Vista Review

There’s all kinds of Windows news about this week, including the new version of Mac OS – Snow Leopard. It seems there was no mention of it at MacWorld, and it was Apple’s chance to beat the Windows 7 launch in mid-2009.
It seems as though in an attempt to foster good thoughts after the bungled “Vista Ready” campaigns, Microsoft will offer free Windows 2007 upgrades for anyone that buys a PC after June 2009. Is that really a deal? I mean come on – windows 7 is supposed to be out by that date. They should offer Windows 7 for free to anyone who buys a PC in 2009 period. Looks like there are 2 restrictions to the upgrades, you have to upgrade to the same language version, and you have to upgrade to the straight path (ultimate to ultimate, etc).

You know, this recent article reminds me of one Vista quirk I never wrote about, the fact the IE stores all it’s downloads in My documents -> Downloads folder. It’s funny I think that Windows seems to remind you about every GD thing in the universe you don’t want to know about (storing passwords, visiting secure sites) – but it never bothers to tell you where the downloads go. New users are just confused until they figure it out.

I read a post about Michael Dunner comparing Vista and Windows 7 security, bringing to the surface once again the problems with the evil UAC (User Account Control) in Vista. This is by far the most annonying feature that Microsoft has ever invented. I’ve blogged about this before – but how come each and every time that the IT rags write about UAC they don’t just come out and say that Microsoft was blatantly copying Linux (Ubuntu) when they created UAC? I mean, come on – in Ubuntu Linux even if you were the one that setup the PC you have your own account separate from root. If you try to do something on Ubuntu that your privelege does not allow, it prompts you for the “root” password So many things in Vista are blatant rip-offs of both Mac OS X (based on UNIX anyway) and Linux it’s not funny – from UAC, to the sidebar, Aero, screen and window effects, and more…the “new” versions of Windows are oh so….COPIED!

I came across another feature I didn’t know about in Vista this week, it’s the hidden checkboxes feature. Wish I’d known about this one awhile back.

You might also like to know about the new “Pre-Boot shells” that are coming available with some newer laptops. You can surf the web without ever entering windows and save up to 25% of your battery life at the same time. Pretty cool. My laptop has a Linux/Vista dual boot – and 95% of my time is spent in Linux anyway.

PC World has an article “Will Businesses Skip Windows Vista Altogether?” It’s been a year since Windows Vista has been released, and Service Pack 1 or SP1 isn’t even released yet – currently scheduled for delivery first quarter of 2008. They say the new version of Windows scheduled for release in late 2009 or 2010 is code named “Windows 7″. When SP1 for Vista comes out, Windows Server 2008 will be released at the same time. Microsoft is claiming that an all-time record number of companies have purchased or renewed their Windows desktop licenses in 2007. Of course their claim is “why would business do this unless they intended to deploy Windows Vista?” I’ll tell you why Mr. Marketing Genius – because businesses HAVE to have (at this point) licenses for Windows desktops period – just to function. To “renew” or purchase their licenses and support agreements is in NO way an indicator of Windows Vista desktop adoption in the Enterprise.

This eWeek article says that a record number of companies are beginning to test Vista. Get that? Test Vista. The same article talks about tools Microsoft has released to “accelerate the adoption” of Vista. Wow. They’re being really “pro-active” for a “record number of companies” having licensed or purchased Windows desktop licenses in 2007. It sounds more like they’re scrambling.

The Baltimore Sun reports that Leopard is huge in Japan, in fact it was only on sale 6 days in October and yet took more than 50% of sales for the entire month of packaged OS sales there. So far, it’s doing 40%+ in November. It’s nearest competitor, Windows XP Home, is only 10%, and Vista is (of course) less than that.

Yet another eWeek article states that less than 2% of businesses have adopted Windows Vista to date. Supposedly “more than half” of companies have concrete plans to deploy Vista, but slowly. They also state that inquiries of Linux desktops have sharply increased.

Engadget recently put out a huge Vista vs. Leopard Showdown review in score card format. You should check it out – it’s a good real. But, if you’re interested in Windows Vista, but also in Mac’s Leopard OS, let me synopsize what I think you should know in a nutshell.

• Leopard has a better User Interface, BUT only Vista can do tablet and touch screens
• Leopard has a better Calendar, Contacts, and Email, but Vista has a way better Explorer
• IM, RSS, Text Editing, and File Transfer all better in Mac Leopard
• Leopard is hands down better at authoring DVD’s, editing video, and managing pictures
• Vista is hands down better at media hardware and extenders, and recording live tv
• Leopard has better system tools, remote desktop and no activation. Vista requires activation, no automation tools, and no remote desktop unless you have Vista Business or Ultimate
• Vista is better at filtering spam from email, but both are neck in neck in regards to security
• Gaming is better on Vista – period
• Leopard better at 64 but support and drive partitioning
• Vista is better at network storage and optimization

There are other features I’m sure you’ll want to read about in the checklist in that article. But I think my little laundry list clearly shows that if you are really going to make some kind of a decision between Mac Leopard and Windows Vista it really depends on your profile and what your main use of the machine really is. You can see for obvious reasons, that for the most part Vista is better for business users. Leopard can be great for people that wish to create dvd’s and edit video, and manage pictures. But if your more into gaming and want to do lots of tv recording or network storage Vista is definitely the one for you. I think that the main thing you get from this list is that Mac is finally some decent competition for Microsoft! You don’t have to be a photographer, graphic designer, or artist to want to use the Mac. But Mac users are still kind of “premium customers” in my book. Hardware costs more, support costs more, and you can’t always just jot off to Wal-Mart and pick up a new keyboard or mouse. Many things are interchangeable with PC’s, many are not. You’re not going to just run off to Staples and get a memory stick and slap it in your Mac. Caveat Emptor my friend, do a little research and reading before you buy!