Windows Vista???

MattNW · 08-13-2007, 09:28 PM

Has anyone tried SereneScreen on Windows Vista and does it work? Been afraid to try it myself. Last XP program I tried in Vista resulted in a complete system restore from backup disks.

Marian Nichols · 08-14-2007, 03:54 AM

I tried Vista and ended up reformatting and re-installing WinXP. Not again for me for a long while.

feldon34 · 08-14-2007, 07:16 AM

It works on Vista with no issues that I am aware of. But I agree with Marian. I don't like Vista on many levels (it needs about 3/4 of a GB of RAM for itself just to boot up and then however much RAM you want to add for your programs) and will be sticking with XP.

Jim Sachs · 08-14-2007, 07:40 PM

The Aquarium has no issues with the normal versions of Vista.

The 64-bit version of Vista might possibly place the Aquarium in the wrong directory during installation, but it would be easy to move it to the proper directory. This affects such a small percentage of the population that we've never actually been able to confirm it.

jimkraz · 08-15-2007, 01:11 PM

I have run Vista for three months now on my laptop, SereneScreen and Gold Fish screensavers work fine, as does Dreamaquarium, I am very pleased as to how Vista runs on my machine, much faster than XP was and very stable. Jim

MattNW · 08-15-2007, 05:54 PM

Thanks for the info. I'll give it a go. I don't like Vista much either but I got a new notebook with Vista installed and I'd like to put MA Time on it.

Jim, you just made another sale.

Breeze · 08-17-2007, 11:41 AM

Originally posted by MattNW:

Has anyone tried SereneScreen on Windows Vista and does it work? Been afraid to try it myself. Last XP program I tried in Vista resulted in a complete system restore from backup disks.

Hi Matt...I've been reading all these concerns over Vista and don't quite get the reasons for the problems people seem to be having. I have loaded a variety of programs into Vista that ran in my Windows 98 and Windows 2000 and of course Goldfish - none have given me any concerns that would make me think it was Vista's fault. Vista is finally a Windows manager that does a lot of work for the computer user, so I think a lot of these problems come from those who don't want to relinquish their role in using a computer. Me...the more the computer does the nitty-gritties the more time I have to do exactly what I want to do and not worry about the system's behind the scenes workings. And loading what you're calling an XP program is not what froze/crashed your system. Loading an unexceptable program will normally only result in Vista telling you that the program is unacceptable for your system. You back out - no harm done. I hope this helped....Really I don't understand all this frustration and fear of Vista?? It also lapses over into Microsoft's Office 2007...and that's an excellent program with some pretty fantastic features - Vista and Office 2007 are what computers are about - "the future" - computers doing the work us merely the spectators.....

feldon34 · 08-17-2007, 06:53 PM

I love Microsoft Office 2007. It was clearly designed by a team of people who understood how office software should work. The team admitted that 90% of the features people were asking for were already built into 2003, they just couldn't find them.

On the other hand, Windows Vista was designed with some strange goals. Bill Gates said he wanted Windows to stop being the laughing stock of the OS world as far as security. As a result, Windows Vista prompts ENDLESSLY to do anything. Even the most trivial of tasks like changing a setting in the "Display" control panel requires answering a security prompt.

As much as Vista blatantly copies Mac OS X (use Mac OS X for about 10 minutes and you'll realize just how much of Vista is a direct copy), they got security all wrong and I consider Vista to be a nuisance.

People keep telling me if I just give it a chance I'll like it. The more I use it, the more I hate it.

FishyBusiness · 08-17-2007, 07:07 PM

Yes, UAC is a HUGE nuisance. You can disable it though...hehe

Morgan, I was listening to the radio the other day. They were interviewing a restaurant owner. The restaurant owner was trying to gather support for his 'get back to tap water' campaign. He mentioned the same thing that your signature states. I never really thought about all of those bottles being made and going into the trash.

feldon34 · 08-17-2007, 09:12 PM

I use a 3 litre Camelbak on my bike rides and on hot days, I bring two 20oz Polar Ice bottles which keep the water cold. I fill them with ice at the beginning of the ride and by the time it gets hot, it's ice water and I dump it on my head to cool my core temp down.

But when I'm not riding, Polar Ice bottles are a good reusable way to carry cold water.

Tiny Turtle · 08-17-2007, 09:34 PM

Then again, the U.S. uses 19.6 million barrels of oil per day (25% of the world's consumption) so there are still 7152.5 million barrels/year used for other stuff...

Sinami · 03-30-2008, 01:21 PM

Originally posted by Jim Sachs:

The Aquarium has no issues with the normal versions of Vista.

