That's right, slated for release in 2008 is Windows XP Service Pack 3. While it is shrouded in Microsoft's closet of mystery and wonder, it has been leaked that it will help lighten the load on your hardware and thus give even greater performance.

Windows Vista SP1, also slated for a 2008 release will not lighten your hardware requirements, but will probably patch and fix most of the bugs as well as improved hardware support and drivers (thank the heavens! for all those still using Vista).

In an effort to force everyone to make the transition to Vista, Microsoft will not allow Windows XP to run DirectX 10. This sucks! Furthermore, XP's last DirectX will be DirectX 9.0c (if you have any recent games, you already have it installed), and that's about as good as your games will look. This means next gen graphics will only be achieved on Vista's resource hog OS, forcing you to have a quad-core with a minimum of 4GB RAM for the high end games, and 2GB recommended (1GB for all games out pre-Bio-Shock).

Eventually, I'm sure we'll start to see 8GB RAM implementations, and 1GB Video RAM will be the norm on a single card, while dual cards will be the recommended spec.

Microsoft isn't doing anyone any harm by not releasing DX10 for XP. Most of the major game houses have halted production for DX 10, stating quite correctly that it doesn't do anything well, is harder to code for, wastes resources, and the only benefit of it is it allows a few more shaders.

Take heart. All they're doing by not releasing it for XP is nailing on DX10's coffin lid the same way they're hammering away at Vista's.

In other words...DX10 is just another nail in Vista's already well nailed coffin.

Good Bye Vista! We all hated you anyway.

Almost makes you wish for the old days when RAM was expensive and software developers had to optimize their product to use as little as possible.

I already seen the benchmarks for the betas, even with SP1 on Vista it still over TWICE as slow as XP on the benchmarks.

I've been wrestling with this stuff over 17 years. Microsux started pulling this "lets putout the crap and have the public beta test it" since they released Windows 95. When 95 was released its INCOMPATABILITY list was THREE TIMES LARGER THAN ITS COMPATABILITY LIST! And they have been pulling the same SH*T ever since!

Thats why I told all my clients..and this was like 2 years ago when Vista beta was going around...I told them you do Vista and you are on your own, I will NOT touch that POS! And have only dealt with it a very few times, mostly to get it off a person's drive to load XP for them.

So to Microsux...PISS OFF! Try putting something out that WORKS FROM THE START! We are NOT going to BETA TEST for you ANYMORE!

Oh..ps..and watch out for "SP3", it MAY actually contain bugs to start degrading XP to push more users to Vista..so don;t count out that kind of play..it COULD happen!

OK, beyond all of the bugs/issues with Vista, what's less-known is the fact that Microsoft was either forced or chose to cave into special interest groups such as the RIAA and MPAA. They've added copy protection software into the OS that raises serious privacy concerns. If you're not familiar with what I'm referring to, do some research and you'll be shocked.

Regardless if you pirate software or not, the piracy restrictions only harm honest users (the pirates will crack the software anyway).

Be careful and vote with your dollars.

Not sure exactly what you are trying to say here in some respects.

I do understand the piracy issues, they have been tightening those up nor for a while with some degrees of success.

My main point with Microsoft as a WHOLE and specifically its OS. If they would put something out that actually WORKS from the start, then they would get much better acceptence from the public, especially from those that know what the hell we are doing in the field. But instead, Microsoft puts out TOTAL JUNK to let the public beta test it for them, hence being "cheap a**es (yet being probably the richest company in the world).

So I think people are voting with thier dollars as you put it. Thats why you now see a CHOICE in most cases of which operating system you can get with a new system. At first, they tried to "force" the public to go to Vista, by making it the ONLY OS offered. Sales were so bad for the manufacturuers, Microsost was forced to offer XP as an opinion. And XP still outsells Vista by miles! Why, because Vista is GARBAGE! Even with the SP1 its MORE THAN TWICE AS SLOW and needs MORE recourses to run! I see it as another ME and will be short lived and with little support.

I remember when Windows 3.1 was around. It came on 6 - 1.44 floopy disks. Now they have SP's over 100 meg big to fix thier junk! Its not like they are some small company anymore. make them put out things that actually WORK from the start, then they would see much better response to things just like Vista.

