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Is Vista good or bad?

Should we wait for Windows-7? Should we stick to XP? Is Vista really so bad? Surprisingly, the answer to all those question is very simple.

There are some question that will never be answered. Or, at least, the answer won't satisfy everybody. We can argue about the origin of the universe and be engaged in a discussion about reasons for high oil prices, but "Should I install Vista?" will almost certainly start a war. It is a similar question to "Windows or Mac?" and those dilemmas trigger some form or religious wars bringing emotions to the highest level and leaving everything else in the dust.

Mr. Bill Gates is on one of his frequent trips to Asia and questions about Vista and the future of Microsoft he couldn’t escape. "There is a very rapid sales rate", said Mr. Gates in Japan. In numbers, that means that 140 million copies are sold worldwide. It is a number that deserves analysis, but another statement is very interesting, too. Mr. Gates also said that operating system, currently called Windows 7, is in development.

So, is Vista good or not? My answer is simple so stick with me as I'm trying to explain why the truth is in the middle.

The number of copies alone doesn't give us the right picture. First, number of new computers come with Vista preinstalled. Wanted or not, it comes with a new PC. Second, I don't know how many copies are sold in retail (please let me know if you know). Having all that in mind, it seems that Mr. Gates can be satisfied.

The second big issue when talking is about Vista is its performance. I can't recall a single product, from IT or some other industry, that caused so many headlines and, to be precise, so much bad reviews without a reason. The main problem with Windows Vista is that there was limited number of drivers with it was presented to public. Today, the picture is completely different and when we take all patches and Service Pack 1 into consideration, Vista today is totally different operating system than Vista a year ago.

Then, there was a problem of system resources. In every other headline you may read that Vista is hungry, that it need large amount of memory and that you need the newest PC in the world. That simply is not true. I installed Windows Vista on a computer with AMD on 1,7 GHZ with 1 GB of RAM and it worked fine. And I mean fine. To put it in perspective, I use mainly Photoshop, Illustrator, Office and few simpler open source applications. So, if Photoshop works fine on that old computer that surely means that Vista works fine. (To put it in perspective even more, I must say that I use both Mac and PC for design, prepress and digital art, so my demands on computer equipment are, well... very demanding.)

Then, we have a question of security. More precisely, we don't have that question. After the transition from XP Pro to Vista I didn't have any single problems with security whatsoever. I enjoy surfing and I may testify that I visited some very suspicious web destination with no problems after that.

Then, we have new user interface. After using Apple Mac professionally from 1987, after one month with Vista I don't use Mac anymore (I installed Vista last year, in July). Here I must say that I don't play, don't watch movies and don't use my computer for fun; I use it to earn money, so it must work 24 hours a day and it must be reliable. My PC with Vista is.

Then, we have Mac fans that are proud of 300 new features in the new version of Mac OS X. But, 300 new features in Vista Service Pack is reason to spit on Microsoft. Why's that? The answer is a total absence of mind. If you like good industrial design you'll buy some from Apple, be it a Mac or an iPod. But, that doesn't give you right to spit on people that have different preferences. Generally speaking, public opinion is the worst thing that happened to Vista. Try to remember old Windows XP, the version that so many people want to keep on their computer. When XP became fully functional? The answer is - when first Service Pack arrived. And with second that was the real thing. So, don't compare things that can not be compared, it's not fair.

So, when General Motors says that it is "considering bypassing Vista and going straight to Windows 7", that means just one thing: Their Chief Systems & Technology Officer Fred Killeen should be fired. Because his words don't mean that Vista is bad. That means two things: Their computers are several years old, and their CIO didn't try to install Vista at all. Why I'm so sure? Because one of my computers is three years old and I use it every day.

No matter do you like Apple or Microsoft, you should be fair. In my previous article I took Apple side because that was that right thing to do. Now, I defend Microsoft because that is the right thing to do. Last time I was called "Apple Fanboy", I wonder what will I be now...

May 13, 2008

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