Just finished installing SP1 on Vista Ultimate. It took about 20 minutes; 10 minutes to download and install and another 10 minutes to complete installation during a restart.

Pretty painless process overall. Just be prepared to not have access to your machine for about 30 minutes.

Johnny Chimpo

my computer is so fucking gay, it wont even let me install updates anymore..i hate you windows vista.

thesillyone

I hope this fixes the audio stutter!

some_stupid_nut

So uninstall the beta first....

Neight

@DJJS:
I have to admit posting my "thoughts" (if they can be considered as such) on posts that deal with relevant subjects to others that I may not like or deem as fodder for morons. I'm not defending douchebagery, but most comments on blogs are just IMO anyway by their nature. This type of forum leads to opinionated commenting when rarely do people back anything up with facts; and even when they do, with the vast amount of available crap on the interwebnet, who's to say what's truly valid.

Basically the Windows FBs go on the apple posts and take a little dig, and the apple fanbois are just wothless.......HA! I kid. No, the apple fanbois are just doing the same thing with the Windows posts.

Again, I'm not defending the axiom concerning morons, as I'm guilty of it myself, I'm just sayin……

Out2gtcha

Arghhh i dl'd it but its telling me its already installed ... But what i installed was the Beta version the Last RC .. what the ben heck ... anyone have this issue ???

jonthomasdesigns

@regnez
There must be several hundred drivers in a dell XPS laptop. How to check them all in a reasonable amount of time?

Tex1961

@DJJS:
despite your racial handicap causing some things to be lost in translation, i agree sir, you with, much very complete.

nutbastard

@boe

Are you referrign to the Principled Technologies studies? You know, the ones where they didn't even use Core Duo machines and only one of them had 2GB of RAM and where the differences in processing speed were less than half a second?

Sleeper_Service

@MINI Driver: I see you are still a complete ignorant little girl. if u dont like windows Post dont read them! Just like every other O.S! nothing is perfect! so get over it ..
every time Giz post up a Windows story your the first to talk shit..
please Stop making your self a complete douche bag.

DJJS

@Tex1961:
SP1 will not even present itself as installable through Windows Update if it recognizes that you will have driver conflicts.

Make sure that all your drivers are current and try the update again. If it is still not there, you can download it directly from Microsoft. If you do go that route, you have to be extra careful to make sure all your drivers will be compatible, or you are just asking for trouble.

regnez

ok, nice...WHY CANT ANYBODY DOWNLOAD IT!!!

donald252010

SP1 not available in Switzerland. My computer says it is up to date. What gives?

Tex1961

I've been using Vista since December. I can't say I've really had any problems with it aside from the fact that an old-ass webcam wasn't compatible with it.

I also had one crash while video editing, but I get those in OSX all the time.

I think I get the Apple screen of death that says I must restart more often than I get the BSOD in XP or Vista.

jetexas

I've built two vista machines for my own use. I researched every component to make sure it was compatible and I was up running with little trouble.

I do heavy photoshop work, full studio music production within the box alone--virtual instruments and all, and intense gaming with dual-sli 8800GTX 768mb.

It works great and I couldn't be happier. I don't understand all the complaints... many just seem premeditated before they even installed it.

I've had SP1 now for weeks on an x64 box and I have had no problems with it as well.

Subterfuge

Yeah, with my computer ( @boe: Core 2 Duo E6850, 2 GB DDR-6400 low-latency ram, 7200rpm sata2 HDD, Radeon 2900pro and under $1300 total cost) up to date at the start of the install, SP1 literally took 20 minutes to install post-download, with only one restart: it goes through an in-OS setup phase, then 2 phases with services off in the shut-down dialog, then restarts and goes through phase 3 and you're done. Easy peasy. As I've said many times before, as much as Vista might be a resource hog it's far more responsive and better at managing application resources than XP, achieves very comparable framerates in games that are well-made (or patched) and is generally better in nearly every little and pleasant way. 2GB of decent RAM is a must, but that can be acquired for under $50 these days.

Consider me one person who wouldn't go back to XP.

