Vista Beta 2 has Major Problems

WebHostingGuy writes "In a review by Gary Krackow from MSNBC who reviewed Vista Beta 2 over the last week he had very disappointing problems. "for me [it] was one of the worst operating system experiences that I've ever encountered." Built-in audio and wireless didn't work on his Levono laptop. It took four days to get the first installation."

Comments

Article Summary

[AKAImBatman]

"I tried to install on a laptop, and it didn't work."

Am I the only one who's sitting here and wondering, "What was this guy thinking?!" Laptops have so much custom hardware these days that it's a Bad Idea(TM) to attempt an OS installation from anything but restore CDs. This guy not only tried to install from new media, but he tried to install a cutting-edge operating system that isn't even out of beta!

Desktops are cheap these days. Would it kill him to keep one or two around for "kicking the tires" of new Operating Systems? His install experience probably would have been smoother, and we might have actually been able to hear some real complaints about Windows Vista. ;-)

Re:Article Summary

[Anonymous Coward]

I agree, the article suggests that Vista is crap because his two older laptops had hardware problems and that Lenovo hasn't released Vista-ready drivers yet. Sounds pretty weak to me.

But get a load of the feature list for Beta 2!!!
-New version of Solitare
-Better looking Start menu (wow)
-Better startup sound and alert chime
-Search box on every Explorer window hogging screen realestate

Re:Article Summary

[Asphalt]

Am I the only one who's sitting here and wondering, "What was this guy thinking?!" Laptops have so much custom hardware these days that it's a Bad Idea(TM) to attempt an OS installation from anything but restore CDs.

Well, a year or so ago, laptop sales surpassed desktop sales.

So if you had to test an OS on a machine, statistically you would go with a laptop in 2006.

The hardware isn't terribly specialized anymore.

If Vista doesn't run on laptops, then Microsoft will be cut out more than 50% of all new computer sales.

Re:Article Summary

[AKAImBatman]

If Vista doesn't run on laptops, then Microsoft will be cut out more than 50% of all new computer sales.

Vista will run on laptops. But like with most XP machines today, custom drivers will be built to handle all the embedded hardware. The problem here is that Vista is in beta, ergo it has very little driver support. Thus if you want to review a beta (as opposed to doing bug reporting for Microsoft) then you should use a more standardized system. i.e. A Desktop.

Make no mistake. I am making no assertions about Vista's capabilities. I'm sure that it will follow the tradition of Windows just fine (i.e. Some stuff is good, some stuff is bad.) The only assertion I'm making is that the reviewer's strategy is flawed.

Re:Article Summary

[Asphalt]

Vista will run on laptops. But like with most XP machines today, custom drivers will be built to handle all the embedded hardware. The problem here is that Vista is in beta, ergo it has very little driver support. Thus if you want to review a beta (as opposed to doing bug reporting for Microsoft) then you should use a more standardized system. i.e. A Desktop.

Not sure I agree.

You can put together a desktop computer with 1,000,000 different hardware configurations. Laptops are actually much less configurable ... hardware-wise.

Desktops need just as many drivers as laptops (if not more), and they are hardly "standardized".

You can get a generic Dell white box, or an Alienware Gaming Monster. Both desktops, very different computers.

Laptops are actually more standard these days, IMHO.

You are unlikely to have dual-7800 Ultra cards running SLI with an AMD X2 with Cool-N-Quiet, and Raid 0 in a laptop.

Desktops are far from standardized, and I don't see any reason why it would be easier to get Vista running on one.

Re:Article Summary

[ceejayoz]

There's a vid on YouTube with Microsoft's Vista presentation, but with the visuals replaced with a screencast of OSX. Here it is, in three parts:

http://www.maclive.net/sid/134
http://www.maclive.net/sid/135
http://www.maclive.net/sid/136

Re:Article Summary

[Vancorps]

That's because people blasted them for doing that with Windows 9x. They generic drivers screwed up the computers causing BSODs. Now people are bitching because they only include certified drivers with the OS. Am I the only one that thinks this is insane? Is it really that hard to keep custom install CDs with all your in-house drivers on the same media? I use nLite with every new hardware purchase. That is when its a new model with different hardware. My install cd puts all the certified and more importantly latest drivers on the cd so when the install is finished there are no system instabilities from outdated drivers. SATA RAID controllers are the worst for this. I've had firmware upgraded on them and then old drivers don't work and if they work they really don't work well.

My SUSE installs really aren't all that different, I load up the install CD, since the installer has to be able to connect to the Internet to update itself they've included every network card driver they could find. The update then ensures that all the latest drivers and system packages are installed and the end experience is a stable and fast OS experience.

