...(sniff)

MuslimBro — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 - 20:38

[quote="Mr Honey's Day Out"]Or use [url=http://docs.google.com/]Google docs and spreasheets[/url].[/quote]
I was not aware of this even though I have a gmail account. I currently have OpenOffice, might use google just to store my documents incase something happens to my hard drive.

The label doesn't say anything, I think I'll just go for the 32. Is the 64 any better than the 32....other than the name?

Mr Honey's Day Out — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 - 02:17

Doubles the processing speed, which means you can use more powerful programs. Videos and games should be smoother, and applications can be designed with additional features and details without holding you up. Presently it's no big difference in most common applications.