Windows Vista

I have been running the Windows Vista Beta2 operating system for about a week now. I got laughed at last week when I referred to it as "sexy", but it truly is. For the geeks out there, it is the best looking OS I have used yet. Of course there are a number of features unashamedly stolen straight from the Mac OS. Ever heard of "widgets"? Welcome "gadgets". Been a big fan of the window management features of Mac? Tiling, stacking, side by side, instant desktop commands? They are all there.

They have made significant changes to the UI for networking and My Computer areas as well. Much like the transition from 2000 to XP, the jump from XP to Vista will take some exploring and learning. But a little time working through the routine tasks and you will soon fall in love with Vista's new features.

The over all graphic appeal of Vista is huge. They have added a transparency feature to the border of each window. Gives it a very slick look. And yes, this is all customizable to suit your particular hardware configuration.

One suspicious thing that I am discovering is the vast difference in efficiency between MS products and third party products. One has to wonder if there has not been some effort put into making the use of MS products beneficial to the user.

Here are three examples:
1. When you load iTunes (Which by now is a program most users rely on whether they use an iPod or not. There is no argument that it is the best media management software out there. They try hard with Windows Media Player 11 but fall far short.) a message appears that states the program is not compatible with vista, therefore the graphic enhancements with be turned off until you stop using iTunes. I say fine shut them off, I gosta have my iTunes.

2. I use the FireFox browser primarily, although the new IE 7 is a great browser. Why, you ask? Well they stole all of the cool feature from FireFox of course. Many sites load much faster in IE than other browsers. Before I get comments and emails from those of you with web development background, I know there are a number of reason for this particular issue. But, again, just one of the issues I have recognized.

3. Most if not all third party software loads significantly slower than MS products. I am not talking about the difference between excel and something like Adobe Premier Pro, but comparable applications.



Overall, I am huge Vista fan. Although my wife disagrees, I believe the Beta issues are worth the hassle. I love it and will keep using it, even though my headphone jack is jacked.