Topcat

@Maksimir:

Hmmm, one laptop, DV6000, Intel Core2Duo / 945 Gfx "Accelerator", 2 GB RAM, 160 GB 5400RPM, nothing special about it at all.

Finished the entire update in about 45-50 minutes. I don't know why your install took so long. :-/ .

Kyang

All I want is to listen to music in WMP while I use the computer. iTunes is a resource hog.

reddingofish

For those complaining of Giz's Apple bias: Engadget's is just far, far worse. Also, I'd say they are justified in posting more Apple stores; as a whole Apple is far more secretive than Microsoft, and they release products more often and have far more events and what not. As a person who doesn't own anything made by Apple (aside my 2G Shuffle) and probably won't for the forseeable future, I am much more excited to hear Apple's new announcements than Microsoft's.

Charles

Total time to install SP1 on my Dell Optiplex 745 - 1 hour 21 minutes.

Here piggy piggy piggy....

Maksimir

VISTA!! SP1!!! HELL MOFCKIN YEAH!!!!

unlikelee

It's funny how negative everyone is to vista. For me, at least, it's just been another OS, if one that is slightly more stable than XP. I can't comment on the speed issue, though all my programs seem to load exactly the same as they did under XP, but now when Vista can't display a thumbnail the whole explorer.exe file doesn't crash.

It's really pretty refreshing.

In my experience, to get the most out of vista, you need 2 gigs of ram and a fortitude to let the program run a week or two to get used to your habits. After that, it is smoooooooth sailing.

njthomas

@lafond66: go here and download SP1
[www.microsoft.com]

l337virus

Wierd, after installing my computer now shows all 4GB.

After doing a little research it now shows the 4GB but still can't use it. So rather then just listing whats useable it lists what you have.

seanism

I still don't have access to SP1. MY Windows Update says it's up to date, when it's clealy not. What gives?

lafond66

This is from PC world - just published - "Windows Vista is a bloated pig of an operating system. In fact, compared to Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or 3, Vista requires roughly twice the hardware resources to deliver comparable performance. Even stripped to the bone, with every new UI enhancement turned off and every new background service disabled, Vista is a good 40 percent slower than XP at a variety of business productivity tasks."

boe

@snitch29: I agree MS should start from scratch - avoid using any of the slow Vista code. Any new code should be written to take advantage of 64bit path, core 2 processors, etc - not REQUIRE them just to run fast. In theory new code should be more efficient so it runs at least as fast on P4s as XP does and significantly faster than XP on new equipment. Vista requires a $2000 PC just to run as fast as a PC that cost $2000 five years ago running XP.

Here is a lovely quote from a comparison of XP and Vista just released in PC World "Windows Vista is a bloated pig of an operating system. In fact, compared to Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or 3, Vista requires roughly twice the hardware resources to deliver comparable performance. Even stripped to the bone, with every new UI enhancement turned off and every new background service disabled, Vista is a good 40 percent slower than XP at a variety of business productivity tasks."

I've given up on Vista since SP1 was a bust but I haven't given up on MS or Windows 7. For anyone who says XP was bad when it was relesed - compare an UNPATCHED XP install on the same machine running Vista SP1 - you'll see how bad Vista is even after a year of patches.

boe

I am installing Sp1 right now on a Dell optiplex 745 2gb ram, started 50mins ago, its rebooted twice and is now moving onto Stage 2 of 3.

I installed Ubuntu in this same amount of time and had it up, running and fully functioning.

2 Stages to go to finish installing a fucking service pack.

Maksimir

@DMcGrew

A nice objective balanced viewpoint there.

No, really.

Sleeper_Service

@vicsells:

What do you expect? When Microsoft releases something theres usually nothing all that great to post about. Windows = turd. Vista is just XP with cooler titlebars.

DMcGrew

did anybody complaining about the vista sp1 non-coverage by giz actually look at the windows site about it?

i've looked and can't decipher anything beyond, bug-fixes, enhanced stability, yadda yadda.

there doesn't seem to be really much to say other than what they've said honestly. its not like they added new widgets or apps to the OS.

props_nyc

Installed without incident in ~20 minutes for me. RAM use is down 7-10% on average from the OS (Ultimate-32), and it fixed some of the problems I'd had frequently: my USB flash drive now ejects properly when I "Safely Remove" it using the icon in the system tray (before, this would only work from an Explorer Window for some reason), and HL2.exe no longer crashes out when I quit from Team Fortress 2. File copying is faster, but I haven't noticed any big performance changes otherwise, probably because I didn't have any issues with performance in the first place.

@vicsells: Looking to Giz for objective information about select Microsoft products is always going to be fruitless. I recommend Paul Thurrott if you're ever looking for detailed (and excitable) information regarding Windows.

Topcat

@nutbastard: I for one welcome our new service packed overlords.

SchruteBuck

If you don't like the way Giz posts...then DON'T READ!

jcrockerman

@Neight: Dude you're my new hero. That is exactly what I was thinking. Microsoft releases something, gizmoso just shrugs. Apple releases something, they write 5 posts about it BEFORE its released (anticipation stage) 10 posts once its been released (review, manhandle, testing, etc stage) and a couple after.

And when in the world does a blog actually recommend going to ANOTER BLOG instead of just getting your info from the BLOG you first found it out from

vicsells

@nutbastard:

I should be charging you a license fee for every time you've used it - then I could retire and dedicate my time to helping with my new 'Victims Of Microsoft IT' foundation.

Care to help me clean up some Vista VOMIT?

MINI Driver

@nutbastard:
woop there it is

werk

For people who have been using Windows for more than 2 years, XP is an upgrade from Vista, not a downgrade.

Although XP SP3 supposedly offers snappier performance, XP SP3 is said to address "compatibility issues" with Vista. That does not bode well for XP. Prepare for app, driver, and peripheral breakage.

whootowl

@Rhainor: Microsoft isn't exactly hiding the Windows XP SP3 Release Candidate:
[www.microsoft.com]

Zlevee

@MINI Driver:
Decent tagline or not, these things have a lifespan. And yours is approaching geriatric territory. Won;t be long now til LMMacAO is shitting itself and forgetting it's own address, and is finally put to rest when it plows through a crowded flea market in a pristine, late '80s american tankmobile.

nutbastard

@nutbastard: your comments still make me crack up. every time haha

imTheKing

@Kaiser-Machead: They'll probabaly intorduce another iteration of Genuine Advantage to go with it, and if you can't crack that yourself, wait a month and someone else will post it online.

Zlevee

these windows users never stop the bitching. Even when Gizmodo puts up a windows post, they STILL bitch.

On topic, I hope SP1 solves a lot of the issues. I'm eager to add it to boot camp for dev purposes.

imTheKing

So basically what you're saying is: "if you want to know anything regarding the newest update for Vista, fuck off"? Nice.

BoinK

@all complaining...
Isn't it their site? Don't they choose themselves what articles to post? Isn't it true that when you don't like what you read... you go elsewhere...? I have 0 (zero, none, nada) products from apple and I just mostly skip the apple stuff.
It's true, when there is the slightest thing "new" on apple stuff, there's an article on giz about it. So what?

n0stradamus

My whole entertainment infrastructure is based on XP MCE. Dare I say my raison d'etre is Windows XP? But, XP I know. I sort of appreciate all the Mac stuff I see on Giz. Brings some balance into my life.

Bring on XP SP3.

scarbrtj

@olternaut: I've had it for weeks...although, even though it *is* the RTM version, I had to get it through less...official means. It's certainly an improvement. My average RAM use (out of 2GB RAM) after startup dropped from ~40% to ~30%, for example.

There's beta/RC versions of XP SP3 out there, too, if ya know where to look.

Rhainor

@nutbastard:

Oh please! Give me a break - I didn't even bother commenting on the Vista TP post yesterday which was wide open for hours of MS toilet humor!

Guy comes up with a decent tag line and then you want to gag him, or worse, try to mutate it into something tragically unfunny...

MINI Driver

@Neight: Well put.

@Kaiser-Machead: If it's everything it's cracked up to be it should. ;)

strider_mt2k

I wonder if my cracked version of Windows SP2 will be able to upgrade to SP3 :P

Kaiser-Machead

A polished turd is still better than an unpolished turd....

