Microsoft releases Vista vs. XP comparison

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Osiris

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If a company releases a product and a successor of that product a few years later and then a document comparing the features of both products; What would you expect from that comparison ? Every company in the world would obviously come to the conclusion that their new product is far superior than the old one.
Microsoft released a Windows Feature Comparison white paper [link, via Ars Technica] that compares Windows Vista and Windows XP. The not so surprising result of the comparison is that Windows Vista is superior to Windows XP everywhere, well except for a few parameters that have not been compared with each other.
Microsoft is having a hard time convincing the public that Windows Vista is a “good” operating system, that upgrading to it does indeed make sense from various standpoints. The feature comparison explains how the features are implemented in XP and Vista in two columns and outlines the key differences in a third.
The following features are compared:
  • Security Development Lifecycle (SDL)
  • Defense in depth
  • Windows BitLockerâ„¢ Drive Encryption
  • Windows Firewall
  • Windows Internet Explorer® 7 Protected Mode
  • Microsoft ActiveX® Installer Service
  • Group Policy settings
  • Standard user accounts
  • Reliability and diagnostics
  • Event management
  • Task scheduling
  • Image-based setup (IBS)
  • Deployment, compatibility, and asset -inventory tools
  • Windows Setup
  • Worldwide single-image deployment
  • Windows Mobility Center
  • Sync Center
  • Offline files
  • Network Projection
  • Secure Sockets Tunnel Protocol (SSTP)
  • Power management
  • Wireless networking
  • Search
  • User interface and navigation
The intended audience for the white paper is clearly not the end user but people working in IT. Microsoft is comparing security, deployment and management which are key features for IT admins who have to make decisions on the upcoming company operating system.
Windows Vista is not a bad operating system. The PC I bought for my mother is running Windows Vista and it's working out fine for her. My major problem with Windows Vista is that, apart from the forced exclusiveness of Direct X 10, it is not providing anything that I would need that I could not have in Windows XP.
Software developers have created so many excellent programs that add to the Windows XP experience that the other features in Windows Vista do not seem to be that exclusive. Just look at Bitlocker and Search for instance. Instead of using Bitlocker users can install True Crypt, and there are so many desktop search replacements for Windows XP that I stopped counting long ago.
Microsoft's main problem in my opinion is the lack of new features from a user's standpoint that would make a user say: Wow, that's better. The one key are that they did not mention in their feature comparison is performance and that is probably the area where they could make the biggest impact. But I guess that we have to wait until Windows 7 is released to the public before we see an improvement there as well.

Microsoft releases Vista vs. XP comparison
 
why would Vista not be superior in all aspects (debate with logic please :D)...only reason a greater percentage is not buying into it...is that it is something to buy and invest in...US dollar is weak and people tend to be cheap, not poor....ie., I am poor

similar is true for...
cars...2006 vs 2008 model
game consoles
toys, old new xxx...transformers, etc
ad infinitum

there was or perhaps IS no reason for us to have moved beyond Windows 2000 as well...but who knows
Windows 2000 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

it was/is outrageous XP requires 2x the power of 2k (lol)

also, similar arguement could be had in regards to single, dual, quad, ++++ core cpus...do/did we really need more than 1 core? Do we need quad? Do we need 32 core cpus? Probably not, but it would most likely be better ;)

also, SD dvds vs next gen higher res optical discs
analog tv vs digital (digital will of course be required in feb 09)

Perhaps new versions of say, OSes, allow higher efficiency in regards to using new technology like say...multi core cpus (the answer is yes, but I form it in a speculative as a sort of sarcasm, hehe). Something like the aforementioned are never taken into account because they are "under the hood" but sadly, so very important.

and for further rampant Windows 7 speculation:
Windows 7 = Vista Release 2 | Ed Bott's Microsoft Report | ZDNet.com

;)
 
Im gonna hold personally still into XP, i think its just much more safer for gaming and there are still more leaks than in XP, atleast in my opinion.
And SP3 still brings some new life into XP imo
 
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