What Do I Think Of Vista?

Okay, every time I mention that I have a new computer, I get two questions:

"Does it have Vista?"

and...

"What do you think of Vista?"

The answer is, after spending a day and a half installing software, transferring files and such, I'm finally starting to figure out the ways that Vista makes life easier than XP. The problem is, most people don't use their computers enough to figure out those differences, and get impatient with not being able to do things the way the used to.

One example of this is the Windows explorer window which has some really slick features, but is enough different in its layout that it irritated me at first. In XP you have an "up one level" button, which I used all the time. But not in Vista. At first I thought this was a horrible oversight, until I finally realized that the window's address bar was made up of clickable folder names, which allows me to not just go up one level, but also up two levels or three levels, with just one click.

As a developer, I do have one frustration which most people will rarely face...

If I want to manually tweak an ini file or configuration file, I can't just open it in Notepad, edit it, and save it. I have to open notepad as Administrator ("Run as Administrator" is an option available by right clicking on notepad), then open the file from within Notepad, make my changes, then save it.

I've got most of my software installed (both Flash 8 and Visual Studio.net installed without major problems, which is a relief, since between them those two pieces of software cost more than the computer itself, and I didn't want to have to upgrade them)

I am going to have to upgrade a couple less expensive programs, but I can live with that.

And, my printer driver installed without a glitch (in fact, it was easier than installing it on XP).

And aside from all that, I'm loving having a computer with a screen so big that half the time I don't even bother maximizing my windows. :)

Dell's Random Fluctuations

The order confirmation email from Dell after my purchase last week has a link to click to view product information and tracking information.

Only, based (apparently) purely on the luck of the draw, clicking the link displays one of two different items, both labeled as a computer. Each has its own tracking id, and one of them is shown as scheduled to arrive today, while the other is scheduled to arrive on Thursday.

Since they're both labeled as An Inspiron 1720, one could hope that I'm actually getting two computers for the price of one.

But probably they've mislabeled one of them, and it's actually a wireless mouse, or a carry case.

And knowing my luck, I'll get the carry case today, and nothing to put in it until the end of the week.

Or, knowing my luck, one is a mouse, one is a carrying case, and they forgot to send the computer. :D

3:47 PM: Package number one was a mouse AND a carrying case. So. Lucky me. At least I have something to put my mouse in. :)