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Since this debate doesn't seem like it's ever going to quit, please indulge me as to why I prefer to use windows xp over windows 7.
This neither is, nor will be, a windows 7 bashing session. Windows 7 is a perfectly fine "consumer" operating system. I know many people that it serves very well. Grant that most of them would not consider themselves "computer guys" and I wouldn't, either. For instance, my dad has windows 7 on his laptop and he likes it a lot more than he did windows 3.11, windows 95, windows 98, or windows xp (I don't recall if he had me/2k or prior nt versions).
Feel free to chime in with other reasons to prefer xp and even reasons to use alternative operating systems (mac isn't an alternative os, unless using osx86 or something - I don't even want to start that war).
"You just hate new things" you might say. Well, new isn't always better. There have been many new things that I like, wonderfully, though. For instance, our beloved m11x is new. I didn't like windows 95, but I liked 98. I don't like office 2007, but I like 2003. There was a time when it was a new version of '97 (which I also liked). On the other hand, I've been working with a guy on driverpacks.net, because the "new" broadcom wlan driver doesn't work and the previous one worked fine. New means that is "should be" improved, but doesn't necessarily mean that it "is" improved.
That reminds me of a conversation that I had with an older guy that I work with. We were talking about the current generation of phones and how that the smart phones are getting less like computers. There was a time when they were productivity tools. It seems they are getting less and less like that and more and more entertainment devices. Since the iphone came out, they seem to be focusing too much on simplicity and convenience over power. Every new device that comes out seems to go more in that direction. He said that it reminded him of the "star-bellied sneetches". I didn't have a clue what he was talking about. After his explanation, I agreed that the tide would eventually shift back to productivity, power, and customization.
So, on to reasons why I prefer windows xp (aka...some of the many reasons why I don't like using windows 7)...
At work I do audio editing. It's nothing grand; I'm not mixing platinum albums or anything, just cleaning up background noise, removing click and pops, and fixing stutters and such. I've been doing it, at my current job and on the same p4, 3gh, with 512mb ram, for about 5 years. I also produce a daily radio show and have been for about 2 years (same computer). I use an m-audio delta66 card with an omni-io breakout box. For software, it's audition 1.5. Wow, this is probably quite boring for people that don't do audio (I guess I didn't mention that it had a radeon x300 video card - it's not a gaming pc). For those that do, though, some of these specs probably match ones that you use. The simple fact of the matter is that the computer is rock-solid and has a proven history (things that are important in an audio production environment).
Last year, our IT department mandated that all computers be upgraded to windows 7. I, with great reservation, made the switch. I downloaded new drivers for the hardware and the transition went smoothly (keep in mind that it was a fresh format and not an upgrade - those lessons were learned in the late '90s). I will add that, over the years, my ram was bumped from 512mb to 1gb, for the addition of photoshop usage. Then it was bumped to 2gb after 7 was installed (note that we're still 32-bit and normal ram usage is well under that amount). At that point, the problems started showing up. My immediate colleague was in the same boat. He had a p4 3.2gh, with some amount of ram, a radeon x1650, and an echo gina24 audio interface (we don't call them sound cards when they cost as much as computers do).
One of the first things that we both noticed was an abundance of (Not Responding) in title bars of programs. Grant that p4s certainly aren't cream-of-the-crop by today's standards, but they didn't have any problems keeping up the week before. Audition 1.5 has to run in compatibility mode with windows 7, so we bought new copies of audition 3. In the first couple of weeks with the 7/3 combo I had to record some voice-overs for the radio and ads. During one recording session, there were a couple takes that had background static. There was no logic to the static. I simply would hit pause and then record and there would be static. I would hit pause and then record and there wouldn't be static. In 2 years of recording with the same mic/interface/computer setup, I never noticed static during a recording. That mic had been utilized on the mentioned colleague computer 4-5 years prior to me. I hadn't been informed of any issues with that past computer, either. Chalking it up to a little glitch, I just did a few retakes and continued on. Again, during the first couple of weeks, I was mixing down some radio shows (7 tracks with multiple clips per track). I did a few mixdowns and as I was checking them, I noticed that 1 clip had the beginning cut off. It was something like 0.14 seconds removed from the beginning (just enough to miss the lead-in of a word). I deleted the mixdown and ran it again. Without making any changes, the mixdown was fine. That was fluke #2. Over the course of 10-15 mixdowns, I think the cut-off problem happened twice.
My first inclination was that audition 3 still wasn't quite as stable as 1.5, so I uninstalled and reinstalled 1.5 (again, requiring compatibility mode). Another few weeks down the road and the clip being cut off happened again. Combine all 3 problems - (Not Responding), static, and clips - and my assumption was that a p4, 3gh, just wasn't manly enough for windows 7. I submitted my findings and requested to go back to xp. A few weeks later, I had a new computer with windows 7 on it. So, my current computer is a core2duo, e6400 (I think), with 3gb ram. It's still 32-bit, though. The assumption was that things would start lining up, again. It was unfounded, though. I continue to have (Not Responding) more than I'd like - although a lot less. A couple weeks ago, I was working on some more radio. Lo-and-behold, the beginning of a clip was cut off.
In each day of radio, there are 5 clip beginnings and 5 endings that I have check, just to make sure that it isn't messed up. In 2 years of radio production, spot-checking has never shown that problem - until windows 7 was installed. I could assume that the m-audio delta66 drivers could be the culprit for the recording static, but not the mixdown issues, as no audio is passed through the drivers. Also, since the same problems occur with audition 1.5 and 3, I can't assume that it's an audition problem.
The reality is that I can get the same job done, it just takes longer and requires more effort. And that's my main beef with windows 7. I just have to do more work to get the same results.
Bringing up possible driver immaturity brings me to another point of incompatible hardware. I mentioned my dad's laptop, previously. It came with vista (most everyone should be able to agree that xp was better in pretty much every way). He has a usb-based m-audio omni studio audio interface. It is now lumped in with their legacy equipment and so vista drivers were never made. Unfortunately, the hardware still works like a champ. He has a portable, rack-mounted, setup for his laptop so that he can do recordings in his office or on the road (he travels frequently). When the laptop was first purchased, it was reformatted and xp was installed. He used it for a couple of years in that configuration. After windows 7 was released, I already knew that I didn't care for it, but I figured it would be right up his alley, and it was. The only problem was that I forgot that there were no drivers for his omni studio. So I had to take my laptop to his office to do some recordings for him. Since then I have his laptop set up to dual-boot windows 7 and xp. He records/edits in xp and does his personal stuff in 7. It would be nice if I could say that is the only time that has cropped up, but it wouldn't be true. At the church I attend, they do post-service cd/dvd duplication. It includes printing the title/speaker/date/etc... on the discs. They have 3 disc printers that cost a grand+ each. Unfortunately, one of those printers is a previous generation and it doesn't have vista drivers, so it doesn't work with windows 7. The other two would work fine, but do you cut production and waste the purchase money or do you buy another printer to replace and one that's there and working? Well, the easy answer is that you simply don't use windows 7. It provides no benefit and creates unnecessary complications. And that's another reason why I don't care for windows 7, personally. It just doesn't really do anything better, for me.
I appreciate the time spent, if anyone actually read this. The effort is simply to get people to stop saying "Why on earth would you want to use xp?" every time someone wants to do it. If someone wanted to put DOS on their m11x, why would people care? Actually, just the opposite is true. That person could be heralded, start a blog, and be followed by thousands of nostalgic people. That may not sound like such a stretch, either. After all, people are emulating DOS on the iphone and ipad.
Hehehe...
JJ
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DX11, APU, GPU acceleration and IGP with DX11 all stack in Win 7s favour.
I'm sure there will be bespoke areas where WinXP will hold it's own.
Like support for my Cannon PIXMA IP6000D printer.
However I think WinXP days are numbered where the great unwashed are concerned.
At least on WinXP you'll never be invited to upgrade to IE9.0
Gosh even mobile phones can take advantage of GPU acceleration now.
It's nice to know at least one person used and enjoyed WinVista.
Why Not Windows 7?
Discussion in 'Alienware M11x' started by Fa310tx, Feb 1, 2011.
