The new version of Windows; is it worth waiting for?

[eskimo2]

We have two PCs at home; one is running Win 98 first edition, the other came with ME and has been upgraded to XP.  They work, but we are due for an upgrade.  My questions are: When do you think the new version of Windows will be released and will it be a big improvement over XP?  Will the first edition be a mess and be expensive?

[MoeRon]

i hear it'll be just like DOS

[parker00]

Originally posted by eskimo2
We have two PCs at home; one is running Win 98 first edition, the other came with ME and has been upgraded to XP.  They work, but we are due for an upgrade.  My questions are: When do you think the new version of Windows will be released and will it be a big improvement over XP?  Will the first edition be a mess and be expensive?

As a rule of thumb for Microsoft I always wait for at least one patch to come out as they always seem to have problems with the first release of a new product.

[Chairboy]

I'm in no hurry to upgrade to Vista until the first service pack, but it'll probably be nice.  Microsoft is doing some jerky things right now with it, more restrictive licenses and things like a hardcoded startup sound that can't be changed.  Here's hoping that changes.

[Dinger]

dude, don't buy an OS until a year after they've been released. Them's the rules.

[john9001]

why are you due for a upgrade?

[StarOfAfrica2]

Here's some reading for you.

http://www.eweek.com/category2/0,1874,1840947,00.asp

I seriously hope when you say "upgrade" you mean "replacement".  I cant think of many older computers that are going to run Vista very well, if at all.  Its going to have some pretty harsh hardware requirements.

[Maverick]

I think it's worth waiting for. As a matter of fact I think it's worth waiting at least 2 years for the first folks to pay to beta test it and find the biggest and most major bugs first before I will think about getting it.

[WilldCrd]

From what I have read and from some conversations i have had with some of our company It guys (verizon) i think ill stick to XP. The hardware requirments to run vista at its full ability are monsterous! IMNSHO that is.
Vista looks really cool and will maybe do lots of neato things but, like any microcrash OS i would wait till 1st patch IF i was gonna get it. Also the debate on licensing, and security rages on about vista. Not in how secure it is from hackers but how it will dictate how end users use it and its features.
To me its going to be like having net nanny for adults and microcrash is big brother. I dont trust em, and i never will!!
Not to mention the cost of  the software!

i have a pretty good machine that I built and I built it with the ability to upgrade several times before I need a new motherboard. I would BARLEY be able to run vista ging by the current requirments

My basic specs
Asus A8n SLI deluxe MB
AMD 3200+ processore (upgradedable to 64fx dual core)
2 gbs of corsair memory ( upgradable to 4 gb)
2 ATI pci express sli video cards (linked with SLI)

Thats it in a nutshell

[eskimo2]

By upgrade I mean get a new PC, with and OS.

[DREDIOCK]

I never upgrade OS's untill I absolutely have to or it comes with the PC.

By then most of the bugs are worked out and Billy boy doesnt get a dime of my money any sooner then is absolutely nessisary

[Nilsen]

Originally posted by eskimo2
By upgrade I mean get a new PC, with and OS.

It will not cost anymore than XP if it comes pre-loaded with Vista. IF you plan on buying it seperatly it will cost you a pretty penny.

I think you have to wait until sometime in Q1 2007 before you get a pc with it unless its a business pc. If i have understood the deal correctly then only the "Pro" verion of Vista will ship before xmas. You may start to get cupons for Vista soon. Im guessing November/December.

As for buggyness then there will prolly be a few early on, but if you are going to buy one with Vista anyway then there is no real reason to wait for Vista to become less buggy imo... Buy the PC when you need it. Most pcs sold now are "vista ready"

[eskimo2]

Thanks guys, lots of good points.  
My reasons to upgrade are many:  Both computers are often being used at the same time and daily one of the kids wants to use one while my wife and I are on.  The Win 98 machine gets a couple of hours of use a day.  It’s slow, locks up, sound stops working until reboot, lots of things won’t run on 98…  It’s pretty darn old for a daily PC and needs to be downgraded to the kids.  The “New” machine is an Athelon 1400 on an ECS K7AMA motherboard; it’s over 5 years old and was dogging when I stopped playing AH about a year ago.  I’d like something that could play AH and modern games and software.

[lukster]

I'd wait, shouldn't be more than another 3-4 months.

[Skuzzy]

I'd wait a couple of years before considering Vista.