Re: Vista (OT)

["Patricia M. Godfrey" priscamg@xxxxxxxx]

Harry Binswanger wrote:
> Re a new machine with Vista or XP--I held off for a couple of years
> before switching from 98 to XP, and now I regret having waited. Several
> things (not Xy, alas) are much better on XP--notably installation of new
> peripherals and new software, the very thing I loathed about 95 and 98.
SW installation: I do know that W2K (of which we recently got a box at
the office and which I'm still learning to navigate) has some gotchas
there. You need to be logged in with Admin rights to install, but if
you then want to let someone else (without admin rights) USE that
program, you have to jump through hoops--badly documented hoops--to
make that possible. I'm not sure how that plays out on XP, because the
tech guy left all the users with admin rights on that box (I know--an
extrememly scary situtation).
The greater ease of installing peripherals is more the result of
improvements in the BIOS and Plug and Play (which is still NOT what it
purports to be), esp. the virtualization of almost all IRQs.


> I'm due for a new laptop in March or April, so if Vista runs Tame-Xy,
> I'll probably take the plunge.
Do be aware that Vista has one very interesting "feature": since M$
thinks we're all crooks, it will periodically, randomly require
reactivation--whether or not you've changed anything. Just on general
principles. And factor in the cost of a RAM upgrade to 4 Mb.
--
Patricia M. Godfrey
PriscaMG@xxxxxxxx