I need Vista, I like OS X
We cover a lot of different products here, hardware such as devices, gadgets and the like, and software that runs on that hardware. We write a lot about both Microsoft and Apple products because that’s what we use every day. The recent coverage of my latest MacBook Pro problem produced reactions from some that I am seeing more and more and it tweaked my thinking process into writing this post.
Some folks think that I am unfairly bashing Microsoft Vista a lot yet holding back when I cover my Mac problems. They think I should bash Apple loudly and clearly for these problems because I don’t hesitate to bash Microsoft about problems I have with Vista. I can see where these folks are coming from and this is important to me as I view objectivity as a critical component of what I do. After thinking long and hard about this I agree I have been a regular critic of Microsoft Vista and I know that gets under some folk’s skin. I can tell you with absolute sincerity that if OS X caused me the same continual aggravations that Vista causes me daily I would be screaming loud and clear about it but frankly that’s just not the case.
Even with these problems I’ve experienced with the MacBook Pro it’s important to understand that they are hardware problems, not OS problems. This is a key difference and why I treat them differently. I have experienced hardware problems with different devices in the past as have many of you and the truth is sometimes things just break. I’m not making excuses for Apple here, sure I wish I wasn’t having these problems but I understand that RAM or hard drives go bad sometimes. These are common components that are used by many different OEMs in their products and it would be unrealistic of me to blame Apple for these failures. Again, sure I wish all my hardware worked perfectly all the time but sometimes stuff happens. The key thing here is I feel pretty confident that eventually Apple will make everything right and this will be history. That’s pretty much their track record with this stuff and I have no reason to believe this will be any different.
The situation with Vista is quite a different matter because it is the operating system that is running most of the computers I use. It is running four computers in my office right now and I depend on it to get work done. I don’t blame Microsoft when I have hardware problems because they don’t make hardware and it would be silly to do so. But I do blame them quite fairly when the OS doesn’t do what I need it to do especially when I believe it is something that it should do properly My heavy usage of Vista-running PCs exposes me to a lot of situations when Vista drives me crazy. I’m not going to get into specifics here because that’s not the purpose of this article but it is a hard, cold fact that every single day something happens on one of my PCs that makes me angry at Vista. That’s a terrible thing to say about any product but it’s absolutely true. At least once a day I end up saying "I hate Vista" because I’m trying to do something and Vista gets in my way to get it done.
That’s not Vista bashing friends, that is the absolute truth. Believe me, if OS X was constantly giving me the same problems as Vista I would have stopped using it altogether by now because the truth is I don’t need it to get my work done like I do Vista. That’s another reason why Vista makes me so angry, I need it to get my work done and it is constantly getting in my way to do so. Now it’s important to understand that all of the computers I use are mobile PCs of one type or another. These types of computers have different usage patterns than desktop computers and they can tax the OS in different ways than fixed computers can. But I feel strongly that the OS should be able to handle these mobile computers and in fact Microsoft touted for a long time prior to Vista’s launch that mobile computing would be much better than in prior products. This just ain’t so, my friends. All you have to do is look around the web where mobile PC users hang out and see countless complaints that Vista is causing one problem or another. That’s not just me talking, that is many, many Vista users talking. It is a fact that I will not ignore because I want better and the only way to get better is to make it known what I want. If that is Vista bashing then so be it. I have never been one to just settle and I’m not going to start now, even if it makes some folks mad.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
The problems most of us encounter can’t be blamed on any one manufacturer or software provider.
It all comes down to any product needing time to mature and get all the kinks worked out, the problem is that the innovation cycle is so fast now that companies can’t sit on products refining until they are mature and problem free: if they tried that they would be obsolete before they are released.
We all want the latest gadgets (eeepc 900 only went on sale last week and now everyone wants the 901 instead), we all want the fastest RAM, or the biggest hard drive, or the most effective software, but by wanting that aren’t we reinforcing the vicious circle of products being pushed out before they are mature enough?
Great post JK! That pretty much sums up my thoughts and experiences.
James,
What an excellent summary of the issue – well said. This is exactly why I’m not moving to Vista. What Jobs & Apple realise is that the computer is a tool, not an end in itself. Gates & MS think that IT *is* the business. I love playing with computers, but when I need to work I need my IT to support this and not to need mollycoddling just to deliver its primary purpose. After work I am more than happy to tweak, reset and fiddle – but not during the fee-earning hours!
