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Forums - Microsoft - Microsoft made a huge mistake

gavind5uk on 11 January 2009
C8 said:
gavind5uk said:
C8 said:
gavind5uk said:
The lack of M$ rallying companies to upgrade their drivers to 64 bit for Vista 64/XP64 has being the biggest problem for upgraders imo. Having got around those i do prefer vista to xp, the sidebar alone is worth it. I'm looking forward to the improvements on media centre the most in windows 7, the rest can stay the same, i dont need an OS throwing pointless 3D menus at me.

Starting with Vista (i.e. 2 years ago) MS refused to sign drivers unless they pass WHQL for both x32 and x64.  So unless you're in the habit of using custom hardware with no signed drivers, getting drivers for x64 really isn't much of an issue anymore.  XP64 was another story entirely because it was never sold to mainsteam consumers - take a look at Dell.com or other major sites, half their PCs ship with Vista x64 these days by default - home pcs, not just business targeted machines.

 

 

Ive come across quite alot of hardware drivers and software lacking 64bit compatibility, i think it os more prevalent than you may believe, even the likes of companies like nvidia have not upgraded some of their projects.

 

Drivers only.  Microsoft does not sign Windows applications.  Do you know of an nVidia product that has a signed vista (MS WHQL) 32-bit driver but no 64-bit driver?  For that matter, any vendor with a signed 32-bit Vista driver (older pre-vista drivers ... nothing I can say there) but no 64-bit driver?  Unsigned drivers, also nothing you can do there - but major vendors produce signed drivers.

 

Well its a moote point, the compatibility for both hardware and software of 32bit is vast compared to 64bit for the obvious reasons. People shouldnt have to be in the position of having to buy premium products to ensure compatibility with a modern OS, its ludicrous. And alot of Major vendors for cheaper hardware (wireless card for example) on part of their range have forgone 64bit signed (or unsigned for that matter) drivers having decided they no longer want to support it.

On the software side there are an absolute ton of niche products that people use everyday that they need to keep 32bit for to keep using, people with 64bit system just dont have the unlimited range of options a 32bit user has.



Around the Network
Million on 11 January 2009
Lurker said:
People will still be using XP when this thing comes out. Just like what happened with Vista.

*raises hand*

 




Smashed on 11 January 2009

I'm just going to get windows 7 off a torrent, easy as that.



Domicinator on 11 January 2009

1. A lot of you commenting on this have not done your homework and probably have not ever used Windows Vista on a computer that can handle it. Vista is a very stable OS. I have been using it since day one and it has been much more stable for me than XP ever was. Vista is able to get out of virtually any "crash" and become responsive again without having to do a hard reboot or restart. The bad comments about Vista in media reviews have rarely been about stability. They have been about software/driver support and insane hardware requirements.

2. This beta was NOT a mistake. Are some of you really implying that they shouldn't beta test software? If they didn't beta tested, there would be even more bitching and moaning. I'm typing this post on Windows 7 Beta right now on a laptop that did not handle Vista very well. Whatever Microsoft has done under the hood of Windows 7 has vastly improved performance and they have really improved the UI. The new task bar is quite handy and a lot more integral than it used to be. They seem to have replaced Flip 3D with a much more useful idea.

3. There is a download limit on the site. The torrent versions are only good for 30 days without a key. I'm sure people will find ways around it, but that's for another post. (Pirates make me want to vomit.)

4. Microsoft needs this. There is a lot of really overblown bad press about Vista. From one day of using Windows 7, I'm seeing much improved performance, much better organization, and an overall pleasing experience. It takes what Vista did and betters it in every way. Switching from Vista to 7 won't be that big of a difference visually, but anyone switching from XP to 7 will be blown away.