Thyis...
I know SteveNZ has answered your questions but I would like to help and add to his post.
1. Try upgrading to these patches: KB938979 and KB938194. Both are available through Microsoft’s download site or Windows Update. They’ve been around for a while and plenty of people have said they have experienced much better performance afterwards.
Still there are a lot of things that can be happening. I have 2 GB in my system and I can run Photoshop, surf the web, listen to iTunes (which doesn’t behave properly in Vista and is more Apple’s fault than Microsoft’s), and work on a Word document as well.
I knew one person who had problems with running Vista and it was all the extra crap installed from the manufacturer. After cleaning up his system, it performed rather well and the guy was happy with the result.
2. What kind of video card are you using? My laptop and desktop both come out of standby instantly. My wife’s computer had an issue but a BIOS update fixed a problem with power state modes. None of the computers in my house have had issues with blinking screens or waking up for that matter.
3. Not once has IE7 stopped me to go to a website unless it fell in one of two categories: The phising filter has the site on a blacklist or the site has an expired certificate. Reading error messages will tell you that.
If UAC is your issue, like SteveNZ said, you can turn it off. I like to keep it on (well, I do turn off the secure desktop part) because it keeps me from having one of those “Oh S***” moments. Other operating systems require credentials to elevate privileges, including OS X. I mean, once I get a system to the way I like it, I hardly every see it.
4. XP has given me issues when there are multiple APs in an area or a poorly implemented as will Vista. However, my Vista based laptop connects to wireless networks with ease and have never had a problem. As a matter of fact, it will do one thing that XP had’t done for me in the past: Log onto a computer with a domain account for the first time. XP never did because the wireless connection was never made. My Vista laptop did it after I joined it to a domain I run at home because it connected wirelessly before logging on.
If you are still having problems, check out MS KB article 928152.
5. I never once have seen the recycle bin disappear on any desktop or any version of Windows. I mean, you can purposely delete it or remove it through the Personalization control. Perhaps it was moved to a part of the screen and you didn’t see it? You could fix that by, oh I don’t know, resorting icons. It’s not even necessary to have on your desktop as you can access it from any Explorer window.
6. For someone who claims to do IT work, you didn’t know that home versions don’t include Remote Desktop? It was the same deal with XP. You could have worked around that by using something like VNC or Dameware. Yes, both work in Vista.
7. These changes can be made in the Network and Sharing center (right mouse click Network and click Properties). You don’t have to tweak the registry or anything. Sharing files in Vista isn’t very hard.
The idea I get is that you’re not very good at troubleshooting problems for someone that does it for a living. Then again, as someone who’s also done tech support in the US Army, I've learned there are plenty of people who work IT for the government and aren’t very good at what they do either.
I’ve been in IT for 10 years and while I’ve had an occasional issue with Vista, I knew how to fix it. I didn’t jump on 50 message boards claiming that it was a failure or ranted like a spaz. You claim that you’re not a fanboy but you really come off as one.
To be honest, most of the people doing the bitching are a bunch of “wannabe” techies who give us real IT professionals and enthusiasts a bad name. Vista isn’t perfect but it’s not a steaming pile that a lot of whiners claim it to be.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
