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Bleeping Vista

Sep 11 2008 05:49 am   #1Guest
Okay, so, if you've bought a computer in the last year or so like I have, then you were probably forced to purchase it with Windows Vista as the operating system.  I won't get into a long diatribe about how it's not fair that Windows released a sub-standard product and doesn't even give consumers an option to buy XP instead.  I won't even mention how much trouble I've had trying to get Vista to work with fairly standard programs, or how it has to have administrator permission to perform actions as simple as booting up and how annoying all those little pop-up windows are that ask me if I'm sure I know what I'm doing every single freakin' time I click on something.  I'm not gonna go on and on about how I paid for a DVD burner and haven't been able to use it in my 11 months of ownership because the DVD burning program that came with Vista isn't compatible with Vista, or even how it uninstalls the print driver own its own.  I'm not starting this thread to vent how Vista has been a waste of time and money and how I've been so frustrated at times that I've wanted to toss my laptop from my fifth-floor balcony.  No, dear readers, I have simply come to ask your assistance in selecting software that is compatible with this stupid, FREAKING, utter piece of CRAP operating system!  :grr:

Ahem.  So, anybody know of an animation program that is compatible with Vista?  I want to be able to make Jimmylicious animated icons, but I can't do it with just Paint Shop Pro.  I need a separate animation program, but the one that pairs with Paint Shop Pro isn't Vista compatible and the manufacturer (oh, how smart they are) has said that they have no intention of updating it for Vista.  I've been told that Photoshop can do it, but I'd prefer not to have to buy a whole new photo editing program after I shelled out the money on Paint Shop Pro.  I just need to be able to make my jpeg files into animated gif's.  Anybody have any suggestions?  :-)
Sep 11 2008 05:50 am   #2Immortal Beloved
Damn...

That was me, Immortal Beloved :-P
Give me Spuffy, or give me death.
Sep 11 2008 06:25 am   #3Guest
In 2 years, Vista will be orphanware, and a new OS will be out. (Like when 98 replaced 95.) Yeah, unfortunately, you could only choose XP still if you were getting a business computer from certain vendors.

I'll ask TechBoyfriend if he has any ideas.

CM
Sep 11 2008 06:27 am   #4Always_jbj
LOL Sorry, can't help there--I use Photoshop...but I LOVED the rant. And can I say...hear, hear!

How about...spent damned good money on upgrading from Vista home to Vista Ultimate just so I could continue to use my remote access...except that Vista won't talk to XP...so I either have to live without remote access (and the ability to actually use my network as a network) or upgrade the other machines in the house to Vista!

Um, yeah...okay, over that. But I definitely loved the rant--hope you find a program that can do what you want it to.
Aim from the heart
Some will love and some will curse you, baby
You can go to war
But only if you have to 


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Sep 11 2008 06:54 am   #5LadyYashka
Hear, hear!! Vista is a pain in my hiny. (I have Vista Home Premium. It came with the computer.)

And don't you just love it when you're writing something, and you get to stop and wait for the words to appear? I finally get to experience what it was like to write on a computer in the mid-1980's. Joy! :P

Plus Vista is a memory whore. It takes up 1GB of memory. My computer only has 1GB of memory. :sigh: My computer needs more memory.

Anyway, IB I can ask my sister's IT boyfriend if he knows of any programs you can use.

Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters. — Neil Gaiman
Sep 11 2008 10:10 am   #6goldenusagi
*shudders*  I'm going to buy a new computer soon, so I will end up with Vista.  (Not ready for Mac yet.)  I don't know why Microsoft keeps trying to "improve" on the product.  I hated it when XP came out, but I got used to it.  My old computer still runs 98 (woohoo!), though my laptop has XP.  My grandparents just got a new computer with Vista, and it looks cool and all, but I haven't been able to play around with it.  My aunt was all, "Oh, I heard it's supposed to be really good and intuitive."  To which I said, "You mean it tells you what you should be doing?"  I hate the way they're making it where you can't change settings, and as for when it asks you, "Are you sure you want to do this?"  Grrr!
Sep 11 2008 12:35 pm   #7slaymesoftly
Hee! I'd ask my systems engineer son, but he'd just say "Get a Mac!"   We got new computers at school this year, but fortunately they didn't put Vista on them. (XP)  I have enough issues with whatever version of Office is already on them.  Spent an hour on a spread sheet on Tuesday, only to have excel decide that  I didn't really want the first part of it.  It vanished. Poof!  Couldn't get it back, couldn't find it hidden anywhere.  Then, I guess it felt sorry me since I seemed to be determined to have a first page, so it grabbed the first page of LAST year's spreadsheet and attached it to the one I was working on!  How does that even happen?  Different files, different (enough) file names.  WTF?  Good thing I had no kids in my room at the time. The words falling out of my mouth were not pretty - although, they were creative...
I am not a minion of Evil...
I am upper management.
Sep 11 2008 02:01 pm   #8maryperk
My hubby hates it too.  It's annoying to lose your host during a crutial battle in a multiplayer game, you know.  He turned all the features off somehow and it's working much better for him.
Sep 11 2008 03:28 pm   #9Diabola
Ok, I get that people don't like Vista, I wouldn't want it on my "normal" PC either (though I can live with it on a laptop that I use mostly for surfing). Thing is, if your old PC/laptop had XP, why don't you just re-use that product-key and install XP on your new computer? Ask around, someone you know will probably be able to copy/lend you a XP home CD (copying those is even legal because the licence is bound to the product-key, not the CD), use that CD and your old product-key - whop, one new computer with XP coming up. If the PC/laptop doesn't have a driver-CD with XP drivers, try the internet; we re-install new laptops with XP all the time, and so far I haven't come across one wher the company-website doesn't offer XP drivers in addition to the Vista ones.

I'm not saying it's not annoying that you can't chose your OS when you buy a new computer, or that Vista being one buggy bitch doesn't suck, but it's not like you're forced to use it just because it came with the PC. (Well, unless you don't have a legal copy of XP, but I guess we better not discuss THAT on a public forum. ;-) )
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits." - Albert Einstein
Sep 11 2008 08:04 pm   #10Eowyn315
Amen, IB! I wonder if I have the DVD burning problem, too... I've never tried to burn a DVD, mostly because I have enough trouble getting it to play a DVD that I've never gone beyond that. Sadly, I have no suggestions on your software question, but I will gladly join in on the Vista rage. My favorite Vista story is when it forgot how to recognize iTunes. I had downloaded it to use with my iPod, and it worked fine for months, then one day, it randomly refused to open. When I tried to figure out why, the computer told me the program didn't exist. However, when I tried to reinstall iTunes, it told me I couldn't because the program was already installed. But I couldn't delete it to reinstall, because the program didn't exist. I'm still trying to figure out how I could have installed a program that doesn't exist. :shrug:

I finally get to experience what it was like to write on a computer in the mid-1980's.
ROFL, Lady! That happens to me all the time! I thought it was just me...

Well, unless you don't have a legal copy of XP, but I guess we better not discuss THAT on a public forum.
Yep, that'd be me. My last computer was a Mac, and the only copy of Windows we have is 98. I thought about getting XP when I got this laptop, but I thought it was ridiculous to pay MORE money for an older OS... little did I know. As soon as I can feel justified in spending money on another computer (my last one lasted 6 years... this one I've had barely a year and I'm counting down until I can get a new one), I'm getting a Mac.
Writing should feel easy, like a monkey driving a speed boat.
Sep 11 2008 11:23 pm   #11CopyKween
Ugh, I'm used to Vista at this point, but when I first got this new PC, I really, REALLY hated it.

I finally discovered you could go to the Windows Security Center and turn the "user account control" feature OFF. 

Between that and making everything as close to windows classic as possible, Vista is now tolerable.  Still a resource hog, though.
Sep 12 2008 01:52 am   #12Immortal Beloved
I finally get to experience what it was like to write on a computer in the mid-1980's.