Just my 1.38756 cents worth.

Im sorry but i am using Vista atm the momment, i did this knowning i would have problems. To truly grasp vista you cannot be a novice, Vista has alot of programs that are security and performance related. There are bugs in the hardware which i am not disagreeeing with.

I would not trash talk vista however, but at the same time im not recomending Vista to anyone, or any new
Operating system that comes out until the bugs have been fixed. This is like what sumthing said "Microsux started pulling this "lets putout the crap and have" the public beta test it". This is very true.

So in all i was experimenting with Vista and holding out until the SP1 comes out hoping for some changes. After all im sure all these people complaining about Vista were complaining about Xp as well. Vista is a new line- New file system everyone should expect bugs.

come on peeps its technology, things happen, and i hate seeing people bit*h and moan about operating systems and their flaws, best solution make develop your own operating system or go to another such as mac or linux....


no matter how good something is someone will bit*h about it sheesh....

well if people dont complain how do you know theres a problem?

Atom, I'm not b*tching about the OS specifically. Now XP is finally stable after 6 years and tons of problems.

My "b*tch" is how Microsoft has doen this same routine since Windows 95.

Instead of putting out something that actually works right from the start, they put out PURE JUNK and KNOWINGLY do so. That's my b*tch!

And since I have to deal with it on a daily basis working in the field, it makes me angry knowing that a company is taking advantage of the general public simply because the general public has no clue of whats going on.

So yes I do always expect some bugs and glitches in any software. But to knowingly put out PURE JUNK and have the public "beta test" that junk for them, even trying to force the public to (hence the Vista only OS when it first officially released..and the public finally refused, so they started giving consumers the option of wither XP or Vista)do that, in my opinion is wrong.

So my b*tch is not about the OS, its about Microsoft knowingly trying to screw the public and general users.

Hey guys.. Now wait before you go putting vista down too awfully bad. I absolutely hated vista when it first came out, and hated modding drivers to get things to work right. Recently, however there have been no driver issues with vista, and problems with backwards compatibility have been declining. I had small issues on XP all the time and ended up reformatting about once every 7 or 8 months just because of the dumb security flaws within xp. Vista, on the other hand, has been very limited to the problems that it has. I haven't had so much as a crash on my vista laptop. Vista may have permission issues, and it also may have unzipping issues, but Its been way smoother then xp. It's easily secured by the latest AVG free and Spybot.

Go to CNET and take a look at the recent benchmarks on XP and Vista. Side by side runs, Vista is more than TWICE as slow than XP in identical applications.

Vistas "core" sucks! Period. The proof is right there. They "may" get Vista working at some point, or they may just drop it just like they did Windows ME (which is the most likely scenerio since almost no one likes or wants Vista and it has already made too many enemies)

So most likely we will have XP as the main OS until 2010, then Microsoft may put out a "form of Vista" under a different name. keep in mind, Bill will be totally gone then and so will basically the whole original Microsoft crew. Microsoft has gone to "prifiteers" and idiots, just like most large companies. Almost all the great "innovators" and "leaders" are now gone and out of the industry. So expect collapse after collapse.

Read the book by Lee Iacocca "Where have all the leaders gone". It can shed some light on industries future in America. He and Sam Walton were like mentors to me back from 1987 until 1990. Incredible leaders that really knew how to run business and make good things happen.

So my point being...don;t expect too much from Microsoft in the future..the real leaaders are gone.

I use vista but agree with thier problems and my Hats off to you Sumthing. Your 100% correct.

I used Vista for the past 7 months.

It is trash.

I just switched back to XP, and realized a 30% increase in performance.

Thanks! I guess 17+ years of expereince with this stuff can get me a little knowledge!

City Link 360 is just around the corner (just going into beta, general public release slated late 2008) For most internet surfers, it will change your world and make Google and Yahoo styled "searches" a thing of the past! it also "logically" organizes the Internet down to your local level...plus NO spam, NO pop-ups, NO viruses, NO bs!!! It's TRUE!