A Pimp Named Daver4470

@chinook11:

I agree whole heartedly and I know we aren't alone. I find myself slowly moving more to refreshing other sites nonstop because I know I'll get a more unbiased blogging. I absolutely love the humor and fan base here, but I read also for content.

I still use XP and find it hysterical the people that call it crap. I haven't seen a blue screen in many many years and ahven't had any problems opening any file or attaching any peripheral. It's a SOLID operating system geared towards those who want to do things the way they want it and have an overload of methods to do it. This factoid is brought to you from experience and not what I've read on the interwebs.

Neight

@F. BOTI: I thought they were already selling the windows XP SP3 verison.
I was thinking about downgrading to XP just to check how it runs with 2.5GB ram.
Just for experiment purposes. I guess my computer has already restart because i left it on. Hopefully it hasnt i was downloading something.

SneakerFiend

People if you really love Msft you have to speak up otherwise they will never fix anything, my opinion vista is getting worst & worst they need to Fire a few people and start fresh, Heck money is not a problem for them so why not Hire the best. It really is a shame how they have a few top level VPs using just OS X and just coming out & saying how much they love it

snitch29

although to be fair i invoked it... but to be even fairer, it was only to make fun of mini driver yesterday:

"Vista? What the fuck is Vista?

Ubuntu, son.

just to make fun of Mini Driver:

LMLinuxAO "

nutbastard

@ Luuey
Absolutely perfectly said. Giz doesn't get it. The bias is so obvious. I don't know what's worse, the bias itself, or the complete disregard Giz has toward everyone who can't stand it anymore.

chinook11

@MINI Driver:

Can we please give the "LMMacAO" on ever mac or windows post a break? It was somewhat clever the first 30 times, but now it just seems stale.

nutbastard

@MINI Driver:

I'm tempted to bring back my Kaiser-SensibleComputerUser username back.

Kaiser-Machead

Vista had 'performance and reliability issues'? - who knew!

LMMacAO!!

MINI Driver

@AlexLand:
Well considering there are 2538 posts on gizmodo referencing Microsoft and 4938 posts on gizmodo referencing Apple. Its pretty safe to say that Giz is all about giving Uncle Stevie digital orgasms.

Luuey

Ya mean just like Apple did with the Touch firmware upgrades. Really hope that model of pay to update doesn't catch on.

Jurisprudence

@AlexLand:
Have you reviewed the posts from the iPhone release?
Were you around for it?

There wasn't an inconsequential piece of minutiae that was left unposted by Gizmodo.
People bitch about CES, but I think the iPhone "coverage" did far worse for the image of this site over the long haul.

"What do you guys want from giz, honestly?"

A little more balance, maybe a little more objectivity when it comes to stuff they aren't personally involved with.
You can be hip and still be balanced.

Besides, you can always "filter out" the windows stuff, right?
Just like everyone who doesn't like to read about the Apple stuff can do.

Balance.

strider_mt2k

@olternaut:
As they say, you know what you get on your hands when you do try to polish a turd......

I'm just not sure how long is long enough. I'm no windows fan-boi but I do use XP sometimes. XP was a horrible (worse than it currently is if possible) opsys when it first came out, and while people didn't seem to criticize it quite as much as Vista, it seems just like XP, if enough time passes and enough patches SPs come out, this might be a viable opsys. I'm just not sure when is the right time to try actually putting it to the test; especially considering the price. That being said it seems like it was more than a year after XP came out that I tried actually experimenting with it.

As others have said, its like the first reports on Vista were SOOOOO bad, that even after fixes came out for major issues, they weren't reported on, and Vista continued to get a horrible wrap. Sounds like the same way 98/ME went; and we all know how that debacle ended.

Out2gtcha

MS could probably make more money if they gave away 1.0 for any new OS and then once you make the jump, extort thousands for SP1. I'm just say'n.

kir

Downloading it just now.

