Windows Vista Installed…

So this week I decided to install Windows Vista to see what it’s all about, being the public release is in 6 days (1/30).  So what do I think about Vista?  I don’t think it’s compelling enough to upgrade from Windows XP.  I mean it’s all pretty and stuff…  It’s got a lot of Mac like features, as well as some features I’ve seen in some Linux distributions, but does it really make me jump ship from XP?  I think not!  Especially if I had to pay retail price for it.

One of the biggest features is the Aero display,  it makes these really nice looking translucent windows and does this 3D view, which is all pretty and I do like it, but it’s not a must-have for me.  It is nice to be able to choose between the windows I have open.

The security seem pretty locked down, I had some issues with my IT group that we had to create a special account for me to manage some of the power features I need, luckily the IT guys are really cool and worked with me, since I think I’m the only one using Vista at the company.  I’m sure hackers will still figure a way to compromise this OS, but at least Microsoft keeps trying to improve security.

So my final thoughts?  It’s a nice upgrade, but I doubt I’d pay more that $75 to upgrade and that would be pushing it.  Knowing most of my friends, it’ll probably take them 2 years to even make the jump.  But if you want to check the UI is a nice clean upgrade.  Keep in mind though, you’ll need a pretty powerful system to use this OS, I’m running the latest Intel Duo 2 processor and 1 GB of RAM and it’s not as fast as XP, but I can live with it!  Check out the pictures below of my Vista desktop’s.

The Aero View

My Desktop View