Windows Vista

I received the new computer a couple of days ago.  So far, I have to say that Windows Vista has neither struck me as particularly bad nor spectacularly good.  For all the fuss, the changes are kind of minimal, or at least they seem so to me - so far.  The new computer's processor is a speedy 2.33 gesuntehaits or whatever it is measured in. It is faster, and if it remains so and doesn't slow down with continual usage, that alone is worth a lot to me.  Blogging is very time consuming, and a faster speed really makes a difference.  Not that I take my blogging all that seriously.  This ain't no professional blog.  But that's even more reason to want a speedy computer.  Sometimes my hobby eats into the time I need to get the things done that I am really supposed to be doing instead of spending time babbling here. Which I enjoy, but as I tell my children, the most enjoyable thing in life is knowing that you are a person of responsibility who gets the things for which you are responsible, done.  And then I hand them a tissue so they can wipe their eyes after they stop laughing at the dorkmom. They actually agree with me, but I'd have to wrestle them to the floor and get them in a half-nelson with a knee pressed firmly into the small of the spine to get them to admit it.

The problems:

1.  Number one problem that I am having a bit of a hard time getting used to is deciding upon screen resolution.  This machine seems determined to get me to keep the resolution at the highest level.  Vista screen colors, by which I think they mean the palatte used in the Windows Vista theme, only works at high resolution.  That's not a big deal, but what is, is that screen becomes substantially more blurry as one decreases resolution.  The highest resolution, 1200 X 1900, while very sharp and crisp, makes all the fonts and pictures very small and more difficult to read.  But when I decrease it, things appear bigger but blurrier.  This was the case on my last computer (and on all computers, in fact) but not nearly to the same extent.

2.  Windows Vista is not compatible with iTunes yet.  iTunes reports that a new compatible version is in development and expected within 3 weeks or so.  I can wait.  I am not looking forward at all to transferring my music.  If I am reading things correctly, iTunes requires you to either transfer everything to CDs (extremely unwieldly if one has a lot of music) or else to somehow use the iPod hard drive in the transfer.  I printed out the instructions for that little maneuver and it came out to 11 some-odd pages and looks complicated as hell.  What a pain in the rear end.

3.  The new laptop is heavier than the old one.  I thought I'd had a 17-inch screen on my last laptop, and so ordered the same on the new one.  Turns out, my last one was only 15-inches.  Given the screen resolution thing, maybe a bigger screen is better - though I'm not sure how screen size works in conjunction with resolution.  But the thing weighs 9 lbs.  It's perfectly fine to schlep room to room, but I would not want to lug it through an airport.

4.  One feature of Windows Vista that is both good and bad is that they add another layer of protection in that asks you for permission to do just about anything on the computer.  Are you SURE you want to load that program?  Really sure?  Really, REALLY sure? Think carefully now, are you really, really REALLY sure?  You get asked security questions more often.  No biggie to me.  I will get used to it and I definitely approve of screening out viruses and unwanted visitors.

What do I like about Windows Vista?  Well, it's aesthetically pleasing.  Pretty colors, new sounds - all novelties that wear off after a few days.  There's a big welcome screen that I haven't decided whether or not I like yet.  I am keeping it there for now, but I imagine I will eventually do away with it.  It provides instant access to stuff I have no interest in, except for maybe the control panel.  Windows also belatedly has supplied a selection of widgets that sit along the right side of the screen.  You can have a clock, stock quotes, headlines, sticky notes and such - all things that one can get off the internet and place on any computer without needing Vista. Another cute little feature is that you can click an icon and see all of the open windows in 3-D, making it slightly easier to switch back and forth.  So, instead of opening and minimizing and opening and minimizing, you can keep everything open at once. 

I have not noticed anything else that is very different from Windows XP.  All in all, the swtch has not been a big deal, and I suppose I am getting used to the screen resolution thing.  A nice thing would be a feature to increase font size across the board while keeping the high resolution.  That may actually exist, but as I've always found with Windows, trying to find out how to do such a thing is damned near impossible, or else so time consuming that I don't want to bother.

This new machine will work out just fine, I suspect.  And in a few weeks, I'll go back to my old laptop to take a peek and will find it feels as foreign to use as this one does now.  You get used to whatever you work on, in my experience.

If any major problems crop up, I am sure I will whine about report them in this space.

 

Comments

[alisa]

I just got a new 'puter at work with VISTA and two monitors! So far I like it. But it has worked, so what can I say? When it doesn't I call the person who got it "ready" for me. It does ask a lot of personal questions like are you SURE you want to do this!!!! :-)

[Jack]

When I got my new computer I used an external hard drive to transfer all of my important files, including iTunes.

[Gail]

Alisa: Two monitors - that's very convenient. So you can work and keep an eye on the internet at the same time. ; )

Jack: Gee, I would love to know how you did it. I transferred my husband's iPod music files to an external hard drive recently, but when I then tried to import them to another computer, it wouldn't work. I think I might have saved the files improperly...but I'm not sure.