Let's checkpoint where we are with the new Microsoft Vista OS. Before we start, I hear from my trusty readers that I am considered anti-Vista - that is probably true to some degree. But let me make it clear that Vista is here, and you will certainly be using it at some time in the future. There is, unfortunately, no other option unless you go Mac (which a lot of people seem to be doing lately) or Linux. My quick answers to the Vista questions are: Upgrade? - no; Buy a new PC for personal use? - yes; Buy for business use?- proceed with caution.
Secondly, my experience with Vista is limited to my own use of the one Vista PC in the Bob Computing Center and what I see on my consulting rounds. I have not done any exhaustive testing or analysis - but there is plenty of that on the 'net if you want it.
Microsoft says Vista is a runaway success, and cites high sales volume. Perhaps so, but what are these sales? I personally don't know of anybody who has upgraded to Vista - I think this is an intelligence test, and we all passed! There is just no compelling need to upgrade current hardware to Vista, and especially not considering the time, cost, and aggravation involved.
Next, of the four versions of Vista which ones are being purchased? From what I can see, the vast majority of sales is on new PCs, and is of the Home Premium version. There is no reason to get Home Basic, and very little price difference. I have not yet seen even one purchase of either of the two business versions, nor the Ultimate version. Most home and small office users buy the home version, and although capable of upgrading to Ultimate nobody that I know of has paid and done it.
By the way, the second Business version seems to have silently disappeared. Just like in "1984" they seem to have re-written history and there is now only one business version. But I sure do recall a second one at one point in time.
So: is Vista more reliable? Not that I can tell. There seem to be just as many bug fixes issued for Vista as for XP. The best reliability and security feature in Vista is the User Account Control feature, but at the same time this is by far the worse feature in Vista and a source of continued aggravation to all. It seems that every time you try to do anything, the screen grays out and you have to answer the "are you sure?" question. Drives me crazy!
The new Aero Glass screen? I don't like it. The transparency still leaves me cold, and I think the visibility of the new color schemes is much worse than those in XP. I always seem to be searching for elevator bars - they don't stand our. And those new screen widgets - besides the clock, does anybody use them?
Vista also moved some things around in a gratuitous way. For example: in XP, you could do both create a restore point and do a System Restore from the same place - this made sense to me. In Vista, you still go to the System Restore utility to do a restore, but you can't create a restore point there. What is interesting is that within System Restore they do point you to where you can create a restore point, but you can't actually do it there. Annoying...
No one that I know is using the new File System features, especially the new Search Folders. In this case I do believe that Microsoft is onto a good thing - the overall intention is to remove the restrictions of a strictly hierarchical file system, and make it more open to new ways to connect your data. Stay tuned on this one - this sleeper may actually be one of Vista's major benefits.
You probably haven't even heard of SuperFetch with ReadyBoost. This is a way to improve performance by using an external USB drive to hold the Windows data cache, rather than have it on hard drive. Although Microsoft touts this as an important new tool, performance results I have seen are mediocre at best. Expect to see this one fall by the wayside.
Next week (or whenever I can) some more Vista stuff. In the mean time, enjoy it if you have it, don't worry if you don't.
(Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport - Oak Island area. You can visit his Website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail questions or column ideas to him at bsc@bobseidel.com. For specific inquiries, please call Bob Seidel Consulting, LLC at 278-1007.)