XP, Vista, Linux or None?

[Paul]

I'm curious.

When I buy a new laptop or desktop pc I always want with it the latest operating system/software that is currently available. However Dell are still offering Windows XP as an option with most of their Inspiron and XPS computers from the Dell UK website, so there must still be a demand for it.

Are there still issues with Vista drivers for certain hardware? Are there performance issues with Vista or are you simply content with Windows XP? It does the job right?

[spannerzone]

I like the XP option, sadly though I find that Dell offer XP on some machines but when you choose upgrades, such as the soundblaster Xfi card, or wireless Wifi card, it says it's not compatible with XP!

What utter nonsense... I could understand some hardware NOT being Vista compatible, but I do not believe any current hardware made is not XP capable.

So, although Dell give the XP choice, they restrict your choices still.... similar with Unbunto, higher prices, lower specs but you get the choice on non MS I suppose!

[rkl]

It seems that when you go into Dell's "Customise" section for any normal desktop or laptop they sell, the only choices - if you're lucky - are between versions of Windows (yes, I know that they do sell Linux desktops, but they're deliberately well off the beaten path with - ludicrously - completely separately model numbers and specs to make it hard to compare).

What I'd like to see Dell do is the following:

1. Scrap separate Linux models and offer Linux simply as an option on their "normal" desktops/laptops. Yes, this would mean having to source "Linux-friendly" hardware (or commission Linux drivers for currently "Linux-hostile" hardware), but it can't be that difficult because their "N" Linux models prove it can be done.

2. Have a radio button to choose between:
- Windows XP
- Windows Vista
- Linux
- No OS

Clearly there may be multiple XP, Vista and even Linux options for Home/Pro/Premium/Ultimate/etc. Cheapest option should be No OS as you'd expect. Linux could have a small charge I guess, but some people might expect it to be "free".

Note here - if an OS is selected, the rest of the options should auto-adjust as necessary. For example, Windows software options would disappear if Linux is selected (maybe replaced by Linux software equivs to buy or have pre-installed for a nominal charge?). If there is no pre-installed Linux support for a piece of hardware (e.g. a printer) that would normally be offered with the Windows, then put a big warning against it that it's unsupported on Linux (or even disable it from being purchasable to play it safe).

3. Have a radio button to choose the bitness of the OS (32-bit or 64-bit). Point out that if you buy 4GB RAM or more, you will need a 64-bit OS to use all the RAM.

4. Pre-install the most popular Open Source software (Firefox, Thunderbird, OpenOffice.org, GIMP etc. etc.) - point out that no direct support is offered by Dell for that software, but ensure that the users know where to turn to for community support. I have a feeling that MS really would *hate* OpenOffice.org pre-installed on all Dell PCs, because it would kill the cash cow that is MS Office...

5. Always provide the option to buy a desktop without a monitor - it's basically pot luck as to whether the monitor is forced on you or not. Not all of us are first-time PC buyers and many of us with monitors already don't need to buy one with the new PC (e.g. we're either disposing of the old PC or can use a KVM switch between the new and old one).

[rkl]

Originally Posted by Paul

I'm curious.
Are there still issues with Vista drivers for certain hardware?

I bought a Vostro 400 and was bemused that when installing 64-bit Vista (yes, with the recently-released 64-bit Service Pack 1) that the onboard Intel Ethernet had no 64-bit driver built-in to either retail 64-bit Vista or even the SP1 I applied!

I ended up installing 64-bit Fedora 8 (which works great with the Vostro 400 and is a way-better OS than Vista, IMHO) - which, yes, supported the Intel networking perfectly - to download the 64-bit Vista Intel driver from intel.com. It really did surprise me that such a gigantic combo of Microsoft and Intel couldn't get together to get support for their networking card into 64-bit Vista, even after the first service pack came out. Meanwhile, Fedora 8, which was released *months before* Vista SP1, supported the very same networking card out of the box!

As for Vista, it's fine if you're in my situation:

* Clean install of retail Vista. I never use the OEM Windows because it's inevitably "full of crud" (although admittedly Dell have started to give you the option of not installing the adware rubbish they usually ship). This is why I think a "no OS" option should be supplied with all Dell laptops and desktops - some users will want to use the retail version (particularly if they have 4GB+ of RAM and need to put 64-bit Vista on to use all the RAM).

* 4GB RAM. Upgrading my Vostro 400 from 2GB to 4GB only cost 30 pounds from Crucial (as opposed to the 70 pounds Dell wanted), making it a total no-brainer upgrade really.

* Quad-core CPU (Q6600). Always useful so that your anti-virus/firewall/torrenting can have a CPU core each to themselves

* No legacy Windows apps. Since I only play games in Windows, I don't drag old legacy stuff from XP or earlier over. I start with a clean install and download all the latest versions of what I want, which by now are generally Vista-compatible. For non-DirectX 10 games (which is 99% of them), I had to install DirectX 9 though - quite why MS never shipped Vista with both DirectX 9 and 10 (they can co-exist) is utterly beyond me.

* Disable unwanted services. SuperFetch, Indexing, Defragmentation etc. etc. - all *murder* the hard drive for me in Vista, so I switched them all off.

* Switch to Windows Classic theme. The Aero "bling" is rubbish and resource-hogging, especially compared to the now-superior Compiz Fusion on Linux. I use the Classic theme and Classic Start Menu (I intenstely loathe the default Vista Start Menu - it's a UI nightmare), so it looks like a Win 2000 setup (i.e. professional and not Fisher Price).

* Install a Linux for your sanity and dual boot between Linux and Windows. I can't stay sane in the Windows desktop environment - it feels very restrictive to me and, by default, has no decent shell or any programming tools whatsoever. If you're an experienced Linux user and do programming, Fedora is easily the best distro out there. If you're just starting out, I'd try Ubuntu Linux (or Mint Linux if you want multimedia pre-installed), which makes the transition from Windows easier. I personally prefer the GNOME desktop that defaults on Fedora and Ubuntu, but both distros offer a KDE desktop, which is more Windows-like (hence me preferring GNOME ).