Name any major software that is only Vista capable and will not work on XP. XP is extremely secure, maybe not as much as Vista, but saying it's anything but secure is very shirt sighted. The problem is many use it from the administrator account, which reduces how secure it is, but it's still a secure OS. Almost all hardware being released is XP compatible, just as almost all software, whether they may add some hooks to take advantage of Vista APIs or not. Any software developer that made their product incompatible with XP would seriously limit their sales, the same with hardware developers.Edit: BTW, you are basing Vista's security claims on MS and beta testers. Wait until it's been in the mainstream for a year or so before you can actually say how secure it is.

Well,I'm not going to let "paranoia" rule me as it relates to my computer habits.The whole world is spying on everyone else. Hopefully, the spies have someone more interesting than me to target.ps...and I resent being called a "lemming".

I will not be changing the OS at this time. That'll come later.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2310 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 2.5-3-3-8 (1T), WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian case

>Not until nvidia has either fixed their drivers or actually>provided any will i upgrade. Nvidia is really ruining it for>many people right now and their upgrade path to vista. They>are supposed to be releasing a vista driver for the 8800 this>tuesday after 3 months and there is already word that there>will be missing features and it will be of a general beta>status. If so then i will be asking evga for a full refund on>my 8800 purchased in november on the pretense of false>advertising. Either the 8800 works with all features in vista>on release date or it is false advertising and they are in>breach of contract. As i can see it now there is no compelling>reason to upgrade to vista, especially with nvidia and their>lousy drivers and support. Gee, I didn't know Evga made their own drivers..sure you're goin after the right folks with regards to driver issues? Craig

The only thing in the EULA that could cause some controversy is the new "Windows Genuine Advantage" that keeps track of hardware changes to protect MS against SW piracy and another note stating that users are not allowed to "work around the limitations of the software". Other (expensive) high-end programs have been using USB dongles or similar tracking/protection methods for years. Even some game companies are starting to implement features like that, because everyone seems to download their ISO's for free via BitTorrent. It's hardly spyware.While it is being healthy being a sceptic, I am much, much more worried about others tapping my phone, invading my privacy or hacking into my bank account than my computer sending out my HW configuration to MS.Pat

A few misc comments to touch on here.> Vista

"aanounced their intent""Its only a matter of time now""At some point""Should really design their software""Over time, it won't be worthwhile at all"And you still think Vista is ready, today? Your post clearly indicates that now is NOT the time to be switching, surely? Especially when the inevitable unforeseen problems are taken into account, as they come to the attention of the world. The EULA had to be changed becasue MS failed to appreciate the outcry. Given that level of naivety, why should we trust them to produce a new OS that is problem-free and a boon for early adopters?For most of us here, the only reason for a simmer to switch to Vista is to get a better-looking, faster running FS. While I willingly accept there are other motivations - egotistical, commercial, technical - even maniacal!, you cannot provide one single example of a performance increase, or new visual feature that will benefit Vista users of FSX over XP users of the same platform. Indeed, one can argue most sensibly and with proof a-plenty that money spent on Vista is simply a waste, when the equivalent cost in new hardware could benefit performance under XP. ACES themselves have conceded that, like-for-like, the performance PENALTY of FSX under Vista is around 5%. As an educated consumer, I don't pay more for less unless there are compelling reasons. And no-one has yet provided a single compelling reason to switch OS. Not even ACES are recommending the switch at this time. The imminent patch may address some issues that will benefit Vista owners, but clearly the thrust of development on the sim is for XP users. Vista (DX10) comes later for them, so it does for me too.Plus I have many software items that are not supported natively by Vista. I don't live in a vacuum, and can see that IT specialists and other special interest groups might like to be in there at the beginning with Vista. But for everyone else it makes no sense whatsoever.Allcott

