Marshall University Computing Services has declared the transition from Microsoft Windows XP to Windows Vista in university computer labs a success.
Windows Vista has been in development since 2001 and after being beta tested on Marshall's campus since spring 2006, the newest Microsoft operating system was installed in all computer labs maintained by UCS without major problems.
"We are aware of the start-up problems that take place during Vista's use, but we haven't considered rolling the image back to Windows XP," Chuck Elliott, director of customer services, said. "Drinko has stayed busy with students using computers, and they seem to be able to use Vista without any additional instruction."
Elliott said the administration side had a learning curve for him and the UCS staff. He said the success of Vista could be attributed to the ease of use for the casual user, however.
"I haven't had any problems out of it," Mike Hardt, senior management information systems major from Poca, W.Va., said. "Overall I do like it. It has a polished look and seems to run smoother."
Hardt revealed he has encountered some problems, but nothing he could not overcome.
"You just need to know where to look to find fixes to Vista's problems," Hardt said. "Most of the issues I have had were fixed by downloading updates from Microsoft or going to the manufacturer's Web site. The only feature I don't like is the user access control. It is so redundant and annoying. If I click on an operation, I don't want to waste time being second-guessed by the computer."
The user access control is a feature of Windows Vista that alerts users if software is trying to be installed or changes are being made to Vista settings, which is supposed to prevent unauthorized alterations to the operating system.
"The thing you have to remember about Vista is to update it as often as possible," Hardt said. "There are over 75 updates that have to be downloaded from the initial release to be caught up to date."
Microsoft announced Service Pack 1, which contains all the updates in one download and ships on new computers shortly after the release, will release during the first quarter of 2008.
Brandon Ambrose can be contacted at Brandon.ambrose@marshall.edu.
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