Hmph.  I thought it just couldn't keep up with my 80 words a minute.  Now, I have something else to hate about Vista :-P

We have XP on our desktop PC, but I spent a hard-earned bonus on this freaking thing, and Mr. IB's hacker friend has spent so much time getting things to work, that I expect the damned thing to work.  I am getting fed up, though, so Hacker Buddy may be wiping Vista off of this thing soon :-P
Give me Spuffy, or give me death.
Sep 12 2008 02:06 am   #13Always_jbj
I can't say I've noticed any lag when typing, but I have a lot of ram and HD, so maybe that makes a difference.

Honestly, I hated Vista when I got it, but other than it not wanting to talk to my XP computers thus making the network non-networky I have pretty much got used to its weird quirks now and they don't really bother me. I remember hating XP when I had to change from windows 98...but it didn't take too long to get used to it. I think the problem is that we just get used to doing things a certain way and then they feel the need to go and change everything--maybe they just like keeping us on our toes? lol
Aim from the heart
Some will love and some will curse you, baby
You can go to war
But only if you have to 


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Sep 12 2008 02:30 am   #14Immortal Beloved
I think the problem is that we just get used to doing things a certain way

Yeah, like things working?!?  :-P  I don't mind the set up or the look of Vista--it was all easy to get used to--I even like the cool chess game, and I try to find compatible programs, but mysteriously uninstalling my printer driver and dying at 99% every time I try to burn a dvd is just not tolerable :-P  Seriously.
Give me Spuffy, or give me death.
Sep 12 2008 02:33 am   #15LadyYashka

Eowyn and IB- I thought it was just my computer for the longest time, until I was reading Neil Gaiman's journal and he was bitching about the same problem. Of course he had someone take Vista off his laptop. I'd do the same, but I don't have a product-key for XP.

Though I have decided, the next computer I get will be a Mac. I only got this one a about a year ago because my old computer was about to crash.

Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters. — Neil Gaiman
Sep 12 2008 06:11 am   #16pfeifferpack
Vista bites.  We got a PC for economic reasons when needing a new computer and Vista has so many problems I cannot believe they beta tested it!

I adored my MAC and wish they didn't cost that much.  No virus problems either...sigh.....  OHHHHHHHH  Gates you could have done so much better.

Kathleen
Sep 12 2008 09:39 am   #17Diabola
And then there is the only person I know (face-to-face) who owns/uses a MAC, and abso-fucking-lutely NOTHING works like it's supposed to. It always depends on what you want to do with it. One lone MAC in a company's Windows-network, having to communicate with MS Exchange, Active Directory, Windows Mobile gadgets, and so on? Gotta say, that ammounts to the most convincing Windows commercial I've ever seen.

Not that the MAC is a bad product or anything, but it's not the heal-all solution either; like I said, it depends on what you want to do.

Btw, I'm with Always, I've never seen this "delayed typing" problem you're talking about. My main problem with Vista is actually the changed design - in the sense that you can't find the configuration stuff where it is supposed to be - and has been since Win98. Supposedly the new way is more intuative for new users, but honestly, most people already have a computer nowadays, they've learned their way around XP; there are a lot more users who are now forced to re-learn that stuff than there are newbies who can benefit from the more "intuative" layout. So I guess I'm less annoyed with MS's programmers and developers, than with the idiots in their marketing/research group who apperantly can't read statistics.

Oh, I checked and if I go by the prices over here, XP should be availibe for something around $80 to $120, if you really have THAT many problems with Vista, maybe you should consider just buying one.

--- If your Vista product is a laptop, check the producers company website, some offer a downgrade to XP (no additional cost), I know ASUS does! --
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits." - Albert Einstein
Sep 12 2008 10:17 am   #18Guest
Yeah, my IT boyfriend calls the new "intuitive" crap OS by Fisher Price. And he was completely annoyed by the fact that they've coded all the "pretty crap" into Vista, so if you actually turn all of it off, the OS runs slower, because it's going against natural programming now.

Expect a new OS in '09-'10 and for Microsoft to drop support of Vista.

CM
Sep 12 2008 12:45 pm   #19LadyYashka
Btw, I'm with Always, I've never seen this "delayed typing" problem you're talking about.

As I said, I thought it was just my computer, until I read Neil Gaiman's journal.(Entry quoted below)

As a side note, running Windows Vista on the (brand new , comes pre-loaded with Vista whether you want it or not) Panasonic w7 is making me really nostalgic for 1986. Whoever thought I'd get to type things then stare at a blank screen for a bit and one-by-one watch the letters appear?

I read this and found myself nodding in agreement. I wasn't the only one having that problem! Now I don't know what program he was using, but it still happens to me sometimes when I'm writing something. (And I use Windows Microsoft Works Word.)

And now I have a different problem with a program that likes to stop working and shut down all the time. (Rundll32. I have no idea what this program does.) Hubby's trying to get ahold of his IT friend so he can fix my computer.
Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters. — Neil Gaiman
Sep 12 2008 01:24 pm   #20slaymesoftly
Hey Dia! You know me! LOL  Every now and again there have been incompatibility problems with our Macs and browsers or programs designed for PCs, but that was mostly in the distant past (in computer-time). By now almost everything you can get/do on a PC is available in a Mac version, so most of those issues have gone away. You can get a Mac version - or an equivilant -- of just about everything, I think. As you well know, 90% of any problems I have are due to my complete lack of computer knowledge, rather than the machines themselves. It's usually my screw up that causes problems (aside from that spreadsheet at work - which I'm totally blaming on the machine or our network...).  My husband and son, who spend way too much time on both kinds of machines never have those problems because they know which keys to push when. :)

Having said that, I totally agree that a large part of the issues people (including me) have with "upgraded" versions of programs comes down to our being comfortable with what we're used to using - flaws and all - and it takes a while to become equally comfortable with new versions of our favorite programs.  The programmers do keep us on our toes - now, if they would just stop thinking that they know more than we do about what we want the programs to do....
I am not a minion of Evil...
I am upper management.
Sep 12 2008 02:11 pm   #21Diabola
You know me! ROFL, guess I should have added a "here at home" to that sentence. MACs are much rarer over here than in the states.

As for your problems mostly being due to lack of knowledge, so are probably most of the ones the Windows users have. At least in the sense that they don't know the tricks and tweaks to make those problems go away. And while pretty much all PC software is nowadays available for MAC, it's the communication between MAC and PC where you'll run into trouble. Oh, it works just fine in theory, but try for example to use the Mobile Me cloud thingy to sync the data of a MAC and a PC connected to a MS Exchange 2000 server. Never mind the problems you'll have getting it to work properly to begin with, turns out the whole thing is unreliable as hell; in one month our costumer has ended up loosing his data six times already (thank god for backups). But then, neither Microsoft nor Apple want the other to know too much about their source codes (understandably), so it's not surprising that their operating systems have trouble talking to each other as well.

if they would just stop thinking that they know more than we do about what we want the programs to do Or maybe they should stop thinking altogether, it's always the "grand new ideas" that cause trouble for us users. Just look at Office 2007, which idiot decided that it'd be a good idea to completely redesign the menus? The menus for fucks sake! That's the part of the program you get used to, that you learn to navigate in courses and whatnot, why in the world would anyone change that? I know people who've taken one look at Office 2007 and decided to switch to Open Office because its structure is closer to the older MS Office versions that 2007. Somehow I doubt that's what MS wanted to achieve. ;-)
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits." - Albert Einstein
Sep 12 2008 04:07 pm   #22Guest
Dll's are driver loaders. a rundll32 error basically means that you need to reboot.