[www.microsoft.com]

Sleeper_Service

I see the official download at the download center, but only for x64 based systems. Is there a 32 bit download?

dingwall1

What do you guys want from giz, honestly? SP1 is a bunch of bugfixes and small changes that are almost entirely under the hood. In fact from what I've read the biggest cosmetic change is the removal of a lot of the ultimate extras text which makes sense given MS' nonexistent support for the distro (or whatever they call it). You can't possibly expect gizmodo to plop out 4839 articles extolling the virtues of a better file transfer dialog can you?

This post written by one of the 12 MS fanboys dedicated enough to own a zune.

AlexLand

Downloading.

435MB damn. Any english any downloads?

seanism

Some people can't tell SP1 from Shine-ola....

dufus

@Neight: You're just saying what many of us are thinking.

Gizmodo being all-inclusive with their "enthusiasms" would lend balance and perhaps actually bring more folks here.
(and more importantly keep 'em coming back and _CLICKING_)

I hope we get some follow-ups by other folks who have installed and experienced Vista SP1 and care to share the ups and downs of it with us.

I'm also in the XP camp curious about XP SP3, but will gladly read about Vista developments in the mean time.
Even the minutiae.

strider_mt2k

@Kaiser-Machead: yeah but only one if any

peterlarson233

I just checked Windows Update and I don't see SP1....

lafond66

Does anyone have it yet? It probably is as you say "turd polish". All I know is I'm not touching it with a 10 foot pole. I will continue to use xp. Damnit I wish Apple got serious with pc gaming. I would have bought a mac already.

olternaut

@Neight: There may be a follow-up article.

Kaiser-Machead

Why don't I keep my eyes on THIS blog? Are you saying you wont be slathering us in posts all day about what's good with the update, what the future may hold, how this will affect everyone, etc etc?

Oh yeah.. This isn't put out by Apple.

Don't leave us Windows folks in the cold anymore Giz, pretty please?

Neight

Whoooo hoo SP1! Wait a minute I still use XP, where is SP3?

F. BOTI

ViSTA!!! YEAYYY! YAYYYY!!! Would like SOme FRIES With THAAAT!!
I like vista either way...it works fine for me...and so does leopard.
vista 64 bit is great with 3d apps (Maya, 3DMax, Lightwave 3d), and the macbook with leopard is great for everything else outside of work....so can't we all just get along??

unlikelee

@Topcat: "there's a reason Apple is making all but their lowest-end options ship with 2GB by default, and it isn't because they want people to use Vista."

Yeah, because they've decided that for the prices, a little extra RAM'll be nice to have.

Leopard runs better on 1GB and slightly below a great deal better than Vista does.

Kaiser-Machead

@seanism: You lose some addressable memory space to the video card. 32 bit OSes can only address up to 4 gig and can't remap, so you waste some of the 4 gigs. High end video cards (those with hundreds of megs of ram)will reserve even more of the available addressable ram space.

Intel has some PDF files on this somewhere on their site.

XJ_4x4

@Topcat:
"there's a reason Apple is making all but their lowest-end options ship with 2GB by default, and it isn't because they want people to use Vista."

If i was going to pay the premium for apple hardware, i'd expect it to be beefed out beyond what i really need. OS X is more resource hungry than ever, but still...

*Ubuntu*

nutbastard

@gimmeslack12: Vista hates you right back. Give it 2 GB of RAM (your computer is only equipped with one by default) and it will purr. This is a 30 dollar upgrade you can (usually) do yourself that will make computing in Vista much much smoother.

To all the cries of "well it shouldn't need 2GB in the first place!", there's a reason Apple is making all but their lowest-end options ship with 2GB by default, and it isn't because they want people to use Vista.

Topcat

@Tex1961:
There are not "several hundred" drivers in any system. Many drivers simply install with the OS (hdd, cd/dvd drive, usb controller, etc.), but the drivers you do need to install/maintain on your own will be available in a list on Dell's website.

Usually, the only drivers that you need to update yourself are the sound, wireless network, video, and chipset. Depending on the complexity of the system, you may also have to update the RAID driver, as well as any TV tuners or other specific hardware you have purchased.

You can find a list of XPS M1730 drivers here: [support.dell.com]

If that is not what you own, just click "Select a different product" and scroll through until you find yours.

