Windows Vista: One Year Later

It’s that time of year again! Vista’s first birthday has recently past, and I think this would be a good time to look at some of the changes that have occurred since its release back last January.When Vista first debuted, it was getting criticized left and right. The general consensus of any new operating system is usually terrible at first, but that’s just the initial reaction. People always think new = bad, even when it’s not the case (and it clearly isn’t with Vista). Nowadays, Vista’s criticism has reduced. More and more people are adopting Vista now (although that may only be because people are forced to get it with new computers), and I see less complaints. Most of the Vista hysteria has died down and people are actually starting to take a serious look at the operating system.

Microsoft is doing a good job of fixing Vista’s problems. More and more drivers are being released, in addition to the steady flow of patches. SP1 is due soon, which should make some people happy (the beta is out now).

Initially, people complained that Vista’s system requirements were too high. These days, however, PCs are shipping with more-than-adequate hardware to run Vista. Almost every new PC on the market can and does run Vista very well.

I’m sure that Vista will meet with high regard; it’s just a matter of months now. It has great technologies and is extremely slick. Also, Microsoft is going to pull XP from the sales channels soon, and it will reach its end of life eventually. That should be incentive enough for most people.

Vista isn’t without its flaws, though. There is still some hardware that doesn’t work with Vista, even though it should. Some people purchasing new PCs are still having issues with Vista and their hardware, even though Vista came on their PC (although the number of these occurrences is small). Some software still doesn’t work too but all that should be fixed soon.

All things considered, Vista is a wonderful operating system. It works well, has neat features, and is pretty. It does what people want it to do, and it should satisfy the needs of most people. It has no problems running major applications (Word, Firefox, iTunes, etc…) and it works with most hardware. All in all, Vista should be just fine for you, and I encourage you to give it a try. I’m sure you’ll like it.

PC Buying Tip #1: Vista

Any new PC you buy these days will almost certainly come with Windows Vista. And that’s a good thing, because despite the constant bashing that Vista receives, its actually pretty good. It runs everyday applications, like Word and Firefox, just fine and does everything that normal people want it to do. It’s fine for most people. The only reason you should opt not to get Vista is if you need a certain application and it doesn’t work with Vista (if it is a modern application, a Vista version will probably come out soon).

Also, you can’t wait forever. Sooner or later you’ll have to switch to Vista. So why not make things easier and just take the plunge now?

However, Vista does have some hefty system requirements, so make sure your PC is adequately prepared. Don’t follow Microsoft’s recommended system requirements – they are too low. In order to run Vista with smooth and effective performance, you will need:

• A modern dual-core processor (almost all PCs sold today have one).
• At least two gigabytes of RAM (this is the area in which many PCs are lacking, make SURE that you have two gigabytes or more, otherwise Vista will run slowly).
• Any modern graphics card with 128 MB of RAM or more (almost all PCs sold today have one).

If your system meets or exceeds the above specifications, then you should be happy running Vista. It’s prettier than XP and it does offer some handy new features. Try it. I’m sure you’ll like it.