Furious Opinion

For the last 15 months or so computer geeks like me have been in two minds when it comes to recommending operating systems for new or upgraded PCs. The operating system as we call it, is the main “program” (it’s actually an assortment of programs) that runs your computer. For most PCs up until February last year that operating system was Windows XP, some older machines might have had Windows Millennium Edition or Windows 98 or Windows XP’s predecessor Windows 2000.
If you’re already confused by all the different Windows versions then you really need to read on, maybe I can clarify things for you....or confuse you even more.
Up until early last year if someone came to me and wanted a new PC or laptop the choice was simple, you got Windows XP. There were two incarnations, Windows XP Home and Windows XP Professional, one for home use and the other for business and corporate use. Easy!
In February 2007 Microsoft released its latest operating system known as Windows Vista. Hailed as the successor to Windows XP, it arrived in no less than five different editions, Vista Basic, Vista Home Premium, Vista Business, Vista Enterprise and Vista Ultimate. Vista looks very pretty with space-age like transparent screens, much better security to combat the legions of viruses and spyware that afflicted Windows XP and some nifty new but probably useless features like the widgets sidebar.
Early adopters very quickly found Vista to have some “issues”. Many people found that having just forked some serious dollars for a new system that they were having to turn around and replace perfectly good and often times very recent models of printers, scanners, cameras and other peripheral devices because they were incompatible with Vista.
On top of that Vista is different! There is a learning curve. Familiar things like “My Computer” and “My Documents” have been renamed and re-jigged, the control panel and networking panels are confusing if you’re used to the Windows XP representations. So it takes a bit of getting used to. In fact it takes a fair bit of getting used to. I mean I’m a computer geek and I’m still trying to get used to it!
In some respects the security measures are seen by some as being a bit over the top. There’s feature called “User Access Control” which will seek the user’s permission before performing any task that involves installation of anything that affects the operating system whether from local or remote sources. Thus it goes some way to eliminating the possibility of rogue programs installing themselves. Regrettably, it doesn’t totally eliminate that possibility so you still need a good Anti-virus/Anti-spyware program. So most users will find UAC an irritating nuisance and turn it off….assuming they can find where to turn it off!
You may have gleaned so far that I am somewhat critical of Windows Vista, and I am, but it’s not all bad. So let me concentrate on some of the positives. The most positive thing I can tell you about Windows Vista is that in the 15 months since its release I have not seen one Windows Vista Computer with a blue screen of death or boot problems, not one Windows Vista Computer with cross-linked files. In fact I’ve probably seen about 3 Windows Vista machines with problems all of which were more "user error" and simple to fix. That's lousey from my point of view as a computer tech who relies on computers needing to be fixed to make a crust, but hey, I'll find another niche if need be, but it might also be a function of the fact that Windows Vista machines will be relatively new at this stage, or as I suspect, haven't penetrated the market that much in my region. However, from what I can glean so far Windows Vista is very stable as an operating system, less suseptable to virus and malware attacks and provides some capabilities that dovetail it into some emerging technologies that people of my generation are never likely to fully embrace (or spend their hard earned $$$ on!)
Also as people get used to Windows Vista, and I find this particularly from people who struggled to get their heads around their XP machines or who are totally new to computers – generally they find Windows Vista easier to use. By the same token those who were comfortable with Windows XP, find the transition to Windows Vista painful, frustrating and bewildering at times. I include myself in the latter category, although I now feel I have battled through to a point where I now feel comfortable with Vista and happier about using Vista, but it has been a battle!
So, is Vista better or worse? Well….yes and no. And that is the problem! I simply can’t say. Most of the professional and corporate community is still on the horns of this dilemma! No-one’s certain, no one’s totally convinced one way or the other.
For Microsoft though, there is no question what so ever. They have just recently released Service Pack 1 for Vista which I believe fixes some of the compatibility issues and streamlines things a bit and in July 2008 Windows XP is scheduled to go the way of the dinosaur as it will become no-longer available from Microsoft distributors. So like it or not Microsoft is fully intent on dragging us all kicking and screaming into the new age of Windows Vista. For some it may provide the excuse to explore alternatives.