Vista. Again
-
So I'm back to Vista after my dev machine chucked a HDD. I have SP1 and was thinking "yes, but Vista is better now. I'll love it. UAC won't be as annoying. The fact that all the settings are now wrapped in an extra layer of obfuscation won't be so bad. Even Aero won't seem as pointless and distracting this time." Wrong. I reckon I've had about 2 dozen UAC prompts today and I keep thinking "yes, but it learns and will stop prompting me". No. It just keeps prompting me for everything. Everything is just that little bit harder that I feel like I'm wading through treacle to get stuff done. Nothing flows. Everything's stop/start. I simply cannot zone out and I find I'm so distracted by what should be an invisible OS that I'm just losing interest in what I'm trying to achieve. Unless Windows 7 is dramatically different I reckon there will be a lot of disappointed punters this time next year.
Strange. I'm one of those people that tried Vista, hated it, went to linux for a year, came back to windows (for .NET 3.5) and upgraded to Vista to find that I like it. I'll probably get modded as a troll for saying it, but I like the UAC thing. It's a handy backstop to keep me from doing stupid things when I'm in a hurry. But I can see how it would be annoying. It still is far superior to some things I've run into on linux that will just silently fail when they don't have admin access (like some of the crappy scripts I used to write, not actually decent, real applications). Still waiting on Windows 7 though.
-
I have UAC completely turned off. I don't mind vista so much expect for the way windows renders the GUI which is painfully annoying. I am thinking about buying a XP Laptop too now so I can have both ... or maybe just VM'ing this one so I can have both. But then having Vista render a VM might really suck.
Need custom software developed? I do C# development and consulting all over the United States. A man said to the universe: "Sir I exist!" "However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation." --Stephen Crane
Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:
windows renders the GUI which is painfully annoying.
What about if you run in Classic mode?
¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! VCF Blog Just Say No to Web 2 Point Oh
-
So I'm back to Vista after my dev machine chucked a HDD. I have SP1 and was thinking "yes, but Vista is better now. I'll love it. UAC won't be as annoying. The fact that all the settings are now wrapped in an extra layer of obfuscation won't be so bad. Even Aero won't seem as pointless and distracting this time." Wrong. I reckon I've had about 2 dozen UAC prompts today and I keep thinking "yes, but it learns and will stop prompting me". No. It just keeps prompting me for everything. Everything is just that little bit harder that I feel like I'm wading through treacle to get stuff done. Nothing flows. Everything's stop/start. I simply cannot zone out and I find I'm so distracted by what should be an invisible OS that I'm just losing interest in what I'm trying to achieve. Unless Windows 7 is dramatically different I reckon there will be a lot of disappointed punters this time next year.
Just installed the Windows 7 beta on my desktop over the weekend. An... interesting experience. At least half of that weekend was spent getting the two laptops to where they could print to the attached HP printer (problem: i did the 64 bit install, while both laptops are running 32bit OSes. Bigger problem: HP doesn't bother to sent out proper inf files for their drivers, making it prohibitively difficult to serve the 32bit drivers from the 64bit OS. Solution: LPR daemon... Un*x FTW!) That said, it's already treating me better than Vista ever has. All my hardware works, settings are reasonably easy to find, nag-boxes are easily disabled, and UAC pops up once per major change to the system. It's not perfect - there are still dark corners of the filesystem that it won't let me view, something that infuriates me every time i encounter it - but compared to the irritations involved in simply installing a printer on the Vista laptop, i've gotta concede - it's gotten better.
-
Just installed the Windows 7 beta on my desktop over the weekend. An... interesting experience. At least half of that weekend was spent getting the two laptops to where they could print to the attached HP printer (problem: i did the 64 bit install, while both laptops are running 32bit OSes. Bigger problem: HP doesn't bother to sent out proper inf files for their drivers, making it prohibitively difficult to serve the 32bit drivers from the 64bit OS. Solution: LPR daemon... Un*x FTW!) That said, it's already treating me better than Vista ever has. All my hardware works, settings are reasonably easy to find, nag-boxes are easily disabled, and UAC pops up once per major change to the system. It's not perfect - there are still dark corners of the filesystem that it won't let me view, something that infuriates me every time i encounter it - but compared to the irritations involved in simply installing a printer on the Vista laptop, i've gotta concede - it's gotten better.
