As a XP user, should I skip Vista and wait for Windows 7?

[RavensFan]

My opinion as a new user of Vista on a new PC.

There is no good reason to upgrade an XP machine to Vista.  There are no real improvements over XP.  Now that I have Vista preinstalled on my new PC, I plan on sticking with it rather than downgading(?) to XP.    I wouldn't call it downgrading, perhaps backgrading.  I had issues trying to install Adobe reader version 9 last night.  The installer program crashes the IE7 window.  Basically no way to install.  The websites I found said, don't upgrade go back to Reader 8.1.3.  However Adobe doesn't offer older versions (some upgrades to older versions, but not the older versions themselves) for as deep as I drilled through their website.  I ultimately found a version of reader 9 on someone else's website that installed okay.

Stick with XP.  Wait until windows 7 and reevaluate then.

[smercurio_fc]

You can try FoxIt Reader.

[RavensFan]

Thanks, I'll check that out.

[stha]

Rex1030,

My guess is that Microsoft will release Windows 7 much sooner than you think for the same reason Microsoft released XP so quickly after Windows Me. Windows 7 beta is already available for download (since December 2008) and the feedback I got so far is that it is quite stable.

By the way, Windows 7 is a rework of Vista to make it the way it should have been from the beginning: it will require less memory and it will run faster. It’s not a completely new OS; it’s more like another service pack with a re-branding.

If you need reasons to leapfrog Vista, I’ll give you some:

1. Vista will slow down your machine (compared to XP), but many didn’t notice that simple fact because they bought a faster computer at the same moment.

2. Vista requires more memory (therefore you have less memory for your application, which is a problem when you develop large scale applications)

3. Many customers out there do not want a system that requires Vista and prefer to stay with XP.

4. And there are countless other reasons…

PS: I always like to be challenged in my opinions Mr. rex1030, but your post presents no argument. Unless you consider telling me that I’m retarded person counts as a valid argument? 

[smercurio_fc]

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stha wrote:

Rex1030,

My guess is that Microsoft will release Windows 7 much sooner than you think for the same reason Microsoft released XP so quickly after Windows Me.

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Well, technically, XP and Me were two different paths. Microsoft (pointlessly) continued the 9x line with Me, while XP continued the NT/2000 line. Microsoft had no plans on continuing the 9x line beyond Me, and XP was well under way at the time. The closeness of the release of XP to Me was more of a coincidence, not a response to Me. Few people actually installed Me to begin with, and most people I know don't even realized it actually existed in the first place.

As for Windows 7 the early press I've read has been fairly positive. However, ultimately the question you ask always gets asked each time there's a major OS release. Should I wait, or stick with what I've got? The answer is always the same: Nobody can answer this for you - you have to answer it yourself.The questions you need to ask are many. Like:

• Is there something the new OS provides that the OS you are currently on does not?
• Will the new OS provide something that will improve your efficiency?
• What kind of hardware do you have? 
• What kind of hardware do you intend to use?
• Do you know the manufacturers' plans for writing updated drivers for that hardware? Will the manufacturers support all the hardware, or not bother writing drivers for older hardware? (This was the case with Vista and older printers and video cards.)
• Do you currently have a mission critical application?
• Do you have the capability of setting up a test system so you can test out the new OS when it's actually released?
• ...