Windows Vista is pretty… crappy
So I finally tried out Windows Vista. I’m doing some contract work and the compny I’m working for just bought a brand new computer from Fry’s and a new copy of Vista.
I did all the setting up and installing of the computer/software so it was as fresh of an install and computer as you could get.
First impression? Wow. The new “aero” interface is actually quite gorgeous. I was impressed to see tha the sheen was actually dynamic, adjusting as the window moved around as though it was coming from a real light surface. And the way the glass transparency looks is pretty nice, it adds a nice blur effect to the things below the glass. Really the interface should be seen as screenshots and descriptions don’t do it justice, it’s beautiful.
That said, everything following my initial reaction to it’s beauty, was a disaster.
Within an hour of using it, Internet Explorer froze and crashed on me. A couple hours later, Microsoft Word did the same. The next day Explorer itself crashed and I had to reboot the system. This, may I remind, is all happening on a brand new computer with a completely fresh install of the OS and all software. I’ve continued to have at least a couple crashes every day I’ve used it this week.
The Start Menu
Okay, maybe this just takes some getting used to but, wow the Start Menu is a mess. There seems to be 50 programs in a completely random jumble in this… takes way too long to find what you’re looking for. My guess is these are in order of most used (similiar to the Top 8 programs in the XP Start Menu). Unfortunately, when you have more than 8 apps, it just becomes a big jumbled mess. Everytime I launch an app that’s not in my Quick Start Menu it’s a fun little game of Where’s Waldo? (although, wthout the fun, and without the Waldo).
Whoops, don’t I feel sheepish. I missed one of the great features of the Start Menu. Though I stand by the fact that it looks like a random jumbled mess and if you’re trying to navigate with just the mouse (like the newbie crowd does, i.e. my mom) it’s a complete mess. However, the Quicksilver‘esque quality to it which allows you to find a program by just typing a few simple search keystrokes is quite simple and powerful. And, for once, actually makes the Windows key useful… only took them 12 years.
Exposéd
After having used OS X exclusively for the past year my work style has adjusted to make better use of multi-tasking with several apps… Vista, really really sucks at multi-tasking. It is such a pain switching from one program to the next, and when you’re like me and you run 20 programs at a time (like most designers) it becomes a random click-the-task-bar-til-the-one-i-am-looking-for-pops-up. Seriously, I’ve never loved exposé more on my mac than after using Vista for a few days.
Bottom line, I think I’m sticking to the Mac for any foreseeable future.
11 Comments
lateral
Jun 14 @ 01:18 PM
I am not sure I agree. navigation in the start menu is easier, I find. Especially when using the search function, which is reasonably fast. Just hit the windows button and start typing the name of the app. Works like a charm for me.
That said, I enjoy OSX more than Vista.
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Lew
Jun 15 @ 04:13 AM
I agree with Lateral here, hitting the start button, or even the windows key and typing the first couple of letters usually has my desired program found and highlighted almost instantly meaning all I need do is his return.
As for multitasking, one simply hits alt+tab to get thumbnails of all current open windows, just like Expose. And hitting windows-key+tab cycles through a 3D stack of open windows.
I disliked Vista when I first got it at the end of January, but it’s growing on me all the time. It just takes some time to find all the little shortcuts.
Jim
Jun 15 @ 10:11 AM
I’m sure I don’t agree. While I do enjoy using Mac OS X (more than Vista), I haven’t had any problems at all with Vista. Not a crash on my PC since I installed it several months ago.
Also, it’s easy to find apps in Vista. You get thumbnails when you +, and thumbnails when you hover over the taskbar. What’s hard about that? And is it really that hard to tell Photoshop from your browser from your email client, etc.?
Jim
Jun 15 @ 10:13 AM
That should be ALT + TAB. Sorry, I wrapped the words in angle brackets, and they were stripped from the comment.
Jesse J. Anderson
Jun 15 @ 12:06 PM
I agree, the Start menu is much better than I had thought… somehow I missed the quick-search aspect of it which is pretty nice. (not nearly as nice as Quicksilver, mind you, but pretty decent as an app launcher).
And yes, you should be able to tell the different between your Word Docs and Photoshop in the little Alt-Tab window. Problem is when you’re trying to differentiate several Word Docs, and web pages with text, etc. With Vista your only options are to (a) hunt and search through the Task bar and hope you can find them, or (b) use alt-tab and look at each tiny icon to see if you can tell the differences between similar documents. Oh, or you can hover over each individual program in the taskbar and wait for the screenshot to pop-up (as if I have time for that).
