Here is the upgrade matrix for XP-Vista.

http://media.arstechnica.com/journal...grade-path.gif

What must be noted about Vista is that it requires an enormous amount of RAM relative to current standards. If you are buying a new computer, I highly recommend going with a minimum of 2GB -- and if possible, 4GB, as that is where the sweet spot is.

It seems that it also requires core duo in order to function at its maximum performance. I guess it comes down to this: brand new computers with lots of ram will run better with vista.. older computers with XP. The sad thing is I bought a slew of new computers at the beginning of last year, top of the line at the time, with P4 3.4 ghz processors, I think 1 gig of RAM. At the time, I thought they would be optimal for Vista. Guess they will be acceptable though not excellent if I add extra RAM.

For now I will keep running XP for many reasons, including my software won't work on vista, upgrades are a pain in the rump, and some clients/suppliers don't support Vista yet. I think I will get a Vista laptop though.

I'm frustrated by the on-line reviews that I'm reading because they all seem to assume that the primary comparison between XP and Vista should be in the context of gaming. I'm planning to buy a new laptop (probably this morning). I don't play computer games, but I do lots of other things that tax the OS -- lots of multi-tasking, photo editing, video editing, huge background transfers, etc. I'd really like to know how big a performance hit I'm going to take if I buy the machine with Vista instead of XP Pro (which, at this point, would be my preference, but it may not be available on some configurations I'm considering).

It's not an inexpensive option, but you CAN always buy a retail copy of XP Pro and blow away Vista; virtually any laptop available today will initially have been available with XP on it, so if it's a decent manufacturer's business line machine XP drivers should be available on their web site.

Vista is EEEEEEEVVVVVVIIIILLLLLLL!!!!!!

First you have 10, yes 10 different versions of Vista:

Windows Vista Starter Edition
Windows Vista Home Basic
Windows Vista Home Basic Upgrade
Windows Vista Home Premium
Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade
Windows Vista Business
Windows Vista Business Upgrade
Windows Vista Ultimate
Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade
Windows Vista Enterprise Edition


For the regular consumer, they confronted with the list and are left scratching their heads trying to figure out which one to buy.

If you start digging into Vista itself you run into a bunch of stuff that is just plain annoying such as User Account Control. It asks "Did you initiate the process that's attempting to run?" Unfortunately it's dumb. It doesn't try and figure out if what you are doing is really a threat just that something might be exploited. Somethings that can cause this to require you to authenticate: Opening Disk Defragmenter, and Adjusting font sizes. It is trying to protect you from yourself.

The upgrade versions of Vista are a poisen pill. You used be beable to wipe your hard disk and insert your previous Windows CD into the drive for validation of ownership when the installation process prompts you to do so to reinstall the system.

Under Vista, the ability to insert a previous copy of Windows in the CD drive for validation has been removed. Microsoft has provided an alternative route to achieve the same goal, but more advanced users are apt to consider it to be less convenient. You have to have the previous version of Windows already installed on your PC. Then, when you run Vista's setup, it will give you a clean-install option.

What if your hard drive failed or you got the urge to install Linux on it? Well you now need to reinstall XP first before you reinstall Vista. If you move your upgrade installation to a new system, there probably will come a time when vendors stop making drivers for XP, then you're stuck buying a full copy of Vista later.

I could go on with this, but all in all Vista is evil.

At work, I use Windows, Linux, & Mac OS X. For the first time ever, someone came in and said I want to get a new computer what should I get? I actually told them, if you can get WinXP a Dell should be fine for their needs. If they can only get Vista, buy a Mac.

Nobody knows. Vista won't be optimized until Service Pack 1 is released. (And then you'll probably need new drivers and more software upgrades.) In the meantime, people will discover tweaks to improve performance. But right now XP wins, and I'm not talking about games, look at the Photoshop benchmark.

Supposedly, there's a "workaround" for using the upgrade edition for a clean install.

http://theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=37366

And the version thing isn't really any worse than it is for XP. The starter edition isn't available to most users, unless you're from a developing country. XP has something similar.

Most users just have to choose between basic, home premium or business and if they can upgrade or not. XP users had to choose between XP Home, XP Media Center, and XP Pro, and if they could do an upgrade or not. Enterprise is only available to businesses with those types of licenses. Ultimate is for those of us that want and are willing to pay for every possible option, and arguably has some benefits for those of us that build our own boxes.

I'm not what I would call a Microsoft supporter, but the version thing is a bit of a red herring, IMHO. Yes, it confuses people, but no more so than XP versions did.

IMO, Microsoft is going to have to deal with the upgrade version re-install issue in a better manner than that unofficial workaround.

-David

So?

XP Home upgrade
XP Home retail
XP Professional retail
XP Professional upgrade
XP Media Center Edition
XP Tablet edition
XP 64 Professional

So, they added an entry level version, a version tailored to business users and a version for enterprise users.

I really doubt any home user will be scratching their head wondering if they need "business" or "enterprise". So the choices are whether they want starter, home, premium or ultimate and whether they need those in retail or upgrade versions.

Picking from one of 4 different version shouldn't be all that hard to do, you check the MS website and compare features, then pick the version that suits you best. And if you change your mind you simply do an anytime upgrade and change the version without a reinstall.

Well, hate to say it, but my machine(s) on Vista run much smoother than they did under XP.

My drive speeds are much better (I'm using a 2Gb readyboost), my video drivers are much faster than they were under XP and boot time has been cut in half.

Those are the figures I care about.

I just upgraded from Windows XP Media Center Edition to Vista Home Premium and TiVo Desktop works just fine. You just need to re-enter your Media Access Key (easily obtainable under your Account Information on tivo.com).

I saw a wire story today that iTunes software may not be compatible, and that Apple recommends not upgrading. Has anyone with iTunes upgraded?

Running Vista Business with Aero on a Core Duo with 2GB RAM and 7200 RPM notebook HD.

Smooth and fast, no compatibility issues - I could live with this.

Can anyone say "stonewalling?"