Is Anyone Using Vista yet?

carol m · #1 May 7th, 2008

I am thinking of buying a new PC soon and am wondering if anyone has been using Vista with the software programs Reaper and Audacity? It's still possible to get XP but maybe it's OK now to think about Vista. The other thing is, is Vista Home good enough or is it better to get Vista Professional? If anyone has experience about these topics it would be appreciated. Thanks.

Andy S · #2 May 7th, 2008

Carol,

Geez! I know three people that have recently bought PC with Vista, going from either XP or 2000. NONE of them had anything good to say about Vista.

In fact, all three are trying to get XP loaded on the new machines.

Also, we use XP at our church and use a software program for our stage lighting. There was a new update we were looking at and it specifically said in the notes that Vista was not compatible with the software.

If it were me, I'd wait even longer before going to Vista. I would seriously consider a Mac before Vista. No slam on Macs, since so much software is now compatible with it. Might be worth looking into.

Nutty · #3 May 7th, 2008

Hi Carol,

Hi have Vista 32 bit (Home Basic) and I have had both Reaper and Audacity installed. I don't use them regularly, but I have used them without any problems.

I did have issues with some of my other equipment though, but not necessarily because of Vista. I have the PreSonus Firebox (audio interface) and I had to download new drivers from PreSonus. I also had to get a Texus Istrument Chip set firewire card. (This was not a Vista issue).

You might want to check with your hardware companies as some are not ready for Vista, especially Vista 64 bit. I've also heard that many effects are not Vista 64 bit compatible yet. Vista 32 is generally okay.

Hope this helps.

Nutty

allthumbs · #4 May 7th, 2008

There are countless sites about how to get vista off your computer. That should tell you something. Anna sent hers back after a week and went to xp. I personaly would not touch it. Delivered 3 years late with only 50% of the promised features. What does that tell you, LOL

Rockerbob · #5 May 7th, 2008

Vista will become the new XP. I takes some time for bugs and compatibility issue to be worked out, but many already have been. As others have said, just check with the software and hardware companies regarding vista compatibility.

That being said, I use the latest Mac OS X (10.5.2). I had to wait about 3 months for a new release of the Waves plugins. No biggie. I dual booted until the new revision came out.

Also, in my small networking lab I have Linux, XP and Win2K server running, but no vista - only because I don't have it and won't pay for it. When I get it for free I will install it. I will probably get it through an employer, if I ever get employed again.

gasbag · #6 May 7th, 2008

My son is a beta tester for MS and he tested Vista. He won't even use it. Too buggy. He uses XP Pro on his own computer. I use XP home version. So far no problems.

starsailor · #7 May 7th, 2008

Vistas a bit pants at the moment but like Rockerbob said it will get better once all the bugs are ironed out, I remember XP had a few issues when it came out so it will get better, microsoft seemed a bit hasty bringing it out in my opinion, I think the biggest complaint has been about compatible drivers, I think I'll wait until it's as trouble free as XP, kind of want a stress free life

Clancy · #8 May 7th, 2008

Hi Carol,

I got a new laptop a few weeks ago and it has Vista Ultimate on it. I've had to upgrade a couple of of programs, but apart from that I've had no problems. The only thing I found that I don't like is that some .zip files take a long time to extract with Vista.

I didn't want to get Vista because of all the horror stories I kept hearing about it... but they're not going back to XP and we'll all have to move onto it some time... I don't think you'll have many problems. I haven't tried Audacity or Reaper however.

Clancy

Stratrat · #9 May 8th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy S

...I would seriously consider a Mac before Vista...

Exactly what I'm planning on. I'm sure Apple's OS isn't perfect either, but I'm not at all impressed with Vista from my brief experiences with it so far. My next computer is going to be a Mac laptop. I'll keep my XP desktop until it isn't feasible anymore, and what I do then depends on whether or not Micro$oft gets their act straight.... either try another MS OS, or switch over to Mac all the way.

Micro$oft's OS' are becoming increasingly intrusive, mostly due to their efforts to fight piracy, and they also continue to "dumb down"/automate the OS to make things easier for people who don't know anything about computers. I don't like my software doing things I don't tell it to do, or trying to anticipate what I'm going to do next, causing me to push a bunch of "no" buttons to stop it. I don't like cars that do it either.....the first thing I do when I buy a new car is disable the automatic door locks and all that garbage. If I want my doors locked, I'll lock them....if I want the radio turned up or down, I'll turn it up or down. I don't want machines making my decisions for me.

krissovo · #10 May 8th, 2008

The best advice IMO is MAC, since I have had mine my recording experiences are a pleasure. As the ad says "it just works", I used to not record because it used to take me an age to get setup with my midi keyboard, mics and firewire mixer. Now I just plug in and its all available to me with out tweeking the hell out my machine.

The software is a joy as well, garage band could not be simpler but the results are awsome. I only have the Basic Mac book but I am so much more productive not just with my music but day to day work as well.

Of course you can now run windows on a Mac but I soon got rid of windows as what is the point with a slick functional operating system and software that works.

Good luck!

Tekker · #11 May 8th, 2008

I've read that MS has the next thing (Windows 7) coming out in 2009 and they will probably keep XP around until Windows 7. So you might want to hold off on getting Vista as it doesn't appear it's sticking around much longer.

If they don't do a better job with Windows 7, then once they stop supporting XP I may get a Mac for typical computer/Internet use, but also keep XP around for my recording applications.

-tkr

Ian McAllister · #12 May 8th, 2008

I've used Vista for six months, and the one thing that strikes me about it is how slow it is compared to xp! I had some serious problems using Reaper a few months ago, which disappeared suddenly, and now opening Audacity bluescreens the computer. I've had numerous problems with other programs too. I would change to xp, but my computer is a Korean desknote, and it would be too risky to try to do it myself, so I'm stuck with it!
No-one on the Reaper forums has anything good to say about Vista, in fact I can't think of anyone who has.
Ian

Nutty · #13 May 8th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian McAllister

I've used Vista for six months, and the one thing that strikes me about it is how slow it is compared to xp!
Ian

That is so true. I had 1 meg of RAM on my other computer running XP. I now have 3 meg's of RAM running Vista and it is slower than my old computer!

Nutty

737blues · #14 May 9th, 2008

MS Have just released Service Pack 3 for XP ....... maybe even down at Redmond they still prefer it to Vista.

carol m · #15 May 9th, 2008

Thanks everyone for your info. I'll definitely not get Vista! I read the Cnet reviews on it and it sounds as if what Stratrat said is true - they are clamping down on access to certain sites that share/swap 'stuff'. I don't know which sites they are, but even though I don't download from P2P 'illegal' sites, I don't want big brother taking over my choices and the program deciding for me what I want to do next.

Also, as far as I know, Vista is a 32bit system (don't know what that means) but I know that certain music software will only run on 62bit systems (like XP). I'm on 2000, which is also 32bit so I'm thinking that going XP will be the best to go for. Of course I don't know how long XP will function for, but if it becomes un-usable after a couple of years I would upgrade to whatever is best at the time.

Maybe a Mac would be good but I have no experience of it, and no-one in the family has ever used it so I'm a bit reluctant to go in that direction (I rely on the younger generation around here to get me out of most of the tekky holes I fall into).