As many computer users know, sometimes you’ve just installed and uninstalled so many programs that your computer just isn’t as speedy as it once was. I started my Vista experience experiment roughly 2 years ago and I can say there have been some good times, but I can’t deny that there were some rough spots too. It’s come to the point where I have four options for my clean install: XP, Vista, Windows 7 (Beta) and Ubuntu. Read on to find out which way I’ll go and why…comments might help with my decision.

I’ve got a little beef with Vista, it’s called hibernation. I don’t see what is so difficult for Microsoft to fix, it worked in XP, and now I’m using Vista SP2, which touted as one of its features that it would fix this problem, but what do you know…still broken. Vista took two years just to be spitting distance from where XP was 5 years ago when SP2 was released. I’m strongly considering going back to XP until Windows 7 comes out.

I’ve been trying out the beta of Windows 7 and I have to say that I’m impressed, after 3 years of Vista Microsoft has finally fixed a lot of the problems, but they felt the need to label it entirely differently and try to charge another couple hundred dollars for even the most basic version. Maybe Microsoft has started taking queues from Apple which does exactly the same thing almost every other year. I don’t think I’m ready to use a beta OS on my main computer, so I’m probably not gonna use Windows 7…maybe I’ll duel boot it though, it is pretty nice.

On to Ubuntu, Linux is a touchy subject for a lot of tech lovers out there. The main problem with using Ubuntu as my main OS is compatibility, and yes I know there are ways around this with WINE and other programs but I’m capable of using Linux as my main OS right now, but Wubi will definitely be one of the first things I put on my fresh install. Sorry Linux lovers…not yet.

Oh XP, when I think about how long ago you came out I get a little reminiscent of a time when the iPod was just produced and barely anyone used a Mac. How far we’ve come, Apples OS market share has since quadrupled and “Vista” is synonymous with “failure”. I feel like if I use XP I’ll be like those guys who drive old American muscle cars and talk about the good old days. Benchmarks seem to indicate that XP beats Vista in speed, which is kind of a big deal.

So as I expected, it has come down to XP and Vista. I still don’t really know which OS to go with and might just end up flipping a coin…or just seeing if I actually still have the XP CD laying around. Please comment to help me with this decision.

Similar Posts:

• Wubi…Linux for People Afraid of Commitment
• Impressions: Linux Mint 5 Elyssa Main Edition R1
• Impressions: Windows Vista SP2
• My Windows XP Clean Install List
• WTF is…Linux?