Computer Specs:

Pentium 4 2.53 Ghz

1 Gb of PC2100 RAM

ATI Radeon 9600XT 256 Mb

80 Gb HD (65 gb and 15 gb partitions)

Windows Vista 5384 Beta 2

I recently installed Windows Vista (aka longhorn) and started an epic journey that some might call… BETA TESTING!

Ahem…

Now first, I'll start with installing it onto my 15 gig partition. It began with a quick restart of my computer, whos specs are at the beginning of this post, and I was welcomed by a colorful screen comprised of a multicolor gradient, not looking anything like XP's installer (Thank god). Now, after I completed the install in 20 MINUTES I realized how much better it was than XP's installer… so much better and not even running the OS yet :). When I booted into Vista, the screen started with the Vista logo glowing like a sun that brightened into the login screen. A login screen that looked a lot like Mac OS X's… although I am not hinting anything *cough*. I logged in and the screen faded to black, and faded to my desktop in around 3 seconds. Surprisingly faster than my recently formatted XP partition. I explored with the personalization and wasn't surprised to find Microsoft styled backgrounds waiting for my use (sand blowing on mars and etc.). Vista took up 7-8 gb's on space.

I installed some of my favorite programs (including Game Maker) like Daemon Tools, Limewire, and Firefox, which all ran well. Except for Game Maker. It's games wouldn't run when I opened them, or even ran the gm6. I was dissapointed because GM is one of my most used programs, which I found unfourtunate.

Now, onto my installation of the Verizon Online software. I tried, and tried, and tried but it always froze when detecting my hadware settings. No doubt, obviously it doesn't know Vista exists and froze detecting the operating system or something else related.

On the more positive side of Vista, When I tried playing Half-Life: Episode 1, it actually ran faster than XP did, not much more, maybe a 5-10 FPS difference, but that is still a difference. Also, old games like Starcraft: Brood War ran perfectly, with the occasional color invert, but that is just because ATI doesn't have full drivers out for Vista yet. Atleast when I downloaded them.

From then on I have used Vista on occasion but remain loyal to XP due to the lack of GM on the former. I am excited for RC1 to come out, which is schedualed to be released to public which I plan on installing shortly. Maybe GM will run on that :).

If you have a questions, just ask! I'll be happy to answer them, and if you want to try Vista, Download it here.