>>Not until nvidia has either fixed their drivers or actually>>provided any will i upgrade. Nvidia is really ruining it for>>many people right now and their upgrade path to vista. They>>are supposed to be releasing a vista driver for the 8800>this>>tuesday after 3 months and there is already word that there>>will be missing features and it will be of a general beta>>status. If so then i will be asking evga for a full refund>on>>my 8800 purchased in november on the pretense of false>>advertising. Either the 8800 works with all features in>vista>>on release date or it is false advertising and they are in>>breach of contract. As i can see it now there is no>compelling>>reason to upgrade to vista, especially with nvidia and their>>lousy drivers and support.>>> Gee, I didn't know Evga made their own drivers..sure you're>goin > after the right folks with regards to driver issues?>> Craig>Yeah unfortunately nvidia has set themselves up with quite the gig and you can't deal with them directly. That's why you buy from a manufacturer. Nvidia does not manufacture their own 'brand' of card. They farm it out to the evga's and asus's and xfx's of the world and that is who you have to deal with for support. Come 12:00am tonight if there are no 100% vista functional drivers like it says there were ON THE BOX when i bought it in november then evga will either refund me my money or my credit card company will get involved for a false advertising claim. My patience with these guys has run out and unfortunately the evga's and xfx's will have to pay the price for nvidia's incompetence.________________________________________________________________________________________________Intel D975XBX2 'Bad Axe 2' | Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 3.20Ghz | 2 GB Super Talent DDR2 800 @ 893Mhz | Big Typhoon VX | eVGA 8800GTS @ 575/900 | Seagate 2x 320GB SATA RAID-0 | OCZ GameXStream 700W | Creative X-Fi | Silverstone TJ-09BW | Matrox Triplehead Setup

Other (expensive) high-end programs have been using USB dongles or similar tracking/protection methods for years. Even some game companies are starting to implement features like that, because everyone seems to download their ISO's for free via BitTorrent. It's hardly spyware.Although I agree that Vista isn't spyware, I would GLADLY take some sort of dongle approach to the OS validation than an online hardware check...That way I can move my OS *at will* between hardware systems and not have to worry about reactivating.I'd be sacrificing a USB2 port,but to me that would be better than dealing with the imperfect science of hardware signature based activations. -Greg

Wake up and smell the coffee, Kev. You and I have dueled before on this subject and you have made very convincing arguments illustrating that you just don

I finally convinced myself that the Ultimate version was worth and upgraded my order. This is mostly due to the future proof of the ultimate over the home premium edition (ie: Multiple CPU sockets on motherboards etc). Who knows what the future will hold but I would rather pay a little more now than alot more later by purchasing additional upgrades.

>In the past, I've always upgraded Windows OS changes>practically on the day they were released; however, I'm not so>sure about the new one coming on Wednesday, the 30th. Vista>will be available for the consumer mid-week, and I'm hoping>with my system, that it will be a move in the right direction>for FSX.>>How many of you will be upgrading XP on Wednesday, and if so,>with what version, and why?>>I'm curious and I think this will be a good discussion here on>AVSIM in the FSX forum as opposed to the Hardware forum.>> Yeah. Wait till you guys see the "volume validation" feature in Vista. You cried about FSX activation. lol. And are you aware of what the upgrade costs?

>Yeah. Wait till you guys see the "volume validation" feature>in Vista. You cried about FSX activation. lol. And are you>aware of what the upgrade costs?I activated FSX 3 times, NO problems!That was going from a single to two socket system, new everything. If you cannot afford it, don't do it!

@Charlie: Sorry, but you have no idea what you're talking about and probably take your 'sources' from 3rd party doomsday websites without looking at facts.Fact is that Vista is already more secure than XP will ever be. And that is not my personal opinion, but validated by renowned security analysts. Your thinking that you're under 24/7 electronic survelliance when using Vista is as distorted as the myth that the government tracks your position when you use GPS.The greatest danger in history of the US are soccer moms driving SUVs, right-wing evangelists and corrupt politians - not the middle-class worker who chooses to install a new OS.Did it ever come to your mind that you're constantly profiled and monitored anyway? Supermarkets and credit card companies have been tracking your shopping habits for years. Ever wondered why that Bed, Bath and Beyond coupon ends up on your doorstep? Ever bought a new home and wondered where suddenly all those "Welcome to the neighborhood" mailing orginate from?... but that's just my personal 2c.Pat

>Wake up and smell the coffee, Kev. You and I have dueled>before on this subject and you have made very convincing>arguments illustrating that you just don