In OS X you simply switch to the program you want (through the dock, an apple-tab, hiding the current app, or through a simple All Program expose) and then F10 to see all the apps of that program, piece of cake. Not only does this give you a much larger view of each window (as opposed to tiny screenshot which are useless for text files) but it also (a) only shows you things from the program you know you’re looking for and (b) gives you the title when hovering over it.
And the thing about it is, that description there doesn’t do it any justice. It’s so easy it takes less than a second to switch programs in most cases. Especially if you use Hot Corners.
lateral
Jun 16 @ 03:06 AM
TaskSwitchXP is a third party alt-tab replacement which I had forgotten up until now. There you see the full title of the various apps, as well as a screenshot.
A pity it only runs on XP though..
Jordan
Jun 27 @ 03:44 PM
With regard to finding a particular instance of an app, have you tried using the flip mode? Hold the Windows key and press Tab, then use your mouse wheel to flip through the windows. Or, you could use the window arrangement commands from the taskbar context menu (right-click the task bar and select “Show windows stacked” or whatever). Those commands have been around since at least Windows 3.1. If you’re looking for a specific document that’s open in Word, you can go to any Word instance, click the Window menu and all open Word documents are listed. Just select the one you want. Office apps have worked that way for years. The interface is a little different in Office 2007, but the concept is the same.
In my experience, the only people who think Windows is harder to use than OS X just don’t have much experience with it. I had the same experience the first time I sat down with an OS X box. It wasn’t intuitive for me because I’ve spent so much time in the Windows environment that I’ve come to expect the UI to work in a certain way. But once I got the hang of it, I could find my way around just fine. The interfaces are different, to be sure, but I wouldn’t say either one is better or worse.
Jesse J. Anderson
Jun 28 @ 02:11 PM
Jordan - actually I’ve been using Windows pretty much my entire life. I started before there was even Windows using just good old DOS “
del *.*“ commands and have continued using Windows all the way up to Vista. A couple years ago was the first time I used a Mac since I was a kid using an Apple IIe. It was instantly easier. So no, people who think Windows is harder has nothing to do with their experience with it.Obviously when you first sit down on an OS X machine when you’re used to Windows it’s going to seem more alien and “harder” at first. After a couple weeks when it was really familiar I knew how much easier mac would be and am so much happier now that my computer works and does what I want it to without the extra hassle associated with Windows Vista.
emil
Jul 09 @ 03:57 PM
Hi, I’ve almost decided to buy a mac, and I get more and more convinced (by reading such articles), after all, Microsoft is completely outdated (edit: more than ever).
I’m looking forward for working in a real OS (X)
Vista is kinda tragicomic :D
JohnAdriaan
Jul 11 @ 04:35 PM
I’m not a fan of these “My OS is better than yours” Holy Wars, but just to clear up something:
Yes, you can use the Windows Key and Tab (similar to Alt-Tab) to pop-up a 3-D view of all the running apps (and the Desktop too!), and while holding down the Windows key repeatedly pressing the Tab key (just like Alt-Tab) cycles through the different windows. I didn’t know you could achieve the same thing with the mouse wheel - but that’s two hands.
Budz
Sep 13 @ 02:46 PM
I am not going to compare vista to the OS X, but to its predecessor XP. After installing vista (clean) on my machine (purposely built to be used with vista), I was extremely excited, but, once i configured it to work with my network (wireless) it was a disaster. If i open a shared folder, vista freezes!!! And I now get the same circular cursor when performing simple tasks like copying and pasting within excel. Vista freezes (as if it is thinking) for long periods of time...frustrating! Most of the time I am forced to “end task” which works 70% of the time. XP was and still is my preferred OS. I find it hard to believe that it took 6 years to develop vista “from scratch”. I am going to wait until Vista SP 1 is released in Jan 2008 (if on schedule) and if i experience the same problem ill move back to XP. Microsoft has buggy software because they are trying to prevent cracking and distributions of illegal copies, which effects legit users. Shame, the same case with Microsoft Flight Sim X. Microsoft should concentrate on delivering to its loyal paying customers and not pirates, this will save us all the pain of using buggy software and eventually moving to more reliable OS’s such as OS X and Linux.