CM
Sep 12 2008 07:54 pm   #23Eowyn315
It always depends on what you want to do with it. One lone MAC in a company's Windows-network, having to communicate with MS Exchange, Active Directory, Windows Mobile gadgets, and so on? Gotta say, that ammounts to the most convincing Windows commercial I've ever seen.
Well, yeah. For me, one lone computer with no network, it really doesn't make a difference whether it's Mac or PC, except in performance. And other than being 6 years old (and therefore outdated and slow), I found the performance on my Mac to be better than the Dell I have now.

As for your problems mostly being due to lack of knowledge, so are probably most of the ones the Windows users have.
I'm sure that's true to some extent, but then, another thing I've noticed is that the Dell and Microsoft tech support people always treat me like I'm an idiot for NOT having vast computer knowledge (like, isn't that what they're there for?), whereas Apple tech support has never been less than courteous and always helpful.

Just look at Office 2007, which idiot decided that it'd be a good idea to completely redesign the menus?
Seriously!! I've had the computer for a year, and that's still driving me crazy. And who thought it was a good idea to create a new .docx extension that's not only incompatible with Macs, but also incompatible with earlier PC versions of Word?? Not to mention the funny little quirk that doesn't allow you to change the default settings...

After having numerous problems with Office lately, I'm seriously considering switching to Open Office.
Writing should feel easy, like a monkey driving a speed boat.
Sep 13 2008 03:04 am   #24Guest
Dell sucks because it's Dell. You want quality, go with HP or Alienware. And don't ever ever touch E Machines!!! Utter crap!!

Sep 13 2008 04:07 am   #25Always_jbj
I found the performance on my Mac to be better than the Dell I have now.

I don't think I've ever heard a good word about Dell computers... the only time I've personally had anything to do with them is because my mum has a Dell laptop which it's a piece of crap that I am forever having to fix something on.

I have a HP PC and it's fabulous...and an Acer laptop, which, while the laptop itself is okay-ish, the service department sucks, so I would never buy Acer again.
Aim from the heart
Some will love and some will curse you, baby
You can go to war
But only if you have to 


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Sep 13 2008 04:31 am   #26goldenusagi
My Dell desktop has been great, but my HP laptop has all sorts of problems, LOL.
Sep 13 2008 04:37 am   #27Always_jbj
LOL I guess it must just be luck of the draw then. *sigh* We can't win!
Aim from the heart
Some will love and some will curse you, baby
You can go to war
But only if you have to 


Fanfic ~*~ Artwork ~*~ Live Journal
Sep 13 2008 05:36 am   #28Eowyn315
You know, I actually have two Dell laptops - one is a work computer (with XP) and the other is my personal computer (with Vista). And I picked Dell for my personal computer because I'd never had any problems with the work laptop... which makes me want to blame Vista for the problems, rather than Dell. (But I'll still never get a Dell again, since the other reason I went with them was because I heard their tech support was so great, and they've treated me like shit every time I called - which is often.)

For a while, I had an HP laptop for work, and my parents have an Acer desktop, both with XP, and I don't recall any problems with those computers, either...
Writing should feel easy, like a monkey driving a speed boat.
Sep 13 2008 05:44 am   #29Guest
Hearing about things like this is why I made sure that the computer I have on layaway in the tv shop is a windows xp .My old one is a windows 98 and it's broke down so may times I could just buy a new one with the cost so I'm hoping to get the new one paid before the old one breaks down again.

Not to mention I'm really sick of the difficulty finding things that work with windows 98 . The software I needed to make my mp3 player work on 98 interfered with my printer software.

ladycat713
Sep 13 2008 06:07 am   #30Always_jbj
LOL I actually have to take back my bitching about Vista not working with the network...it turns out it was my virus protection (or more correctly, its firewall).  And I am all happy now because my network is working. *does happy dance*
Aim from the heart
Some will love and some will curse you, baby
You can go to war
But only if you have to 


Fanfic ~*~ Artwork ~*~ Live Journal
Sep 14 2008 03:24 pm   #31Spikez_tart
Vista sufferers - HP is selling refabbed laptops, etc. with Windows XT
If we want her to be exactly she'll never be exactly I know the only really real Buffy is really Buffy and she's gone' who?