Vista Expert: What's Not to Like About Vista? Vista Tips for Working Around the OS's Peculiarities Andy Rathbone
Missing folder menus. While cluttering the Control Panel, Vista cleaned up the folder window. Unfortunately, Microsoft did so by removing the menus. That's right: Window menus, depended upon by a generation of PC owners, now lay hidden behind a press of the Alt key.
To bring back the folder menus, choose Start -> Control Panel -> Appearance and Personalization -> Folder Options -> Use Classic Windows Options, and click OK.
No off switch. Years ago, turning off a PC was as simple as pushing a button. Vista transforms that simple task into two shortcut icons and an arrow that fetches a seven-option menu. It's a rare PC owner who wants to ponder menu options when he tries to leave his PC.
Why not take mercy on the average PC owner and make Vista's Off button actually turn off the PC? Leave the other options for tech hounds to add with a trip to the Control Panel.
Lack of drivers. Vista still lacks drivers for lots of hardware, perhaps because of a lack of Vista enthusiasm among vendors. To be fair, Windows XP also suffered a dearth of drivers after its release. But you could usually download a Windows 2000 driver that worked just as well in XP. Vista lacks that safety net, leaving loads of equipment bound for the landfills as Vista owners replace equipment that worked fine with Windows XP.
Forced software upgrades. During the tech boom, people felt obligated to upgrade their software with each new version. Nobody wanted to be left behind on the tech curve. Today, people realize they can crop a photo just as easily with last year's version of Paint Shop Pro as the latest version. Unfortunately, Vista sucker punches its owners into buying Vista versions of their software because hundreds of Windows XP software packages won't run under Vista.
No Killer App. So, what pressing reason drives us to Vista besides the fact that it's finally arrived? There really isn't one. In fact, most people encounter Vista simply because they find it preinstalled on their new PC.
These are just a few reasons keeping me from booting Vista on an everyday basis; there are many more.
Maybe I've been spoiled by Windows XP and the slew of free programs that prop it up so well. Firefox and its hundreds of extensions, for example, easily outshine Internet Explorer and its meager add-ons. Firefox users were protected from Vista's latest security problem, as well. Google's Desktop Search works just as well or better than Vista's newly enhanced search.
Who knows, perhaps I'll turn Vista back on after the first service pack, but for now, I'm sticking with Windows XP.
