How ironic, that I resume updating this space on a regular basis by continuing where I left off over two months ago. If you check the post previous, you’ll see the point at which I began by cursing Windows Vista for the poor performance of Adobe Photoshop - yet in the end decided that the slowness was in fact a blessing in disguise.

Slowness I can handle. Instability, I cannot.

I was recently trying to apply a windows update, when Vista up and froze on me. Not a temporary freeze, but a ‘you must unplug your computer to get out of this freeze’ (BTW - does anyone know how to unstick a frozen machine without unplugging it? Yeah, power button is real useful when you can only use it to turn the power ON). Upon restart, the computer - having crashed in the middle of an update - could not figure out how to complete the boot back into Vista. This resulted in an episode of restoring the system to its previous point (before the update). Normally, this would not have been a big deal - however by that point I felt like a boxer who had already gone 10 rounds too many against an opponent who was lacking in intelligence, but made up for it in sheer endurance. Of all the problems I had encountered with Vista - a Windows Update causing it to crash… that was the knockout punch.

I did a system restore to the point immediately preceding the update, and proceeded to move all of my important files off to an attached network drive. Muttering sharply beneath my breath the entire time, I waited until I had completed my backups, and then gleefully restarted and booted into my Windows XP cd. I must admit, I have rarely felt as joyful as I did when I elected to format the partition, and watched the progress bar slowly erase all of those painful Vista memories.

Having re-installed XP, I was reminded of what it was like to have an efficient working environment again. Photoshop once again ran smoothly, my hard disk no longer spun for reasons I could not fathom, and all was again right with the world.

Except for one thing.

Does anyone out there want a slightly used copy of Windows Vista Ultimate?

I’m sure everyone who has used Vista has at least one. The things about it that make you just want to pull your hair out. It could be the User Access Controls (I turned it off as soon as I installed Vista - I couldn’t download my Quicken data with it turned on, in fact it never even offered to LET me download it). It could be the fact that file transfer/addition/deletion time is directly proportional to the NUMBER of files, rather than the SIZE of the files (huh?).

For me.. its Vista and its interaction with Adobe Photoshop, CS3 edition.

My computer isn’t THAT slow. Its a Pentium D 820, with 1GB (too little for Vista BTW) RAM, and 320GB worth of HDD space in a RAID 0 configuration. I have a GeForce 7800 video card so Aero shouldn’t be an issue. Yes, the computer is nearly two years old, but I’m quite sure the issue is not with the parts. You see - opening a file in Photoshop for me is a ’sit and have a cup of coffee in the meantime process’. Opening a file takes a good five to ten seconds. That would be fine if I were referring to a 300ppi 8×10 page layout, or something of the ilk. But I’m not. My reference is a 12k .png. No, that isn’t a typo. 12k.

You can imagine my frustration when I’m creating small buttons, and each time I open one I have to wait 5-10 seconds for it to actually appear on the screen, at which point Photoshop acts like its on its last breath. I have the same problem when I create a new document. It doesn’t matter how big or small it is, I sit and wait. Why?

I suppose I should be grateful - after all, I used to only sip on my coffee once in awhile, and it would last a good 4 hours to go through a cup. Now, I take a small sample at each file load, and I’m going through a few cups a day. I’ve got more energy. My skin is looking a little better, and I’m losing weight (caffeine is an appetite suppressant).

Ok, I’ve reconsidered. Here’s to you Windows Vista - for giving me more time for coffee.