Waiting for Godot

Since getting my Sonata-Vista machine (named Batman), I have found several obvious software glitches. First, the machine occasionally fails to go into sleep mode as scheduled (after 30 minutes of inactivity). Second, the machine occasionally fails to re-acquire the wireless network connection (either on waking from sleep mode or on boot up). Third, on one occasion the machine failed to respond to the keyboard, necessitating a reboot.

This week, I found two more glitches. Fourth, under Vista the Internet browser (either IE7 or Firefox) was very slow to connect to http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca. (It could take several minutes!)

This slowdown did not occur under Windows XP, OS X, or Linux (all running Firefox). (I also used IE6 under WinXP and Safari under OS X.) So it had to be a Vista issue exclusively.

Subsequent research uncovered the fix:
netsh command fix

Fifth, on one occasion Windows Media Center suddenly and out of the blue decided that I had scheduled 8 recordings of CBC The National. I had to manually remove each and every scheduled recording. What a pain!

I found these five glitches within 30 days of ownership and use of Windows Vista (and my brand new computer). Look, I'm not a power user. I don't stress my computer at all. If I can find so many bugs within 30 days of typical PC operation, then this is good evidence that Vista is not ready for prime time.

Please note: These are only the glitches that I have found. Don’t overlook all the other reports of Vista bugs and incompatibilities that you can find on the Internet.

It's also worth noting that in over two years of using Windows XP with Service Pack 2, I have found only one or two glitches. Now that is stability!

You should expect this kind of stability from Vista. So my earlier admonition stands: Do NOT adopt Windows Vista until at least Service Pack 1. And if you wish to enjoy WinXP w/SP2 stability, then I suggest going even further and waiting for Service Pack 2!