382
Why are people calling Windows vista (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/memes@lemmy.world
72 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 17 points 1 year ago (6 children)

IIRC, vista got hate because to run it a massive number of users would have to…upgrade…their…hardware.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 6 child comments
    •
  • [–] 22 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    That, and it had a lot of technical changes that broke a lot of drivers and programs. All the technical changes also had lots of bugs that needed to be fixed. And also, Microsoft OK’ed Vista for 512 MB RAM when it should have had at least 1 GB.

    When everything started to smooth out, bugs fixed, drivers and programs updated, and computers came with 2GB+ RAM, then Microsoft released Windows 7, based on all of this, and that made Windows 7 shine.

    People say that Windows Vista should never had been made but without it, Windows 7 would have suffered the same fate as Vista.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    but without it, Windows 7 would have suffered the same fate as Vista.

    Alternatively they could test their shit in advance. It's not like Microsoft is too poor to afford an array of average computers and a dozen of testers.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    Alternatively they could test their shit in advance

    A big part of the problem was 3rd party programs that was not ready. A big change was introduction of the User Account Control (UAC) that more or less started to force programs to behave better: Install into program file, save stuff in user profile, don't do dumb admin stuff if not needed, making programs start to behave more like they lived in a multi-user operating system. It was a change that had to be done and it was never going to be a good experience.

    It’s not like Microsoft is too poor to afford an array of average computers and a dozen of testers

    I think you underestimate how many testers and how much work actually goes into testing both Microsoft's own software and work with 3rd party software vendors to make sure their software worked. This has changed somewhat, with Windows 10 and forward, where you have a lot more beta testing in the public.

    I agree that there should have been spent more time on testing Vista and given more time to 3rd party to test their stuff. However, 3rd party software and drivers took, in some instances, 1-2 years after Vista release, before they updated their stuff to work with Vista. There were just not a lot of companies interested in spending the money and time to make make it work as Vista got a (deserving) bad reception, but a big part of the problem was these companies. A chicken/egg situation.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    I am familiar with performance testing of complex product, I agree that it's hard to overestimate the insane complexity of this process. But if anyone has both means and obligation to do it, it's a megacorporation that weaseled it's way into being a monopoly with an iron grip on the world's infrastructure. If it wasn't for that, I would agree that it should be a collaborative effort, but when you're monopoly you don't get to blame third party on your unilateral decisions. "I just changed everything about the infrastructure that I forced you to operate under, now your shit doesn't work and it's your fault actually".

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    Yeah, my mum bought a laptop that only had 512mb RAM and that ran like shiiiiiit. Trying to troubleshoot for her left absolutely certain that Vista was a dog.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    Haha yes, I had to go to client with a new desktop with Windows Vista... that only had 512 MB. It was swapping all the time and was useless and I looked like an idiot for bringing a defective computer that we had selected for him. Upgraded to 1 GB and it was fine.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent