I came across this blog entry where the author asked if he should upgrade to windows vista. I was tempted to comment, but knowing that my bias is against the said OS, i decided not to. I checked the official windows vista website and looked for the system requirements. I’ve been hearing speculations that it’s a “hoarding” software so as to be informed, went on to see its system requirements(http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/systemrequirements.mspx?wt_svl=10042VHa1&mg_id=10042VHb1). And yes, it pretty much “takes too much space”.
The author of the blog entry i mentioned earlier included these specs: Intel P4(3.4 GHz) and 1 Gb ram. To point my case out, I’ll just include excerpts from the page I included previously:
For Home Basic:
- 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
- 512 MB of system memory
- 20 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space
- Support for DirectX 9 graphics and 32 MB of graphics memory
- DVD-ROM drive
- Audio Output
- Internet access (fees may apply)
For Home Premium / Business / Ultimate:
- 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
- 1 GB of system memory
- 40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space
- Support for DirectX 9 graphics with:
- WDDM Driver
- 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)
- Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware
- 32 bits per pixel
- DVD-ROM drive
- Audio Output
- Internet access (fees may apply)
I understand that in the US and in some parts of Asia, these specs are pretty much reasonable. But personally, Vista’s beauty and power, it’s size and speed(not to mention its “flaws”), are not worth the trade-off. I’d still settle for lower OS’s and optimize my PC’s functionality rather than sacrifice its “weight and girth” for beauty.
Well, in the end, it’ll still boil down to how we use our PC’s. If we don’t have much to do with it except tinker with some little stuff, I guess it’ll be fine. But if you’re really user, hardcore gamer or developer, I suggest you use lower, lighter OS’s. But if you really want it, hmmm…well, hardware upgrade is always an option.
Just my 2 cents. 😉