Dear silicon.com... Vista gripes, naked PCs, geek rage, nuclear fallout...

What's got silicon.com readers reaching for their keyboards this week? Reader Comments of the Week showcases how our users are responding to the latest tech news and views on the site...

A new Vista…
Psst! Don't want Vista? You're not alone...

Having used Vista Ultimate for two months now, I am planning my XP reinstall. Also, having experienced Office 2007 (Ultimate) I am looking into using Thunderbird for my email (I already use Firefox).

Basically everything runs slower. Mysterious lock ups, total lack of drivers and drivers that don't work.

It's been two months of suffering. I miss my scanner and webcam and Palm and I hate my games running slower.
-- Anthony Hunt, Maidstone

Simpler would be to include a dual operating choice with both Vista and XP installed.

I am now getting used to Vista and am learning to like it but I find it a nuisance to have to use another machine with XP to run a lot of my software.
-- Chris Goodman, Fareham

Editor's choice

silicon.com editor Tony Hallett flags up his picks on the site this week...

♦ Exclusive: AA terminates £50m IBM deal This is a good combination of some breaking news and an on-the-spot interview
♦ CIO Essentials: Nerdy techies, SaaS and social networks Another IT chief reflects on some top stories
♦ Cheat Sheet: Femtocell A buzzword we'll hear more and more
♦ Pizza sauce runs in our veins, says Domino's IT chief Excuse the pun - but more revelations in another great user interview
♦ Video: Tesco CIO Colin Cobain We get close to this award-winning tech head

Demand for XP is so high that ebay prices have increased for XP packs with a Certificate of Authenticity.

If Microsoft stick to their position of Vista or nothing then, as availability of XP dries up, all they will do is proliferate unlicenced copies of XP.
Roger Huffadine, Worcester

In defence of 'geeks'
Berners-Lee attacks "stupid" male geek culture

90% of engineers I have worked with are normal, well adjusted individuals who have families and / or enjoy a normal social life outside of work.

I think some "non-technical" people in the IT industry overplay the "geek" stereotypes (such as poor communicators and bad personal hygene etc) to make them feel better about themselves or justify they're non-technical roles.
-- Anonymous, Midlands

The next generation of kids are growing up with PC skills inherently and will probably be better with computers than most "techies" by the age of 10! Maybe the age of the company "techie" is numbered.
-- MusicFan, Tornado Alley

The idea that IT technicians have a culture is silly. They may have some things in common but that is the same for any group, irrespective of their line of work.
-- Simon Allen, Hertfordshire

To strip or not to strip
Bring on the naked PCs, says think tank

I believe the vast majority of PC's purchased are for users who operate them, which is a far cry from understanding them…

Simply put an OS must be offered pre installed for most consumers and many small companies. Yes, a choice should be available but the choice will most likely be Windows or nothing. This is primarily because the support of a bundled OS is up to the manufacturer.

Several large PC manufacturers are offering alternate OS options but it remains to be seen what the level of support is. It will be the support of the operating system provided with the computer that will matter most. If the user cannot contact the pc manufacturer and recieve useful support for their OS, then that manufacturer/OS combination will fail. and the problem will reduce to Windows or nothing.
-- Dale Beutel, Chicago Illinois, USA

By far and away the bulk of people buying a PC don't want the bother of installing the operating system on a new PC. They are never going to choose some silly piece of geek software. They just want a simple life and have Windows pre-installed.
-- Gareth Evans, Bath

Right now there is NO choice - you use Microsoft Office or you don't get to share easily. Some of us saw this coming a decade ago, but would anyone listen ?
-- Simon, Cumbria

To separate the cost of Windows from that of the hardware, without compromising Microsoft's ability to collect their dues, all they need do is preinstall Windows at no charge, but require payment to activate it. They're practically there anyway with the way Vista can be upgraded. Other OS's could be added, or preinstalled, and activated in a similar way. This would obviate the need to have a cashback option for those who didn't want Windows, or to sell separate naked PCs. If there's a genuine clamour for choice, system builders will then be able pre-install Linux, etc alongside Windows with no impact on their pricing model.
-- Graham, Richmond

DoS doom?
DoS attack could shut down the net

Verisign: "There are attacks attempting to shut down our servers. This would effectively shut down the internet."

They wish! We might loose root server resolution for some gTLDs, but that'll have very little impact on my working day!
-- Anonymous, Peterborough

Nuclear as mud
Peter Cochrane's Blog: Unfair fallout

I think the worry of nuclear power is the level of damage it 'can' do.

You mention coal mining accidents, but when a coal mining accident happens it's a group of miners that possibly dies, not a whole community. You mention Chernobyl, while around 50 people died immediately after the accident, estimates range from 4000 (official) to 100000 (Greenpeace) within the wider community years down the line, along with terrible birth defects. Averaging it out to 1mrem/year is little consolation to those people.
-- Tony Norris, Perth, Australia

Cool data centres
Tesco aims to cut data-centre carbon footprint

Overheating and cooling of equipment in the data centre is still a key concern for businesses. One way to regulate the temperature and get the most out of air-conditioning systems is to keep the doors closed to allow for better heat regulation. Having staff walk in and out of the data centre will require the air-conditioning to work faster and therefore use more power to stop equipment overheating.
-- Russell Stevens, head of business development EMEA, Avocent

Please note, comments may be edited for clarity - but are not corrected for grammar, spelling, punctuation or style. The views expressed are not necessarily the views of silicon.com. You can write to silicon.com by posting a Reader Comment below, or emailing editorial@silicon.com.