Without any real appreciation of just how complex it must be to release an operating system (with all the inherent backwards compatibility issues that WILL surface) or to create software that is hard to pirate yet easy for legitimate users to have fair use of - let me simply say that Adobe and Microsoft have wasted a week of my life.
I speak of my recent Vista install (which has gone TERRIBLY) and my subsequent migration (well trial migration at this stage) to CS3.
First of all, if you’re planning on upgrading to Vista - I’d highly recommend upgrading only if you’ve got relatively new hardware to run it on. By this I mean hardware that the manufacturers are still willing to support with driver releases. Turns out my beloved NForce 2 motherboard is no longer supported by Nvidia and so I’ve got a few issues with Vista talking to my hardware. Seems Nvidia are at the core of my issues, with their ForceWare drivers for the graphics card still leaving a lot to be desired. And where the hell has nView gone! I have to rely on third party software just to run different wallpapers on different screens. Come on Nvidia or Mircrosoft, get your sh!t together on the dual screen front already!
Further to this, the graphics architecture changes in the OS itself prevent me from using my laptop as a third screen. Maxivista (the software I use to do this) isn’t compatible with Vista (despite Vista being in the name!)…. yet.
My keybard and mouse are now no longer supported (kiss the extra function keys goodbye), my webcam won’t work and my VoIP software crackles and splutters, probably due to an incorrect audio driver being installed on the system.
So I’ve basically spent the last week turning a perfectly fine (commercialy viable) computer into one that is far from where it needs to be.
And the reason for this pain? Well I want to get CS3 of course! Yep, all this just so I could install CS3 (which doesn’t work on Windows 2000).
But I’m not quite ready to put my money on the line and buy CS3. I was hoping to get my 30 days trial out of it, and get the software towards the end of this period. Looks like all the system restores and bios fiddling I’ve been doing has put an abrubt stop to that. Over the weekend I tried to load up Fireworks, only to see the “Trial Expired” screen…. wtf!? But I’ve still got 25 days of trial left I thought… loaded up Flash… same thing!!! So looks like I’ve now got to load up my old Adobe/Macromedia software so I can actually do some work today!
I feel like knocking up an invoice and sending it to Bill and Bruce for the last week of farnakling I’ve had to endure.
Fingers crossed things will get better… if not I’m pulling the pin and getting a Mac. And I think that’s a serious thing for the powers that be at Microsoft. When long time PC supporters and once staunch defenders of everything PC are jumping ship, I imagine those users with less “feeling” for their computer will be marching into Apple’s camp in droves.