I actually find that I like Windows 7 quite a bit. It seems snappier to me on equipment that was previously running Vista. It's still a beta, and I expect there will be some changes, but I'm quite hopeful that this will be a worthy successor to XP. Not that I dislike Vista - I use it on my primary desktop at home, and once I tweaked it into submission, I'm quite comfortable with it. However, it's definitely a pig unless you throw lots of memory, a current generation CPU and fast hard drive at it.
Caffeine - it's what's for breakfast! (and lunch, and dinner, and...)
-
Everytime I fire up IIS manager, everytime I want to debug in Visual Studio (though running under Administrator As Recommended By Those Who Know seems to have kicked this. Running my Remote Desktop Manager (OK - I get that it's unsigned. I've hit OK. Just deal with it, OK?) Just odd stuff. Stuff that doesn't seem to warrant completely dropping out of Fancy Pants Graphics Mode and into Boring Non-Graphics Mode With It's Own Screen Where You Can't Do Anything Else. I get UAC. I understand the purpose. But it really feels like someone forgot to step back and actually run Vista as a normal Mum-and-Dad user before it shipped. 48 Hrs of Vista and I'm ready to go Postal.
Chris Maunder wrote:
I'm ready to go Postal.
After that you might want to try Making Money...
-
STOP! The vision. It BURNS! X|
I would not be just a nuffin' My head all full of stuffin' My heart all full of pain I would dance and be merry Life would be a ding-a-derry If I only had a brain
Software Kinetics - Moving software
-
Just installed the Windows 7 beta on my desktop over the weekend. An... interesting experience. At least half of that weekend was spent getting the two laptops to where they could print to the attached HP printer (problem: i did the 64 bit install, while both laptops are running 32bit OSes. Bigger problem: HP doesn't bother to sent out proper inf files for their drivers, making it prohibitively difficult to serve the 32bit drivers from the 64bit OS. Solution: LPR daemon... Un*x FTW!) That said, it's already treating me better than Vista ever has. All my hardware works, settings are reasonably easy to find, nag-boxes are easily disabled, and UAC pops up once per major change to the system. It's not perfect - there are still dark corners of the filesystem that it won't let me view, something that infuriates me every time i encounter it - but compared to the irritations involved in simply installing a printer on the Vista laptop, i've gotta concede - it's gotten better.
I installed it under VMWare Fusion on my MacBook Pro, mainly as a host for Visual Studio and MSDN. Aside from not getting Aero graphics, I have to say I'm liking it, much more than Vista, almost to (and possibly beyond) XP levels of satisfaction. But running it in 'Unity mode' (there's no Windows shell, Windows apps appear as Windows windows in the OS X shell) is just weird. Cool - but very definitely weird.
Java, Basic, who cares - it's all a bunch of tree-hugging hippy cr*p
-
I installed it under VMWare Fusion on my MacBook Pro, mainly as a host for Visual Studio and MSDN. Aside from not getting Aero graphics, I have to say I'm liking it, much more than Vista, almost to (and possibly beyond) XP levels of satisfaction. But running it in 'Unity mode' (there's no Windows shell, Windows apps appear as Windows windows in the OS X shell) is just weird. Cool - but very definitely weird.
Java, Basic, who cares - it's all a bunch of tree-hugging hippy cr*p
Stuart Dootson wrote:
Windows apps appear as Windows windows in the OS X shell)
How do you right-click using a MacBook? Don't the MacBooks only have one mouse button?
-
So I'm back to Vista after my dev machine chucked a HDD. I have SP1 and was thinking "yes, but Vista is better now. I'll love it. UAC won't be as annoying. The fact that all the settings are now wrapped in an extra layer of obfuscation won't be so bad. Even Aero won't seem as pointless and distracting this time." Wrong. I reckon I've had about 2 dozen UAC prompts today and I keep thinking "yes, but it learns and will stop prompting me". No. It just keeps prompting me for everything. Everything is just that little bit harder that I feel like I'm wading through treacle to get stuff done. Nothing flows. Everything's stop/start. I simply cannot zone out and I find I'm so distracted by what should be an invisible OS that I'm just losing interest in what I'm trying to achieve. Unless Windows 7 is dramatically different I reckon there will be a lot of disappointed punters this time next year.
Chris Maunder wrote:
I reckon I've had about 2 dozen UAC prompts today and I keep thinking "yes, but it learns and will stop prompting me". No. It just keeps prompting me for everything.
Why not turn UAC off just while setting up the machine. You don't get many prompts at all during normal development, writing, etc. work.
-
Just installed the Windows 7 beta on my desktop over the weekend. An... interesting experience. At least half of that weekend was spent getting the two laptops to where they could print to the attached HP printer (problem: i did the 64 bit install, while both laptops are running 32bit OSes. Bigger problem: HP doesn't bother to sent out proper inf files for their drivers, making it prohibitively difficult to serve the 32bit drivers from the 64bit OS. Solution: LPR daemon... Un*x FTW!) That said, it's already treating me better than Vista ever has. All my hardware works, settings are reasonably easy to find, nag-boxes are easily disabled, and UAC pops up once per major change to the system. It's not perfect - there are still dark corners of the filesystem that it won't let me view, something that infuriates me every time i encounter it - but compared to the irritations involved in simply installing a printer on the Vista laptop, i've gotta concede - it's gotten better.
Shog9 wrote:
the irritations involved in simply installing a printer on the Vista laptop
Took me less than a minute each to install an HP printer on both my Vista laptops.
-
So I'm guessing you don't want to hear about the 4th of July gig I played in Alabama a few years back where the mayor of the town did a skit in a black leather miniskirt and fishnet stockings. These small town folks really have far too much time on their hands. And he thought I was weird because I played Hendrix's version of the Star Spangled Banner before fireworks...
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
-
Chris Maunder wrote:
I'm ready to go Postal.
After that you might want to try Making Money...
-
Stuart Dootson wrote:
Windows apps appear as Windows windows in the OS X shell)
How do you right-click using a MacBook? Don't the MacBooks only have one mouse button?
Graham Bradshaw wrote:
How do you right-click using a MacBook?
With either of the 'secondary click' mechanisms OS X exposes - that's either 'double tap' (tap on the trackpad with two fingers) or Ctrl-button click/trackpad tap. Of course, if I plugged a multi-button mouse in, the secondary button on the mouse would be a right mouse-button in Windows. The other nice thing about VMWare is the level of control of keyboard shortcuts they give you. Normally on OS X, the Command (Cmd) key is the primary modifier key, so copy is Cmd-C, Paste is Cmd-V (like Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V in Windows), the 'Close Window' shortcut is Cmd-W (kind of like Alt-F4 in Windows). By default, VMWare Fusion maps the Cmd key to the Windows key, but translates Cmd-C to Ctrl-C, Cmd-V to Ctrl-C, Cmd-W to Alt-F4, so you have a very usable amalgam of Windows and OS X keyboard shortcuts. And these are all customisable so, for example, I've mapped Cmd-Up onto Ctrl-Home and Cmd-Down onto Ctrl-End, Cmd-O onto Ctrl-O (File Open) and Cmd-S onto Ctrl-S (File Save). To be honest, the only application I've had interface issues with on OS X is Blender - that makes extensive use of the middle mouse button (don't have one of those!) and the numeric keypad (nope, don't have one of those either!) - and that was the native, OS X install of Blender.
Java, Basic, who cares - it's all a bunch of tree-hugging hippy cr*p
-
Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:
windows renders the GUI which is painfully annoying.
What about if you run in Classic mode?
¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! VCF Blog Just Say No to Web 2 Point Oh
But then what would be the point of having Ultimate? :)
Need custom software developed? I do C# development and consulting all over the United States. A man said to the universe: "Sir I exist!" "However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation." --Stephen Crane
-
We think alike.
Visit http://www.notreadytogiveup.com/[^] and do something special today.
Pratchett is the best isn't he? :)
-
Chris Maunder wrote:
I reckon I've had about 2 dozen UAC prompts today and I keep thinking "yes, but it learns and will stop prompting me". No. It just keeps prompting me for everything.
Why not turn UAC off just while setting up the machine. You don't get many prompts at all during normal development, writing, etc. work.
The problem is that some programs then fail silently.
-
Shog9 wrote:
the irritations involved in simply installing a printer on the Vista laptop
Took me less than a minute each to install an HP printer on both my Vista laptops.