James-
Last year at this time you were pretty balanced about whether to choose Vista or XP (for example, you still get a choice on a new 2710p). Do you still think the grief is worth the Vista features, or would you choose XP given the choice?
I cannot for the life of me see the hype with OSx other than just being trendy. I purchased a Macbook Pro because my brother is a die hard Apple guy and just kept recommending it over the years. After using OSx for several months I just grew to really hate it. It was unintuitive and bulky. Things like file management were extremely clunky, Apple’s file explorer was an tedious exercise at best.
I think what really really got me was multitasking. I know a lot like the dockbar, mmm me see shiny object, me like shiny object. I hated the dockbar, but was forced to use it due to a lack of any taskbar. I spent 2 days googling and searching for a 3rd party taskbar, but didn’t find one. I think one of the major strengths of windows is the way you can run multiple tasks, and keep your eye on them no matter what is open on your desktop.
I could go on with the other lacking things I found, but I won’t. I just didn’t see the incredibleness that is religiously spouted about OSx at all.
I forgot to mention that I did a clean install of Vista on my macbook Pro, completely getting rid of OSx and I could not be happier. I have no issues with Vista at all, NONE on the macbook pro.
James,
I would really like to see a list of those problems you have with Vista, i am pretty sure that most of them has nothing to do with vista. Drivers and 3. part application is what is causing the trouble. If you want vista to run better make sure you have the latest drivers and stop using cutting edge gadges where things arent tested. also only install the applicaton you need, installing and reinstalling software all the time is not good.
OSX is probally a ok system but where are the apps? what is a os without applications…
I do agree with you that there is alot of people that say vista is no good, but who are they to say that? do they have the technical backgound to conclude that it is vista that has the problem?
I feel for you James. I have had no problems with Vista that I wouldn’t have had with another OS. Poor drivers, not Vista’s fault, have been there but no more than XP. In the last year on three computers not a single crash. Not a single failure. I’ve had no issues That I didn’t get with XP. But I have disabled Superfetch, and resisted too much “tweaking”. And I’ve resisted upgrading any hardware with modest capabilities.
Vistas biggest problem is it’s unrealistic minimum requirements. Keep it from low power machines and it’s a brilliant OS. we really need a Vista Lite for the Origami devices.
Gordon
I think the big challenge to VISTA is that it has to run on hundreds of different hardware/driver/bios configurations, unlike OSX, which only has to work on the limited few that Apple chooses.
If you remember, in the whole VISTA rollout process, the OS got behind the manufacturing cycle of the OEM’s, and I think that’s one reason why first generation VISTA and the products that were supposed to be VISTA ready often had major compatibility issues. Computers that had to be ready to sell in the fall, and for Christmas rush, ended up selling with a promise that you could get VISTA when it was ready, not with VISTA itself. I’m sure that means that manufacturers didn’t have much time or incentive to tweak performance with the OS. So to me, it’s not a Big Surprise that problems such as sleep issues, video performance, etc., where the OS and the drivers were not working well together, were common.
The logistics of communicating with all the different manufacturers about what to expect with the new OS had/has to be a daunting and difficult process. I think THAT is where VISTA really fell down. The OS developers did their thing; the sales people did their thing; the OEMs did their thing; but coordination and communication was lacking (as it will always be when the builder and the OS are different companies) and it left some enormous holes.
That said, I think VISTA is superb for inkers, although we seem to be a small minority of users. I have lots of other frustrations, but they got that part right, in my book.
Maybe it’s time for Microsoft to admit that one size simply never really fits all, and get down to the level of various optimizations of the OS for different usages.
Sharon
@spinedoc
I had the same experience as you… but reversed!
I learned the basics of computing with an Apple and use their operating system since os9. Last year, thanks to my job, I had to buy a PC. I thus went for a tablet running Vista.
Uhhhh! There is so much to tweak here and there to have it work the way you like. There are so many hidden features in the 1000th sub-menu that it gives me headaches. Worse… the tablet experience is great, but it is hard to use it “out-of-the-box” without a keyboard (hit shift-ctrl in photoshop for example).
To me, a geek more than a pro, the main Vista problem is here. Out-of-the-box you must scratch you head to have it to work without all the popups, the warnings about performances, the anti-virus, the anti-spam, etc.
As for applications with OSX, at least when you buy a mac, they’re pretty well developed and useful. Compare text edit and notepad or media player and iTunes (on OSx!)
my 2 cents.