The 64-bit version of Vista might possibly place the Aquarium in the wrong directory during installation, but it would be easy to move it to the proper directory. This affects such a small percentage of the population that we've never actually been able to confirm it.

I am getting this exact issue with my 64bit Vista. Any idea how to get it to the right folder?

This was the problem I had earlier today. I could get it to pop up upon installation in the screensavers folder in control panel, but once I closed it and re-opened the screensaver tab in control panel it would show screensaver being used (none) and and Serenescene was not even present.

I did a search for sysWOW64 and then sorted by screensavers name, then found the file called MA2_6 (alternatively open the search function and do a search for MA2_6) once it finds that file in the SysWOW64 folder right click it and simply click install and it will then install it properly in the correct directory, takes all of 2 minutes once you know how.

henemly · 03-31-2008, 03:12 PM

Originally posted by feldon32:

Windows Vista prompts ENDLESSLY to do anything...The more I use it, the more I hate it.

Hmm, That's more than enough reason I would NEVER get it.

Marian Nichols · 03-31-2008, 03:33 PM

Originally posted by Marian Nichols:

I tried Vista and ended up reformatting and re-installing WinXP. Not again for me for a long while.

About two months ago, I tried Vista again. This time I am very happy with it. I needed a year for all my hardware and software to catch up with new drivers and/or version compatible with Vista.

feldon34 · 03-31-2008, 03:56 PM

What does Vista give you that XP doesn't have?

Marian Nichols · 03-31-2008, 04:33 PM

There's the sidebar that I like and use. I like the way folders are previewed without having to open them. The look is so different and I like to change things around. Vista firewall is all the firewall I used and it is quite effective. More so than previous versions of Windows firewalls. I use Windows Movie Maker that is part of the OS although it can be downloaded for XP. I also like and only use the DVD burner, XP does not have it. Media player is also part of the OS don't think it is with XP although I had it then. I only use Vista photo gallery, I can connect all my cameras and they are recognised and the pictures downloaded without extra software. I am sure there are others and will remark on them as they come to mind.

Marian Nichols · 03-31-2008, 04:36 PM

Originally posted by henemly:

Hmm, That's more than enough reason I would NEVER get it.

Those can be switch off if they are a worry, unless it has to do with security. I turned off my users controls.

feldon34 · 03-31-2008, 05:31 PM

Windows Media Player 9/10/11 make me want to tear my hair out. The interface is a nightmare. It completely breaks all the rules of user interface design. I cannot seem to press <- and -> to step through a video. Also, the video usually stutters because there is so much overhead slowing down playback. I use Media Player Classic or VLC to play videos.

Maybe the image viewer in Vista is better. The photo viewer in XP was so slow, tabbing through photos seemed to take 3-4 seconds to load each image. I use ACDSee which is almost instant at flipping through photos. It also has nondestructive image rotation. When I go take photos, I can look at the thumbnails, click on all the images that are sideways, and rotate them without re-saving the file (which would dramatically lower the picture quality). It just flags the file as "rotate 90".

The sidebar in Vista can easily be attained with add-ons like StarDock which came out years ago.

I have not used the DVD burning software built into Vista so I cannot comment.

I am not trying to start an argument, just genuinely curious what is new in Vista that is worth buying a faster computer with more RAM, bigger hard drive, and faster processor to run the same applications I run now.

If Vista had the journaling file system that they originally promised (and which has been seen in operating systems as far back as BeOS in 1998), then maybe it would be different. Each file on the computer can have descriptive information attached to it which makes searching a snap. You could label each photo that has a person in it and then search for photos with that person and it would give them all back to you.

Marian Nichols · 03-31-2008, 05:47 PM

I like trying and learning new things and they don't fluster me for the most part if I can figure them out. Vista built in programs saves me from buying extra software. If it is there already all I need do is use it. Sooner or later you will have to switch to Vista, we all know this. I am ready to try Internet Explorer 8 when it comes out of beta.

But it's okay if you don't want to change I am not trying to persuade anyone to, I just wanted the new version. Happy computer--ing.

feldon34 · 03-31-2008, 10:23 PM

So few people are switching to Vista, I think people may skip it entirely the way millions of people completely avoided Windows Me.

08-13-2007, 09:28 PM	#1
MattNW Registered Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 11	Windows Vista??? Has anyone tried SereneScreen on Windows Vista and does it work? Been afraid to try it myself. Last XP program I tried in Vista resulted in a complete system restore from backup disks.

08-14-2007, 03:54 AM	#2
Marian Nichols ~Author~ Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Rocky Mount, NC Posts: 7,429	I tried Vista and ended up reformatting and re-installing WinXP. Not again for me for a long while. Write paranormal mysteries. Six books so far.