Good luck.

regnez

I just finished installing it. It took forever to install, nearly an hour. And it only downloaded 68megs!? My Windows Experience Index is 3.1. Sony VAIO N230N.
I hate Vista.

gimmeslack12

"Turd polish." Haha, I like that one. I was thing more along the lines of "like putting whipped cream on dogsh*t."

dosguy

@Kaiser-Machead & @nutbastard - Leopard isn't too hot with 1GB of RAM- when you start dealing with the insanely high resolution photos people take (point and shoot cameras at 7+MP...christ) and manipulate them in large numbers, and want iTunes open while you do this with a couple tabs open in Safari, you're going to start looking at some good beachball time. My Macbook (with 2GB of RAM) slowed down seriously when Aperture was running with just about anything else.

Pre fall-upgade, my (single core 3200+ Athlon) desktop had only 1GB of RAM and it ran Vista RC1 like a champ- as well as any basic Macbook or iMac with 1GB is running Leopard that I've seen, save for a few programs (Photoshop et al.) that wouldn't run congruently due to a lack of memory and the increased demands of the pre-release OS. Vista will run well on basic hardware, no doubt about it. At the low cost, however, if someone is having problems with performance in Vista, the easiest solution is to ensure they have 2GB of RAM.

Topcat

If anyone cares, I ran 3dmark06 and SP1 boosted my score up 60 points.* I haven't ran any other test but, everything looks smooth.

*- My hard drive is far from optimal and I haven't reformatted from installing a new motherboard. ...not sure if others will see a bigger boost.

On a sidenote, I see everyone is discussing the preferential treatment that Apple is getting. I find it funny that everyone is quick to judge MS and last to point out fault with Apple. Mainly, the fact that only a few have covered the Macbook Air problems.
[apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com]

Apple must have a policy that they cut off advertising dollars to anyone who posts a negative story...

PynkFloydd

Actually its not available via windows update and if you go to windows.com it says that it will be available via update mid-april and suggest you wait til then but you can download it....

wtf half-ass release?

rawbdee

With a user-base of 1-2%, Apple needs all of the good news it can get. I'm a Windows XP user - but I don't mind Apple getting "updates" - just as long as Windows is covered as well. It's sad that the majority of the innovations about Apple have nothing to do with their computers, but rather their gadgets and toys, which is the only thing holding the company up.

I look at Apple news in anticipation of one thing - the day when somebody at Apple finally grows a brain and gets the bright idea to sell their OS as an installable, hardware independent product - like Windows. I love their software, but I hate their hardware and their hardware upgrade policy (ya wanna run the new OS - buy a whole new machine!). When I can install MacOS"whatever" on this machine right here, or even another I have that is slightly less powerful, and don't have to buy any caviar-priced Mac attachments, building a machine exactly like I build a PC, that's the day I am sold to Apple - and probably everyone else except for a few holdouts.

If Apple did that, they would switch fortunes with MS in about two quarters - people would flee from MS like there was an Ebola infested monkey in the room... but what do I know? I'm just a consumer, eh?

magusat999

@Kaiser-Machead: yeah and it'll be how the itunes isnt compatible or some bs..

akmarksman

We've been covering SP1 pretty extensively leading up to its release—how much do you really want to read about what basically amounts to a bugfix/patch rollup? If it blew up my computer, we'd let you guys know.

matt buchanan

Well i just finished to install it and right now i am a little bit like...really? i don't notice nothing new, only a little bit of speed opening folders but it's a minimal diference.

Mike918

For all you Windows-Pains:

If Giz is biased, it's not in favor of Apple, it's in favor of Interesting. It seems to me Giz is being more than fair by bothering to mention this yawner of an update. With one major OS release in five years, Microsoft simply hasn't done much worth writing about.

Not to mention that Giz does tons of articles on weird-ass hardware for PCs as well as various Windows Mobile travesties. Apple does hardware and software both--so they give coverage on both. Of course that looks like there are more articles on Apple. But if you make your stats by adding all articles about Microsoft to all articles about things that run their OSes, I bet you'll get way more articles than there are for Apple.

So quit yapping, little doggies in the Windows.

Jesssssse

Coming up next: "Yep, it's turd polish".

