The Vista Experience

We�re a week away from the release of Microsoft Vista and you have to wonder where the buzz is. Microsoft�s Vista OS was supposed to ship in November of 2003 but slipped year after year and is finally showings its face four and a half years later and I�m surprised the lines are not queued up outside Best Buy. There will be plenty of copies for everyone and it looks like 95% of those hardcore Windows fanboys will be able to walk in the day of Vista�s release and get a copy. That�s no fun! Apple�s operating system releases draw crowds outside of Apple Stores, game console releases cause lines and a bit of violence and even the release of WoW�s latest expansion pack was world news but a Windows release is not garnering a bit of attention.

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Ninety percent of the world uses a flavor of Windows and Vista is just another day. Let�s hope that Microsoft�s stock doesn�t drop that day because that may mean the end of Microsoft, as we know it. I didn�t say the end of Microsoft, just end of the version, as we know it. The software giant has its hands in every electronic market out there so I�m not going to predict the death of Microsoft but Vista will be the nail in the coffin for Microsoft if we don�t see the news showcasing those lining up outside computer stores for the next release. I�ve been running Vista at the office because certified partners and volume licensing customers received the next OS as early as November. I�ve also been �playing� with Vista for the better of 2006 in the form of betas. Microsoft was kind enough to give users a chance to play with it early in the year, which certainly made some people very happy and only generate more hype about the release.

My thought on the excitement is that we�ve been reading press releases from Microsoft about Longhorn / Vista for the past 5 years and many techies are just saying, �bout time� while others are going to wait until it comes with their new computer because they�ve already waited 5 years, �what�s another 6 months?� It�s my job to know Vista and I�m pretty freaking excited to say the least. Windows Vista is the most secure version of Windows ever with the most new features, most radically changed operating system since Windows 95 and has some exceptional features that make my life a bit easier. I won�t completely switch from Mac but I will be moving 50/50 to the new OS until I learn the ropes than I�m sure things will even back out as I balance work and play (PC and Mac).

Microsoft may have drawn more hype if they had not released this as a public beta or been more tight lipped about features and keeping a closer eye on whose hands were getting copies of these beta builds. I�ve seen Vista in and out for the past three years so where�s the excitement? I haven�t seen any of Apple�s top-secret features of version 10.5 of their OS and that makes me more interested when I see a blip in my RSS reader about Leopard.

Another item that makes Vista less enticing is the price but I can�t blame Microsoft. The different versions of Vista cover all bases and you should only spend what you need. Windows Vista Home Edition Basic should cover things for most users. If you want media center then get premium edition. We�ll be running Windows Vista Business at work and many of us will be running Ultimate at home but you should only get ultimate if you need the specific features that it brings. The ultimate tag brings an ultimate price tag of close to $400 dollars. I was amused to see Amazon�s Vista Ultimate page offering to save money by bundling Vista Ultimate and Office 2007 Enterprise for around 800 dollars. Sure, I�ll take one of those. For many people, those two titles cost more than the PC they just bought from Dell. Good luck to Microsoft on this release; no seriously, I mean it.

i think a lot of ppl learned with ME and with XP.

I was one of the first to get XP and i dumped it after 2 months and went back to 2000 till they fixed the bugs.

the differance between OS X users and windows users is that OS X users really like apple whereas windows users could care less about MS. we're stuck on here

Agreed. Vista is a great OS! I've been using it for a few weeks and its certainly better than xp. many consultants are taking the stance that you should not upgrade until Service pack 1 or unless it comes preloaded on your new PC.

buying it now is dumb but I disagree. if you can admin your own box then you'll be find to upgrade. fare warning that not all old apps will work with the new version. and there are a lot of driver incompatabilities.