08-14-2007, 07:16 AM	#3
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,939	It works on Vista with no issues that I am aware of. But I agree with Marian. I don't like Vista on many levels (it needs about 3/4 of a GB of RAM for itself just to boot up and then however much RAM you want to add for your programs) and will be sticking with XP. "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman

08-14-2007, 07:40 PM	#4
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,791	The Aquarium has no issues with the normal versions of Vista. The 64-bit version of Vista might possibly place the Aquarium in the wrong directory during installation, but it would be easy to move it to the proper directory. This affects such a small percentage of the population that we've never actually been able to confirm it. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

08-15-2007, 01:11 PM	#5
jimkraz Registered Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Troon, Scotland Posts: 125	I have run Vista for three months now on my laptop, SereneScreen and Gold Fish screensavers work fine, as does Dreamaquarium, I am very pleased as to how Vista runs on my machine, much faster than XP was and very stable. Jim Something Fishy Going On

08-15-2007, 05:54 PM	#6
MattNW Registered Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 11	Thanks for the info. I'll give it a go. I don't like Vista much either but I got a new notebook with Vista installed and I'd like to put MA Time on it. Jim, you just made another sale.

08-17-2007, 11:41 AM	#7
Breeze Registered Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 1	GOLDFISH AND VISTA Originally posted by MattNW: Has anyone tried SereneScreen on Windows Vista and does it work? Been afraid to try it myself. Last XP program I tried in Vista resulted in a complete system restore from backup disks. Hi Matt...I've been reading all these concerns over Vista and don't quite get the reasons for the problems people seem to be having. I have loaded a variety of programs into Vista that ran in my Windows 98 and Windows 2000 and of course Goldfish - none have given me any concerns that would make me think it was Vista's fault. Vista is finally a Windows manager that does a lot of work for the computer user, so I think a lot of these problems come from those who don't want to relinquish their role in using a computer. Me...the more the computer does the nitty-gritties the more time I have to do exactly what I want to do and not worry about the system's behind the scenes workings. And loading what you're calling an XP program is not what froze/crashed your system. Loading an unexceptable program will normally only result in Vista telling you that the program is unacceptable for your system. You back out - no harm done. I hope this helped....Really I don't understand all this frustration and fear of Vista?? It also lapses over into Microsoft's Office 2007...and that's an excellent program with some pretty fantastic features - Vista and Office 2007 are what computers are about - "the future" - computers doing the work us merely the spectators.....

08-17-2007, 06:53 PM	#8
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,939	I love Microsoft Office 2007. It was clearly designed by a team of people who understood how office software should work. The team admitted that 90% of the features people were asking for were already built into 2003, they just couldn't find them. On the other hand, Windows Vista was designed with some strange goals. Bill Gates said he wanted Windows to stop being the laughing stock of the OS world as far as security. As a result, Windows Vista prompts ENDLESSLY to do anything. Even the most trivial of tasks like changing a setting in the "Display" control panel requires answering a security prompt. As much as Vista blatantly copies Mac OS X (use Mac OS X for about 10 minutes and you'll realize just how much of Vista is a direct copy), they got security all wrong and I consider Vista to be a nuisance. People keep telling me if I just give it a chance I'll like it. The more I use it, the more I hate it. "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman

08-17-2007, 07:07 PM	#9
FishyBusiness Registered Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 2,206	Yes, UAC is a HUGE nuisance. You can disable it though...hehe Morgan, I was listening to the radio the other day. They were interviewing a restaurant owner. The restaurant owner was trying to gather support for his 'get back to tap water' campaign. He mentioned the same thing that your signature states. I never really thought about all of those bottles being made and going into the trash. Frank

08-17-2007, 09:12 PM	#10
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,939	I use a 3 litre Camelbak on my bike rides and on hot days, I bring two 20oz Polar Ice bottles which keep the water cold. I fill them with ice at the beginning of the ride and by the time it gets hot, it's ice water and I dump it on my head to cool my core temp down. But when I'm not riding, Polar Ice bottles are a good reusable way to carry cold water. "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman

08-17-2007, 09:34 PM	#11
Tiny Turtle is pleased Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Posts: 7,365	Then again, the U.S. uses 19.6 million barrels of oil per day (25% of the world's consumption) so there are still 7152.5 million barrels/year used for other stuff... Thanks to Morgan, Tiny Snapshots is up and running again with "Tiny Järvafält" as the latest addition – Go have a look and tell me what you think. "We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another." /Robert Oppenheimer on witnessing the first thermonuclear detonation in history.

