Do Serious IM'ers Use XP or VISTA?

[smeatz]

Which do you prefer : Vista or XP?

Hi guys...I have been running Windows XP since it first came out and I've never had any issues around downloading & installing all the many software tools and programs I've purchased from many of you.

However, I am limited by the amount of RAM I can have (3.25 GIGs maximum with Windows XP) and I am now starting to wonder if i shouldn't consider switching to VISTA?

In the past, many "Warriors" stated that 'they hated Vista because it wouldn't allow them to install most of the vital software programs they used on a day-to-day basis to conduct their Intermarketing operations.

Is this STILL the case?

Do any "Warriors" here have any issues with Vista these days?

Please share your thoughts.

I realise this thread is in that "grey area" between marketing and technical... but hey, what do ya do when there isn't a specific board for questions like this? (Unless my ailing eyesight and on-set of middle-age has prevented me from seeing it :P:P:P

Cheers,

Smeatz

[webwyn]

For me, a stable PC environment is much more efficient than an unstable one and for that reason I don't rush to new tools. This is especially so for an operating system, which is a foundation type tool.

With this in mind I have stayed with XP as it seems relatively stable. Also, I didn't upgrade to XP straight away when it came out. I gave it some time to be 'real-world' tested.

Vista may be a more stable product now, but I don't feel the need to upgrade just yet. The same approach may apply 'Windows 7' also, wait and see.

You seem to have left out Mac on your list ....

James

[super.affiliate]

I use Vista for my regular CPA marketing work, but it doesn't really require great specs so....

But for blogging, Macs are awesome!

[Matt Jutras]

I have Vista and loathe it. It came pre-loaded on my laptop and I'm pretty much stuck with it.

I'm either going to outright purchase Windows 7 when it comes out, or wait and see what Google Chrome is like.

[Tom Brite]

I specifically chose a laptop with xp rather than vista.

Tom Brite

[MichaelHiles]

No offense intended here, but "serious marketers" don't spend their days worrying about technology religion, and will figure out how to sell using AIX on AS/400s and telnet.

[webwyn]

Just a comment on Macs, although the OP didn't refer directly to them. Macs have a great OS, in particular the UI. Also as the compatibility of the Mac seems to have improved.

That having been said, for me XP is still a better option when all factors are balanced, including availability and compatibility of products and hence overall stability.

However the most overwhelming factor for me in terms of IM is that the vast majority of customers are using PC, XP and IE. That is no to say that it is the perfect scenario, but for me a realistic one.

So as one who believes a car manufacturer should drive and hence be familiar with their products, as an IM I like to stay familiar with the customer base. Something that Apple as a company seems to try to do well.

[Rod Cortez]

Serious IMers make money no matter what kind of computer or O/S they're using.

But I'll bite.......I can't stand Vista and all my computers use XP for now. I even returned my Dell desktop because I had asked to have it loaded with XP and it came with Vista. Dell fixed the issue at their expense so it was all good.

[tommygadget]

Originally Posted by MichaelHiles

No offense intended here, but "serious marketers" don't spend their days worrying about technology religion, and will figure out how to sell using AIX on AS/400s and telnet.

I am REALLY glad you said that. I run a very successful IM business that until very recently was built with the assistance of a Dell 6000 laptop which was actually thrown on the ground twice (I repaired the case and screen hinges ). It took me a long time to stop worrying about the technology and to start doing the business of making money. Since then, I bought 9 more laptops to help out (especially with DNS10)

TomG.

[Max Whitson]

^yea i'm with Rod
Vista is horrible. I think Microsoft said, lets make an OS that uses tons of memory and change the placement of everything and don't forget to put at least 3 dialog boxes just to make sure that the users are OK with it

[misterwrecker]

What is XP and Vista? I'm running MS-DOS. You have to check it out!

[bgmacaw]

I do software development so I have Vista on my main desktop and my laptop and XP on a secondary system. I even have an old Windows 2000 system around if I need to test with it, provided it still works.

I don't have an issue with using Vista for any software I normally use, development tools, graphics tools or IM tools. Other than it being heavier on the memory usage side than XP, I'm not sure why people have such a problem with it. I guess it would get in your way a bit if you were trying to download a britneynude.exe trojan horse from a torrent site though.

[pcpupil]

I have vista and it doesnt work very good for me.
A person told me that vista uses 2 GB of ram just to run.Thats what i have on my system.[HP 4600 64X2 dual core,2048 MB ram.]
I cant even do an ebook cover in photoshop.It wont load up.
Plus they did away with the 32 bit or something help files.
And im still learning this pc stuff as my name says.
Just a quik question,does the 64X2 on my pc mean im running 64 bit or 32 bit.

[Sheryl Polomka]

I use Vista and haven't had any issues with it. I was considering buying a new laptop but I have decided to wait until the new Windows 7 is released, which I believe will be in October. It is supposed to be better and be rid off all the problems that Vista has.

[GeorgR.]

serious IMers, like me use Windows 7

But, joke aside..Windows 8 is already in the making also. Yes, i DO use Windows 7.
(To void confusion: Its the 7100 RC candidate fom Microsoft, evaluation copy)

[Rod Cortez]

Originally Posted by Sheryl Polomka

I use Vista and haven't had any issues with it. I was considering buying a new laptop but I have decided to wait until the new Windows 7 is released, which I believe will be in October. It is supposed to be better and be rid off all the problems that Vista has.

That's what they said about Vista.....I'm not holding my breath.

[Jon Steel]

Mac and Vista 64 bit

js

[SusanneUK]

I use Vista, not had any problems with it at all.

And if it helps, I am a serious marketer most of the time interspersed with a few silly days here and there

Sue

[AllAboutAction]

Originally Posted by mhuktar

Try using The 64bit Windows XP don't use Vista Because it have lot of issue that running on the Back ground and also consume lot of Resources, Try to search for the System Requirement of VISTA, you'll Know what doe's it require.

If compatibility is an issue, I believe that 64-bit Vista is actually *more* compatible than XP-64. I would be interested to hear other people's experiences with specific software. I use 64-bit Vista on a couple of machines and I actually prefer it to XP (these are modern machines with 4GB RAM minimum).

Off-topic, I know... but regarding the Mac, it's pretty easy to run IE 6 in a VM for compatibility testing. What sort of Windows-only software do people use for their marketing efforts?

The Mac has some excellent software available for web work, Coda being one that stands out in my opinion. I think OS X's Automator should be a godsend for many of the repetitive things that I see people around here doing -- or one of the many built-in scripting languages if you're more technically inclined. Those apps, Photoshop, and Firefox -- besides IE for testing, what more do you need?

[CPA]

Serious IMers use Macs. You can run both Vista And XP on a mac.

[Andrew E.]

If given the choice between XP and Vista, I choose XP hands down. I had XP on my laptop until recently.

I actually just switched to Ubuntu 9.04 about a week ago (it's a linux distribution) and I couldn't be happier.

Internet marketers don't need to by tied down to any specific operating system or type of computer - as long as it works for your needs, any type of system should be good enough for IM purposes.

[Stephen Root]

I use Mac Pro. OSX is my primary OS and Windows 7 in VMWare runs all the windows only software. Then I use Ubuntu/Debian linux in my servers and for coding projects.

I can't imagine using Windows as my primary operating system. Just too much hassle and it absolutely kills your creativity.

[Marian]

Vista was a failure for many people, that's why MS has now Windows 7. I use XP and have no reason to change that. Everything I need works just great on it. :-)

Marian

[BIG Mike]

What you use for your own personal work environment is really up to you. You'll find countless viewpoints from users on different systems defending their choice as the best choice, but it still boils down to what you're most comfortable using, understand and can afford - that's the best choice you can make.

I just read an interesting article on CNN this morning about this very topic and it shed some interesting light on various systems:

Odds are stacked against Chrome OS's success - CNN.com

I don't have anything at all against MAC's, but since I'm a software developer, I focus on market share, which is overwhelming Windows worldwide.

The moral being use the system you're most comfortable with, but don't let your personal preferences blind you to what your customers might be using

[igorhelpsyousucceed]

I am using Vista for over 8 month now, totally
PLEASED and confident that my work and progress is safe.

Vista beats XP's ass with it's leds closed.

Igor

[SullyUI]

I only use Vista because it's what came with my computer.

However, I heavily customized it, along with the software that came with my cpu.

It runs fairly smoothly after toning down the graphics and keeping my start up programs to a few.

But, I still give the edge to XP... I would use it if I could. It's a better OS, I'm just stuck with Vista because, it's an absolute nightmare to try and downgrade this laptop to XP.

[Jason Hunt]

I use vista x64.

Vista out of the box with all the crap turned on is annoying, but anyone who knows what they are doing just took the few mins to turn off UAC and the other annoying notifications. Works perfect.

[RobynN]

I use both XP and Vista depending on which computer I'm using. I actually prefer vista but either are fine as long as they work good and it makes money.

[Pufferf1sh]

I had these sorts of doubts for a while. "Do I need a better laptop?", "Must get a beeter internet connection" etc. etc. But I realised it was just procrastination and it was slowing from actually getting started. Vista, XP, Windows 7 - it doesn't really matter that much. Better to just get on with it!

[Stephen Root]

Originally Posted by Pufferf1sh

I had these sorts of doubts for a while. "Do I need a better laptop?", "Must get a beeter internet connection" etc. etc. But I realised it was just procrastination and it was slowing from actually getting started. Vista, XP, Windows 7 - it doesn't really matter that much. Better to just get on with it!

Well it kinda matters if your program is coded with so sloppy code it doesn't work with Vista or 7

[Scott Ames]

Commodore 64 all the way baby!

[Shakul]

If you want more ram, then get 64 bit XP.

Anyway, 3GB is a lot for IM work.

I am on Win 7 32 bit os with 3GB DDR 3 Ram, and it rocks!

[Earl Smith]

I have a few computers, some with xp and some with vista. A couple things I have noticed over the past 2 years is that with my xp I never have problems with it recognizing programs, working on the internet, or taking up a lot of storage space.

Vista on the other hand I have had a lot of problems with all of these and then some a times. My biggest problem that I hate & I didnt notice this till recently is that when I save something no matter what I is it takes up double the amount of space than what it says. for example if I have something saved as 2gs worth of space it saves it as 3 to 4 gs.

My votes on XP...

[AdamHolland]

I'm still using about a 3 year old laptop thats still running XP.

It works just fine. I'd rather put the $3k into PPC or other marketing before I go and buy a freakin' macbook. Hmpf.. ;-)

[worlok]

I have been using Vista on my notebook which I bought in November of 2007 and it works fine. The notebook is dual core with 2GB RAM and I put in a 2GB flash card for caching and stuff but I don't really see any improvement - not that it needed any it works fine. I want a faster notebook, preferably a tricked out Alienware rig, but that will run me ~$6000. so I need to make some real money AND I want to wait for Win7 anyway. This will do for now.

The person who said that the machine doesn't matter is mostly right. It does help though if you do your own graphics and other work and of course you want something that the hard disk isn't going to just die one day because it's as old as the hills.

[BurgerBoy]

Originally Posted by SusanneUK

I use Vista, not had any problems with it at all.

And if it helps, I am a serious marketer most of the time interspersed with a few silly days here and there

Sue

Hi Sue. Same for me.

I have all kinds of special software I use in Affiliate Marketing.

When my old computer using XP crapped out I got A new HP with Vista and 2 gigs of ram 2 years ago.

All of my old software I used on XP installed on Vista without any problems and actually run faster on Vista than they did on XP.

I have had no problems with Vista at all.

[tj]

Originally Posted by TheRichJerksNet

You seem to have left out Mac on your list ....

James

There must be a reason Personally I run with XP in the moment - never change a running system

Timo

[Kevin AKA Hubcap]

They use whatever works for them.

[kindsvater]

Personally, I'm done with the Microsoft OS. Last personal computer I bought was a Mac, but for the IM business the choice of OS doesn't matter. All my web hosting is Linux - not windows.