Windows Vista

from:http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2088444,00.asp

by John Clyman

Windows Vista is here at last. One of the largest software projects ever undertaken, Vista is indisputably a milestone—despite Microsoft's having abandoned many of its most ambitious goals for the OS—and not just for Microsoft but for the entire PC industry.

Of course, Vista is not without its skeptics. PC makers say it will require more processing power, graphics capabilities, and memory than is typical of today's mainstream machines. Software vendors complain that Vista's vaunted security features are, in fact, locking them out. Users may wonder if it offers enough that's truly new to be worth the bother—particularly given that a number of Vista features and bundled applications are also available for Windows XP.

We've performed extensive, hands-on analysis of Vista and sorted out the claims to help you decide whether, or more realistically when, to make the move—and to show you what you can expect when you do

Windows Vista 

The Vista Promise

Microsoft calls Vista "a breakthrough computing experience." That's marketing hyperbole, for sure, but it's not entirely unfounded. The new OS is far more than Windows XP with a pretty new face. Many aspects of Vista are substantive improvements: stronger security, better built-in apps, networking enhancements, parental controls, and DirectX 10 



graphics support, to name just a few.




As a whole, Vista feels more evolutionary than revolutionary. That's not all bad; one of Microsoft's strengths has been its commitment to backward compatibility, which continues with Vista.

Vista's real competitor, though, is Windows XP. For many users, XP is good enough. And for all the advances in Vista, it's hard to avoid seeing the things that aren't as good as they could have been.

Nor is Vista bug-free. As I assessed final code, I ran into a variety of small but annoying glitches and found plenty of features that didn't work as seamlessly as I would have liked. I can't shake the feeling that Vista's release was rushed.

So what's our verdict? Vista is good—in some respects very good—but not spectacular. Call it a nice-to-have product rather than a must-have.

If you're buying a new consumer PC this spring, it probably makes sense to get Vista. (For a few contrarian points of view, see "Why Not to Buy Vista".) Soon, there won't be much of a choice; according to Microsoft's support life cycle, retail PC buyers will have only a year after Vista's release to buy Windows XP.

If you've already got a PC running Windows XP smoothly, it's harder to see a reason to upgrade right away. You can wait until you replace your machine, or at least a few months, until Vista's kinks are worked out. (If you're curious to see how well your existing machine will support Vista, try Microsoft's Vista Upgrade Advisor, available at www.windowsvista.com/upgradeadvisor). In the meantime, you can download some of the new software included in Vista, such as Internet Explorer 7, Windows Media Player 11, and a desktop search utility, to enjoy some of the same capabilities you'd get in Vista itself.

For business customers, it makes sense to start evaluating Vista now, particularly since improved deployment, management, and security could lead to significant cost reductions in the long term. But you'll want to be confident about compatibility and support before you make the transition en masse. (See "Vista at Work," for more on features for businesses in Windows Vista Business and Vista Enterprise.)

Let's dive in and take a more detailed look at what Vista has to offer