14-6-09 Can't believe I haven't written a review for the whole of 2009, watch this space...
14-6-09 Can't believe I haven't written a review for the whole of 2009, watch this space...
Member since:02.06.2007
Reviews:180
Members who trust:82
Making the transition from Windows XP to Windows Vista, it was not a verdict I wanted to make lightly when it came to giving my final opinion on this new product, and that is why after now having experienced Windows Vista Home Basic it is about time to finally tell you about it.
Thinking of my first real experience with a personal computersoperating system, we must be talking Windows 95 now when my brother bought my households first PC. From there we have seen the improvements such as 98 and ME, but it wasn't until XP that things really started to get interesting. When I first used XP it seemed very familiar to 98, but just leaps and bounds better in quality. Hearing of the release of Windows
Vista it was going to be interesting to see what the team at Microsoft had done, but I was never expecting to experience it until a year or more after its release. I'm not the sort of person that would buy Vista, just for the hell of having an up to datecomputer, it just so happens though that my mum decided to buy a new desktop computer for the house so that the computer literacy of the house could expand further than the under 40's that live here. This computer would come packed with Windows Vista, and that was going to be the most interesting thing about this new buy.
Set up was really simple, and Vista seemed to work at a fairly good pace until my brother has decided to start screwing with the computer. I typically use my laptop, but I use the desktop computer for writing reviews as I find it so much simpler relaxing in my chair with a keyboard to type up reviews rather than having to stretch forward on a smaller laptop keyboard. The fact that my brother has managed to slow down a new computer already probably doesn't say much for Vista, or maybe it just says a lot for his ability to screw things up. Whilst I found XP just looked like a smarter version of 98, with everything spruced up, Vista does look completely different - a fresh look with a lot of things presented in different ways to what they were before. Maybe it is because I got used to XP that I found it so simple, but I do think that Vista is a harder transition than swapping operating systems on Windows has ever been before.
We all know that security is paramount when it comes to computers nowadays, especially with the amount of things people do on the them and the lengths that some people will go to in plans to hack into all sorts of private information. I do have to wonder who really is sad enough to try and create computer viruses, and Microsoft probably aren't doing enough to prevent all this but Vista is a step in a furthering direction. Pretty much whenever you try to install something you won't just get one security warning about something being installed, you'll probably get about five, that you will have to click yes to all of them before you can move forward. This was pretty irritating when I was first setting up the computer and putting the obvious things such as MSN Messenger on to it, but I guess now that I only install new things once in a blue moon it's not so bad.
I don't know the ins and outs of computers, and I'm not going to try and sound like a computer expert so I'm not going to, but one thing I do know about Windows Vista is that the first thing that struck me about it was how the Windows logo is presented differently down the bottom of the screen - and there is a risen button on the keyboard to match. The Windows logo is now circular, and it all looks very posh. Now lets hope my non-technical term review can help a few people who are like me and don't know all that much either, but then main things they want to use their computer for include their documents and the internet. When looking through your programs as you access them from the start menu, you know longer get lists coming out of your eyeballs and stretching across the width of the screen, now each menu just takes over from one another so that it is all presented in the same area. There is a division between documents like never before, with pictures and music in different places with no real overview which makes it harder for me to really find what I want to look at. The games have had an overhaul, and there is no pinball, but computers aren't really about the games anyway. And well, the internet isn't really all that different on Windows Vista - it all depends what version of Internet Explorer you have - but of course everything on Vista comes pre-installed with the latest updates.
Overall I am not Windows Vistas biggest fan, and whilst it does look all fancy and it did get a lot of hype when it was first released earlier this year, I am still happy to use XP on my laptop and am not really ready to move on with this new generation just yet. I can't get my head around why on the start menu either they have a big button for locking the computer and another button for putting the computer on standby, but you have to press a little arrow to get to the most often use options such as log off and shut down. How big do they want our carbon footprint to be?
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP2, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP1, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP1a - for PC - English - Quantity: 1, 3 - 1 user - CD-ROM
(+) Faster, good networking with other Windows machine, so far it has not crashed. (-) price, best to do a fresh install which will involve backup & restore of information
I like XP and having heard a few people say that Vista can cause problems I think I will be waiting a while before I think about updating.
nic63 28.08.2007 19:52
I'm not a big fan of Vista either, its much more difficult to access things that were easy to find eg the registry on the older versions. Good review Nic x
Windows Vista Home Basic is the operating system for homes with basic computing needs. It ... more
is easy to set up, it helps you use your PC more securely and reliably, and like all of the editions of Windows Vista, it is compatible with the widest range of s...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Windows Vista Home Basic is the edition of Windows for basic home computing needs. If you ... more
only want to use your PC for tasks like browsing the Internet, using e-mail, or viewing photos, then Windows Vista Home Basic may be the right edition for you.
Postage & Packaging: Free Delivery Availability: 3-7 days
Windows Vista Home Basic is the operating system for homes with basic computing needs. It ... more
is easy to set up, it helps you use your PC more securely and reliably, and like all of the editions of Windows Vista, it is compatible with the widest range of s...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: If you have the hardware, the speed will be amazing. Disadvantages: If your not using a 64bit system. Only thing you will see different is the design.
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