SE4, SE5 and Vista?

[Baron Munchausen]

Imperator Fyron said:
Vista Home Basic is the equivalent to crippleware XP Home. Vista Business editions have features that are generally useless to home users (like joining domains and other corporate server infrastructure), while lacking some of the media-oriented features. Ultimate has all of the features of Home Premium and the higher level Business one. Home Premium has all that most home users need. MS has a comparison chart of all of the versions on their vista site.

Instead of having just the basic crippleware and the "all in one" versions as with XP, MS made several versions in-between for Vista.

Please explain what is 'missing' in XP Home? As I recall, you can't run it on multi-processor machines and a few obscure widgets needed for network administration are missing. Anything else?

Imperator Fyron said:
Dogscoff:
So much misinformation... The DRM stuff only applies to copy-protected files (like blu-ray and HD-DVD, and DRM-protected music), and was required to get any support to be able to play them in anything but low-res cripple-mode. Thank the MPAA. Other than the built-in HDCP stuff, which you can add on to XP to play copy-protected HD discs and such anyways, Vista's media DRM isn't really much different from what you have to add to XP to play DRM-protected files. It just happens to be installed already in Vista.

Note that the DRM features have no effect whatsoever on playing unprotected media files, and they certainly do not serve to make your machine run as slowly as a Pentium II.

Also note that OS X has similar DRM stuff included in it to play copy-protected files...

Uh uh... and the Social Security number is only for tax purposes, not identification. (And yet that everyone who does any business at all needs to give their SS number out all the time.) And the RFID chips in our tires are just for the vendor to track inventory. (And yet they are not deactivated when the tires are sold, so you can be tracked using the vendor's customer records.) And the power of warrantless information requests given to the FBI is only for investigating terrorists. (And yet it was used to spy on anyone and everyone the FBI agents had a whim to snoop on.)

Do you really believe that DRM is going to stop at control of officially distributed media files? This is about getting control of our general purpose computers. Millions of uncontrolled general purpose computers are just too dangerous for the 'powers that be' to leave uncontrolled. Use LINUX (or at least FreeBSD) and don't support Big Brotherware!

[Fyron]

There are a lot of "wizards" you can't disable in XP Home that make it a pain in the arse to use (its network file sharing mechanism comes to mind). It doesn't remember network share and printer info very well, which makes it a pain to keep my mother's laptop able to use the network-shared printer (shared by a 2k machine)... The compies with XP Pro and Win2k here have no such troubles, and don't even need to think about hackish solutions like making sure all the account names and passwords are the same on every machine.

You can always install a non-MS media player to play unencumbered media files if they make WiMP screw with them. DRM is nasty crap, certainly, but its only there because the MPAA and RIAA are obsessed with the stuff and demand it for digital distribution and the next-gen disk formats. MS doesn't care enough about their content to try to take complete control of your media playing capabilities...

But yes, the DRM is only applicable to DRM-protected files. It has no bearing on unprotected files whatsoever, and you will never have a situation where you won't be able to play unprotected files in Windows; it just isn't in MS's interests to do that. I currently have no problems playing any such unencumbered files in Vista... Its pretty paranoid to believe you will.

There are lots of good reasons to use Linux; unmitigated paranoia about DRM isn't really one of them.

[Atrocities]

Well despite my warnings my Mother bought a new lap top with Vista basic pre-installed and guess what, none of her programs work. Oh they told her they would all work, but they don't. She was mad about it that she returned to the store and in front of the store manager called the salesmen a "God damned liar!" for telling her that all of her programs would run on Vista.

Oh well.

[Suicide Junkie]

Oh, man, I wish I could have seen that.

[Fyron]

I've yet to find a (non-ancient game that requires dosbox anyways) program I use that won't work in Vista.

[Raapys]

But if Vista doesn't even include the new file system, what is the point with it?

It can't be just a slower version of WinXP, can it?

[GuyOfDoom]

Raapys said:
But if Vista doesn't even include the new file system, what is the point with it?

It can't be just a slower version of WinXP, can it?

It's going to "revolutionize the world." But yeah it's just an excuse to force an upgrade and push the need for spending more money on computers.

[Baron Munchausen]

Raapys said:
But if Vista doesn't even include the new file system, what is the point with it?

It can't be just a slower version of WinXP, can it?

It most certainly can be! They cancelled most of the 'innovative' features, such as the new file system (WinFS), just to be able to get it out the door. The primary changes are the fancy 'Aero' interface, the DRM garbage, and a bunch of API changes to make old programs incompatible.

[Fyron]

That isn't true, BM. Old programs _are_ compatible, for the most part. The old APIs are still supported in compatibility layers, much like Win9x apps are still supported in Win2x/XP (and so are those ancient 16 bit win 3.1 type apps, for the most part). You only have issues with programs that would access the low level parts of the kernel (like some AV software), that is now impossible due to the improved security model. I have yet to have any software or game compatibility issues with software I use/used on XP or Win2k. Then there is the new driver model, but that doesn't really hurt much of anything; any basic peripheral will have most likely have workable drivers already included with the OS, and more advanced stuff (eg: video cards) have new drivers available from the vendors. DirectX 9 and below games are still supported.

Vista probably isn't worth buying to upgrade your current computer, much like WinXP wasn't if you had Win2k (though it could well have been if you were still in the dark ages of Win9x). But if you are buying/building a new computer, you will be better off getting (non-Home Basic) Vista instead of XP. Some vendors (eg: Dell) have even been running "free upgrade to vista home premium" type offers lately.