Windows Vista Officially Released
Vista has finally arrived and it comes in an overwhelming variety of flavors. Wikipedia has a detailed chart comparing each version of Vista; on the high-end there is the Vista Ultimate full version retailing for $399 and at the low-end we’ve got the Vista Home Basic upgrade for $99. Then there is the Vista Ultimate signature edition for the uber fanboys out there. If you haven’t yet seen my pseudo-review of Vista, check it out now.
To give you a little perspective on things, Apple’s Mac OS X is only offered in one version and it comes as a full version for $129. Mac OS X.5, Leopard, is expected to follow the same pricing structure when it releases in ~March.
Today’s reader question: Are you going to upgrade to Vista, and if so which version will you pick up and when? *Bonus points if you reply tonight from camped outside of a Best Buy, CompUSA, etcetera, waiting to get your hands on Vista. (Although some stores have midnight launch parties in addition to the official launch event with Sir Bill Gates.)
*Bonus points hold no real monetary value, unless otherwise noted.
I was planning on grabbing a copy but Vista Ultimate down here is $750AUS, which quite frankly is a joke.
It took me long enough to take the plunge and get a mac. Thing is… I don’t actually need Windows. I have found nothing in my daily life that requires Microsoft products at all, except MSN Messenger. I don’t use the program only the network, (Adium), and that’s only because all my friends use MSN as their messenger service of choice. I would love to use Jabber, believe me.
So I guess that means I get no bonus points… just a warm contented glow when some clever chappy works out how to circumvent Vista security within the first month.
My next OS “upgrade” will be Ubuntu when the X-Fi drivers are released. Maybe six months or a year down the track I will pick up a copy of Vista of whatever the most popular version is at the time (Not including the Ultimate pirates).
holding out for Leopard. Was too dumb to realize I needed tiger till it was too late to be worth the upgrade. :)
Vista? meh.
Win… Doh! What? I switched to linux ages ago. I still hold a virtual windows installation on vmware server for development purposes, but xp is doing right.
I think I am going to wait for Leopard.
I’m not sure your $129 perspective is quite valid. It’s been over 5 years since the XP release (I’m not claiming that’s a good thing). In that 5 years there have been 4 releases of OS X. If you got every one (it’s hard not to) then it is more expensive than Vista’s $399. 4 * $129 = $516
Leopard will probably be my next purchase, but I’ll be tempted by Vista once they start shipping computers with cable card support.
@Dustin: But for $516, we’ve gotten 4 upgrades. For $399, you’re only getting one.
I want to say that I am going to wait for Leopard, but I know that I’m only going to buy it if it is outstanding. Hopefully Apple has something really good up their sleeve.
@Dustin: I’d rather pay a little more (when you look at it the way you are, 129 * 4) in the long run to get upgrades along the way that are very innovative than wait 5 years, and pay ~ $400 to buy an OS that really isn’t breaking any NEW ground in the OS market. $129 is a much easier pill to swallow every 18 months than $399 is at any time. Just my 2 cents though.
I’ve been running Vista Business Edt. for a couple of days now (Got it through MSDN AA) and unfortunately I’m not all that impressed, good thing it was free… Can’t wait until leopard though :)
I’ve had my copy for quite while. Hooray beta testing. Free Vista Ultimate for me. I’ve been pleased. :-)
I’m fine with Windows XP. If I had the money I would love to get a Macbook and have Tiger/Leopard with Vista on Parallels, but honestly this computer stuff is just too expensive!
To the Mac users, I still think the Tiger upgrade scheme has been a bitch, XP got upgrades in the form of SP1 and SP2 and those were free. I know Tiger’s upgrades are significant but I don’t believe each one merits the full $129 price tag. Vista might be expensive but part of that cost has to do with all the compatibility, you can run a lot of programs on Windows. I still think it’s sad that some Mac users have to purchase Tiger AND Windows XP / Vista, you shouldn’t have to run multiple operating systems.
Hmm
1.quote from badvista.com. “Vista is an upsell not an upgrade” True imo.
2. All the old pc hardware thats going to the dump if its older than a year could get a new life using ubuntu. Or dump windows and install ubuntu and keep going.
3. I have been using ichat to google chat using jabber and it works well.
Search the net or googles site on how to set it up.
4. I will retire my mac mini running tiger when leopard is standard issue on a new mac.
I installed Vista today, thanks to MSDN AA. Although my computer is a few years old, and only scores a 1.0 on the Windows Experience thing, I have to say I’m rather impressed. I switched to a Mac two years ago because of my dislike for Windows, but I have to give Microsoft some credit; Vista has some great new features, advanced security, and, in my opinion, is an essential upgrade for any serious PC user.
I will honestly say that if I had a powerful enough PC, I would consider switching back. That is, until Leopard comes out.
I used this occation to do the switch. Have been on Windows for the last 10 years, but found the Vista moment the perfect one to buy some macs.
I am now a more than happy user of an iMac at home and a MacBook pro at work. Welcome, Vista - and good bye! I’m never going back.