Gartner: Large businesses shouldn't skip Vista

TalkBack 28 of 56:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

Sorry, uberdweeb...

...but I never suggested upgrading your older systems to Vista. If XP is running well on them and they are able to continue doing their function, then of course leave them be. Older machines do reach the end of their life cycle, though, and will need to be replaced at some point in time. We have begun replacing our older systems (mostly Win2K) with new Vista machines with good results. The learning curve has been minimal, with users being productive immediately on the new systems.

UAC has not been an issue for us, and the only reason I suggested you shut it off was your rant about it giving you trouble. Once a system is configured and set up, users rarely see UAC, and so I see it as a non-issue, but you seem to think it is a major problem. I also use Ubuntu, and it does something similar with its prompting for a password before making system changes, yet I read very little complaining about it.

Will XP run faster on the same machine as Vista? Probably, but from what I have seen the difference is minimal. On my systems, Vista is very fast. Loading programs, saving files, network access are fast enough that any difference would be difficult to notice without a stopwatch. On my Vista machine, Word loads in about 2 seconds, about the same speed as my XP machine. If XP can load it in 1.8 seconds, will anyone notice the difference? Mapped network drives come up almost instantly, while XP lags a bit, as it always has.

I also support a large network of users. I fully expect that I will have users on XP for at least 4 more years, as I still have a good number on 2K. The 2K machines are going to be replaced over the next year, though, with Vista in most cases and Ubuntu in others. We also plan to move to Office 07 system wide once we get rid of the 2K boxes. Yes, there will be some relearning for my users, but give them some credit. Most of them have used different versions of Office in the past, and will adapt easily to new version. I already have some departments on Office 07, and they much prefer it to the older version, and had little difficulty switching. The feedback that I get is that Office 07's productivity enhancements actually do make work easier.

Does Vista have advantages over XP? Definitely! My users rave about the new GUI, saying that they have less eye strain at the end of the day due to Vista's improvements in readability on high resolution monitors. At the one year mark, Vista's security, while not perfect, has been a great improvement over XP. There are many other differences, but these two are enough to make Vista a worthwhile choice for new systems. I use Vista, XP, and Ubuntu on my own systems, and have reached the point where XP would rank third on that list. Having spent time with the other two, XP feels old and tired by comparison.

I know how we are proceeding into the future, but only you can decide what you will do. Staying with XP is only a short term solution. At some point, as your systems fail and must be replaced, XP will no longer be viable. In our field, change is the norm, and keeping up is a necessity.

Posted by: itpro_z   Posted on: 12/09/07 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Why Isn't Server Virtualization Saving Us More? A Few Small Changes May Dramatically Increase Your Efficiency VMware Companies have rapidly adopted server virtualization over the past few ... Download Now
• Building the Virtualized Enterprise with VMware Iinfrastructure VMware VMware virtualization software has been adopted by over 120,000 enterprise ... Download Now
• The Impact of Virtualization Software on Operating Environments VMware Today's use of virtualization technology allows IT professionals to ... Download Now