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

I downloaded and installed it last night. The install went smoothly, and I've yet to really notice any change at all.

But I wasn't having any problems before SP1, so no clue what it was supposed to fix.

jetexas

@Hvedhrungr:
Hackintosh refers to a non-apple computer running a modified version of OS X.

[www.osx86project.org]

nutbastard

@magusat999: Hackintosh?

I've just given this venue a try, and even though it wasn't all smooth sailing initially, it now runs very well.
I haven't regularly used a version of Windows since Win2k, and only recently installed XP in Parallels, because I need to run lab software that's written for Windows. I can't say I'm convinced by the performance.
I use OSX because it's intuitive and easy to work with on the go, I use SuSE (and occasionally, some Ubuntu offspring) for almost everything else, and Windows when I don't have any alternative.
Most of the experience I have with Vista is from coworkers and family who ran into problems with it. I take a look at it, usually fix the immediate issue at hand, and recommend downgrading to XP by default. From everything I've seen, Vista could have been a huge leap forward, but it's bogged down with mediocre functionality and smoke screens. Leopard has similar problems, but on the whole, it's more user-friendly.
In a direct comparison, I would chose Tiger over XP any day. This isn't an absolutely objective view, in fact it's very much marred by my own subjective experience, but I prefer an OS that works out of the box, with little to no fine-tuning required initially. Whatever I change later on is my business, and if it blows up, that's my fault. I haven't seen such performance from Microsoft since Win2k, which is a shame.

Personally, I don't find the Giz unbearably biased. I enjoy Apple news as much as the next guy, and there's plenty of PC and Microsoft news to keep Apple in check. I really don't see the problem some readers are so desperate to point out. Nobody's forcing you to read this blog.

Hvedhrungr

Well, I'll throw in that it seems more stable ... so far. And network file transfers are flying now! (as opposed to having to wait until Bush is out of office for my damn file)

ViperBorg

On the Windows Vista blog, Nick White, Microsoft's product manager for the software, said those installing Service Pack One (SP1) may have to download and install some other "prerequisites" before the update can be applied.

The pre-requisites are generally updates to other programs or components of Vista to ease the passage of SP1.

Mr White also warned that some device drivers may also have to be refreshed before SP1 can be installed. Old drivers from RealTek AC, Intel and Symantec are known to stop SP1 being installed.

Drivers...Windows...No way!

MINI Driver

People don't keep their drivers up to date?

What is this, the 90's?

Sleeper_Service

And the best MS upgrade for Windows Vista?

Windows XP

framitz

Well guys just installed it, it told me to restart and got an awesome error :D now i cant boot it anymore
thanks microsoft for this crap back to xp and fedora :)

Giskardors

I got up a midnight to download it

pellier

@donald252010:
try putting your clock forward one day, worked for me, mines installing now

vinnieg

Gee...another Windows post, another boatload of whines from the Microtards. Here's a news flash: Giz posts whatever is the most interesting news in computers and electronics. It doesn't have a quota system for Microsoft news. When Microsoft does something of interest, it gets posted. The fact that there are far more Apple posts than Microsoft posts reflects, first of all, the fact that Apple puts out many more products than Microsoft in any given year. After all, Apple has the Mac and the Mac OS, iTunes, the iPod, the iPhone, and Apple TV, along with a bunch of products that make working with all of these even easier. Microsoft has....Windows. And, oh yeah, that computer table thingy. And besides the shear number of products, Apple just makes stuff that is infinitely better designed than anything Microsoft can put out. After all, Microsoft has more money than God, says it hires the best computer scientists in the world every year, has had multiple tries at getting their OS right, and yet every time Apple comes out with a new version of the Mac OS, it totally eats Microsoft's lunch. Don't blame Giz for not posting enough about Microsoft; blame Microsoft for being totally incapable of putting out products that come anywhere near the quality of Apple's products.

MacStan

i'm absolutely ready for this.. maybe my copy of vista won't suck as much after the update *prays to buddha, god etc. etc.*

wrxsti

I got banned from commenting when I said Gizmodo was a Apple fanboy site! Now everyone knows it!

sotark1