SP2 is not a new release of XP. It does contain a few new drivers but the base is still the same. That is the big difference between how Microsoft releases software and how most Linux distros do. Microsoft keeps it consistent only adding necessities like drive support beyond 160gigs. They have to for their business customers who really don't handle change very well.

So yes, XP was released 5 years ago, it has great hardware support. Dell seems to always put in strange network cards that require additional drivers but they give you a cd with them on it so no big deal. Most everytime I install it the NIC at least is least given a driver that will work. Nforce boards are an exception as they are completely new since the release of XP. Vista hardware support is interest since it appears that the drivers for XP check for XP as the version of the OS rather than specifying it as a minimum. XP drivers should work just fine. Older drivers will not as they need to be signed for the OS to let them in unless you open up the default hardware policy which is fairly easy to do if you know where to look for Windows policy settings.

I think I've said enough, there is a lot of crap floating around, last I checked XP even in safe mode had 256colors and 800x600 res with practically any video card. I'd call that some pretty amazing generic driver support. Now that people can see what they are doing they may shift their focus to making sure people can connect. I don't know but I do know if enough people complain to Microsoft about it then it will happen. That is exactly what happened with the group policy changes to Vista. A lot of changes to SMS and MOM are driven the same way.

Audio problems on thinkpad?

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

Built-in audio and wireless didn't work on his Levono laptop.

That's because the audio is reserved for spying on the US military (and wireless to transmit the data back to China!)

Grr

[Anonymous Coward]

You know, if there's one thing I loathe more than intrusive

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

OS X...?

[metaomni]

The article reminds me a lot of this video of OS X overlaid on a Gates presentation of Vista.

I'm no Apple fanboi, but it does seem like Vista isn't really innovating anything that OS X hasn't had since at least 10.4, if not earlier. Feel free to disagree.

Beta != Beta

[Se7enLC]

So basically when Microsoft says "beta" they mean:

it sorta works. ok, there might be a few bugs. ok, so maybe it can't even install itself or use hardware.

When google says "beta" they mean:

it's more done than most web services that have been around since the early 90s will ever be, but the moniker "Beta" has a nice ring to it. Plus we like how elitist it is to have to be invited to a webmail service.

Hardware problems

[Taimat]

From reading TFA, it looks like he had the majority of problems because of his laptops. Hard drive dying, replace batt. Perhaps he should invest in new testing equipment. I thought the article was going to be about vista beta 2, not, why I couldn't get windows installed on my hardware. Yes, vista is supposed to support a ton of hardware, but I feel the article's title was misleading. Yes, I like linux and windows... No, I am not looking foward to Vista. 2000 and XP (and a wide range of linux) is fine for most workstations in the corp world.

Re:Maybe Not So Fair?

[Fhqwhgadss]

Not only is it beta, but by the time it ships, users won't have to look for drivers, Lenovo will have it preconfigured already. So his biggest gripe is a complete non-issue for the overwhelming majority of computer users. Sounds like a thumbs-up to me.

BTW, isn't the Slashdot mentality great? Poor driver support for Linux: "Broadcom/ATI/whoever Is The Devil." Poor driver support for Windows: "Vista Beta 2 has Major Problems." Go Figure.

Re:Levono

[porkThreeWays]

Pfft. I know a genuine Panaphonics when I see it. And look, there's Magnetbox and Sorny.

~Six Months until go time...

[duffolonious]

The clock is ticking.

Nonetheless, did anyone think the highlights weren't that high?

        * A streamlined Start menu.
        * Instant Search in every Explorer window.
        * Search Pane lets you organize information by author, date, or type of document.
        * Windows Sidebar puts frequently used information and tasks right on the desktop. This feature will remind OS X users of that system's Dashboard feature.
        * Network Explorer puts all network connections -- like printers, other computers, and devices - into one centralized location.
        * Sync Center helps users manage all their devices from one place.
        * Tablet PC functionality is integrated into most versions of Windows Vista.
        * Windows Media Center 11, also standard in Vista, includes live and recorded television, music, photos and videos.
        * Improved Windows Media Player.
        * New power management features for mobile computers to optimize battery performance.
        * Windows Defender regularly scans and removes spyware and other unwanted software.
        * Classic Windows games, as well as several new ones.

None of these are compelling reasons to upgrade from XP. I see minor features and re-organizations. Power management? Hmmmm... not enough. Windows Defender? Not doing it for me. I thought there were a lot of other more compelling reasons?

Awww, look at the youngster

[Spackler]

"for me [it] was one of the worst operating system experiences that I've ever encountered."

Which means you are a young pup. Coherrent on a 286? How about OS/2 on a Tandy 1000? DSM on an 11/44? Windows 1 (with the coolest font management that only took a week to get stuff working)? You do remember when the line printer would get stuck on the feeder and it would wear a line of text right through the paper, don't you?

Man, back in my day