Microsoft Microsoft Ripped Me Off with Windows Vista! Redmond Redmond, Washington

"CD Rom would not work and the manufacter told me that their CD Rom works with XP not Vista and they do not have another version."

That's a problem with your CD, not Vista. If you upgraded to Vista after you bought the CD, Vista automatically performs a compatibility check. Did you miss that? If you got a computer that shipped with Vista, you didn't have this problem. If you bought the CDROM after you got your computer, and you didn't bother to check to see if it was compatible with Vista, that's your own fault. Since I have yet to see a CDROM compatible with XP, and not with Vista, I'm guessing you're making a mistake here.

"I did without the educational video. "

Maybe you shouldn't have.


"Now, for several days I have been unable to upload a video that I took with a good video camera to You Tube. The video camera's manufacturer told me that Vista does not support streaming USB."

Vista has always supported streaming USB. Sounds like you got a CDROM that connects via the USB port. Really dumb. Still, don't blame Vista if your hardware doesn't support streaming USB, blame your hardware - or better yet, blame the person who bought your hardware for not checking compatibility. It's usually written on the box in great big letters.

"I need a fireside cable for that which is another $74 or I could use XP. I was on the phone with Microsoft and it told me that I needed to call the manufacture or pay with a credit card for tech support."

Uh, no again. If your PC didn't support streaming USB, going back to XP isn't going to magically change your USB bus speed. Oh, and any operating system company will require you to pay for technical support. Mac, Linux, Windows, etc.

"I was never able to speak to anyone -- all press this press that and robot."

How sad that you're blaming Vista for your inability to navigate through a voice menu.

"Then the manufacturer talked me through downloading an advisor to Service Pack 1, but I never got Service Pack 1 whcih they told me was supposed to compensate for Vista's flaws. "

An "advisor?" Was that a little man that popped over to your house, and told you which buttons to push? Service pack 1 for vista was a collection of service updates, and improved performance issues as well, but it can't physically change your hardware. Why not blame the person who bought your hardware? Are we seeing a pattern here?

"I declined paying $59 -- it is unreasonable for me to have pay anything. I asked for a supervisor who also would not waive the fee. What a rip off."

Based upon this message and your own admission, you are extraordinarily challenged by not just the internet, but the technology you're using to get there. That's why support is in place; to help people like you navigate things you don't understand. Charging you - - especially you -- for that service seems both reasonable and prudent. Sixty dollars, in terms of the support world, is really, really cheap, and my opinion is you're paying for your own mistake. You're blaming hardware issues on Vista. Vista wasn't created at Hogwarts. It can't magically make your hardware work differently. Installing Vista on your GM won't change it into a Porsche.

Your problem has nothing to do with your operating system, it's your hardware, or more specifically, your lack of understanding about how a computer works. An operating system can't change your hardware. You have to do that.

Vista is superior operating system, and Microsoft has taken huge leaps in simplifying the interface so that only a simple understanding of technology is required in using it. Perhaps a few minutes of study would resolve your problem.