Are We Ready for Windows Vista?

Windows XP is now getting quite long in the tooth, having been released in October of 2001, and is soon to be replaced by Microsoft’s long-awaited Windows Vista. Before Windows XP, the Windows family of operating systems was notoriously unstable and all versions were known to crash with some regularity. Windows XP was the first relatively stable version, and was the first consumer version of Windows based upon the industrial strength WinNT kernel.

As someone who makes his living troubleshooting and working with Windows computers, I can say that Windows XP certainly was a big improvement over previous versions. Networking is markedly improved; fewer reboots are required when adjusting network protocols. Multimedia is much improved, particularly for digital photography and digital video editing.

On the down side, Windows XP was the first version of Windows requiring product activation, an anti-piracy measure; this pissed off a lot of privacy advocates, and also makes repairs considerably more difficult, particularly if replacing a hard-drive. XP has also been criticized for its vulnerability to spyware, malware and other security issues. Service pack 2, issued a couple of years ago, added a built-in firewall and a much-need pop-up inhibitor, but in spite of this Windows XP is still considered weak in security, especially when compared to the Mac OS or Linux, both of which are virtually impervious to these types of problems.

So now it would seem that Windows Vista, the replacement for XP, must deliver on the promise of greater security. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Meanwhile, Vista will come with many new features that promise to enhance the computing experience; features such as a blazing fast indexed search (some say copied from the new Mac Spotlight Search) which will not only search for files and folders, but also for file content, email content, calendar events etc. Other improvements include built-in speech recognition, a new mail program with Spam Filtering replacing Outlook Express, a revamped Media Player, a better Firewall, and a technology called SuperFetch which will speed program load time. We will also get a slick new interface called Aero, which will take advantage of your high performance video adapter and give your computer a 3D look and feel. However, this Aero interface will be disabled if your computer graphics card does not have at least 128Mb video RAM. I was a bit disappointed at learning this, as I have just purchased a brand-new laptop with only 64Mb video RAM. Microsoft has released a small application which will tell you if your system is Vista ready. You can find it by googling, “Vista Upgrade Advisor”

Vista will be offered in many more flavours than XP; we will be able to choose between Vista Starter, Vista Home Basic, Vista Home Premium, Vista Business, Vista Enterprise, and Vista Ultimate. Apparently it will be possible to upgrade from a lower flavour by purchasing a download; for example, you could start with Vista Home Basic, and at some future point purchase a download that would convert it to Vista Business.

Did you know… Before Windows XP was released, it was code-named Whistler. Before Microsoft named Vista, it was code-named Longhorn. In 2003 there was a planned release of a new Windows codenamed Blackcomb, which was later abandoned. Microsofties are definitely among us.