03-30-2008, 01:21 PM	#12
Sinami Registered Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4	Originally posted by Jim Sachs: The Aquarium has no issues with the normal versions of Vista. The 64-bit version of Vista might possibly place the Aquarium in the wrong directory during installation, but it would be easy to move it to the proper directory. This affects such a small percentage of the population that we've never actually been able to confirm it. I am getting this exact issue with my 64bit Vista. Any idea how to get it to the right folder? This was the problem I had earlier today. I could get it to pop up upon installation in the screensavers folder in control panel, but once I closed it and re-opened the screensaver tab in control panel it would show screensaver being used (none) and and Serenescene was not even present. I did a search for sysWOW64 and then sorted by screensavers name, then found the file called MA2_6 (alternatively open the search function and do a search for MA2_6) once it finds that file in the SysWOW64 folder right click it and simply click install and it will then install it properly in the correct directory, takes all of 2 minutes once you know how. Last edited by feldon34; 03-30-2008 at 04:12 PM.

03-31-2008, 03:12 PM	#13
henemly asdf Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Hiko, CommieFagnia Posts: 278	Originally posted by feldon32: Windows Vista prompts ENDLESSLY to do anything...The more I use it, the more I hate it. Hmm, That's more than enough reason I would NEVER get it.

03-31-2008, 03:33 PM	#14
Marian Nichols ~Author~ Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Rocky Mount, NC Posts: 7,429	Originally posted by Marian Nichols: I tried Vista and ended up reformatting and re-installing WinXP. Not again for me for a long while. About two months ago, I tried Vista again. This time I am very happy with it. I needed a year for all my hardware and software to catch up with new drivers and/or version compatible with Vista. Write paranormal mysteries. Six books so far.

03-31-2008, 03:56 PM	#15
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,939	What does Vista give you that XP doesn't have? "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman

03-31-2008, 04:33 PM	#16
Marian Nichols ~Author~ Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Rocky Mount, NC Posts: 7,429	There's the sidebar that I like and use. I like the way folders are previewed without having to open them. The look is so different and I like to change things around. Vista firewall is all the firewall I used and it is quite effective. More so than previous versions of Windows firewalls. I use Windows Movie Maker that is part of the OS although it can be downloaded for XP. I also like and only use the DVD burner, XP does not have it. Media player is also part of the OS don't think it is with XP although I had it then. I only use Vista photo gallery, I can connect all my cameras and they are recognised and the pictures downloaded without extra software. I am sure there are others and will remark on them as they come to mind. Write paranormal mysteries. Six books so far.

03-31-2008, 04:36 PM	#17
Marian Nichols ~Author~ Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Rocky Mount, NC Posts: 7,429	Originally posted by henemly: Hmm, That's more than enough reason I would NEVER get it. Those can be switch off if they are a worry, unless it has to do with security. I turned off my users controls. Write paranormal mysteries. Six books so far.

03-31-2008, 05:31 PM	#18
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,939	Windows Media Player 9/10/11 make me want to tear my hair out. The interface is a nightmare. It completely breaks all the rules of user interface design. I cannot seem to press <- and -> to step through a video. Also, the video usually stutters because there is so much overhead slowing down playback. I use Media Player Classic or VLC to play videos. Maybe the image viewer in Vista is better. The photo viewer in XP was so slow, tabbing through photos seemed to take 3-4 seconds to load each image. I use ACDSee which is almost instant at flipping through photos. It also has nondestructive image rotation. When I go take photos, I can look at the thumbnails, click on all the images that are sideways, and rotate them without re-saving the file (which would dramatically lower the picture quality). It just flags the file as "rotate 90". The sidebar in Vista can easily be attained with add-ons like StarDock which came out years ago. I have not used the DVD burning software built into Vista so I cannot comment. I am not trying to start an argument, just genuinely curious what is new in Vista that is worth buying a faster computer with more RAM, bigger hard drive, and faster processor to run the same applications I run now. If Vista had the journaling file system that they originally promised (and which has been seen in operating systems as far back as BeOS in 1998), then maybe it would be different. Each file on the computer can have descriptive information attached to it which makes searching a snap. You could label each photo that has a person in it and then search for photos with that person and it would give them all back to you. "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman

03-31-2008, 05:47 PM	#19
Marian Nichols ~Author~ Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Rocky Mount, NC Posts: 7,429	I like trying and learning new things and they don't fluster me for the most part if I can figure them out. Vista built in programs saves me from buying extra software. If it is there already all I need do is use it. Sooner or later you will have to switch to Vista, we all know this. I am ready to try Internet Explorer 8 when it comes out of beta. But it's okay if you don't want to change I am not trying to persuade anyone to, I just wanted the new version. Happy computer--ing. Write paranormal mysteries. Six books so far.

03-31-2008, 10:23 PM	#20
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,939	So few people are switching to Vista, I think people may skip it entirely the way millions of people completely avoided Windows Me. "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman