I was wondering why is that so considering that I do have 4GB of memory installed. Later on, I found out over here that the problem was due to the 32 bit Vista. A 32 bit Vista Home Premium, Business or even Ultimate will only support up to 4GB of system memory. Well, since we have 4GB of memory, Windows will be able to recognise it, right? Wrong. Other peripherals like graphics card and also PCI Express will take up some of the system memory space and so you will only see around 3.2GB on your system properties although in BIOS it shows 4GB. The problem was caused by the limitation of Windows 32 bit to address the space available.
However, with 32 bit Vista SP1, users will be able to see that the pc will show 4094GB of memory space on their system properties if they have installed 4GB of memory on their pc. That is a good point because it is now showing what has been installed on the system! That is great! You will not have such problem if you upgrade to Windows Vista 64 bit!
Anyway, the SP1 consist of many other minor bug fixes which will improve the stability of the system and also to enable the computer systems to start up and shut down much quicker. Oh well, this is just a speculation and the truth is that with SP1 installed, the pc shuts down and boot up much slower than without SP1 installed. Well, there is a fix to it. Try this for a start.
I was informed that with Vista SP1, it runs slower than the plan vanilla Vista. Check this out. What does it tell you then? Stick with the plain old Vista? Oh well, it is up to you but I think I will swap speed for stability. I don't think I have the problem here because I am still using Windows XP!
Yes, Microsoft have cut their Windows Vista prices. If you point to websites of www.ebuyer.com, www.savastore.com or even the plain old www.ebay.co.uk, you will noticed that a typical Windows Vista Home Premium OEM 32 bit have decreased to the region of £60. That is really cheap, right? Cetainly, there are other people who is still selling the same product at the price level of £80 but hey, you can get a lower price for it and will be buying a cheaper price for the same product? Ofcause you will. Oh yes, www.amazon.co.uk is also another good site to look out for cheaper goods at a respectable quality.
The question now is whether windows XP users are more in a favourable position to buy Windows Vista since we have a price drop? Well, many still argues that we still do not need to move on to Windows Vista because we do not need it. True... If you are only using Windows XP for Microsoft Office applications or something which is not too taxing on the CPU, I think Windows XP is still far better. It is more reliable in that sense. You have many software developers still using Windows XP as the priority platform instead of Vista. Besides, it is really hard to find a good Vista drivers for your hardware. Never mind about it as Windows Vista users will have to locate Vista drivers themselves then.
I can give you one clear example of this. If you were to get a Sony Vaio laptop, make sure that it is a model which you can downgrade to Windows XP. If not, you will have to make extensive research on the web to locate Windows XP drivers. It happened to me once where by I bought a Sony Vaio FZ21Z not too long ago and I find that the Vista Home Premium which was preinstalled on the laptop is filled with lots of applications from Sony which I don't need it. With those softwares installed, I find that the laptop is relatively slow and it was really slow. I then reinstalled Windows XP for a change but the drivers which came with it does not support Windows XP! What a shame.
The best part is that when I called Sony, they told me that they have never written a software of their drivers to support Windows XP! I think they are not trying to phase out Windows XP soon and just concentrate in Windows Vista. Perhaps it is just easier for them to just support Windows Vista as they do not need to do too many things and they do get support from Microsoft as they are using Windows Vista 32 bit. If you are thinking that since they are providing drivers to support Windows Vista 32 bit, you will be alright if you get the Windows Vista 64 bit. Wrong! Sony drivers will not support 64 bit! Well, this will explains why you do not have 64 bit drivers from Sony.
In the end, I gave up on Sony. I will not buy any laptops in the future from Sony, ever again. Pity as they do have good quality screens but Dell and HP are keeping up with the quality of their screens. If you do buy a laptop from Dell, you do have the options to choose 1920x1200 resolution on the 17" screen with TruBright. That is good. Anyway, just keep away from Sony Vaio.
I think Windows Vista prices will drop further. Just hang on to it and perhaps Vista prices will drop further. Oh yes, I was being informed that Windows 7 will be released a year or two ahead of scedule. Just keep your fingers crossed. I am sure that Windows 7 is the overhaul of the Windows system. It is just like using Windows XP over Windows 98SE.
No comments:
Post a Comment