Why I am concerned about Windows Vista early adoption

Submitted by Patrick Grote on Sat, 01/20/2007 - 9:23pm.

Windows Vista was years in the making, and it's about to be released to consumers. I haven't really gotten excited about it. When Windows 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT and Windows XP was released I was pumped. Playing around with early betas showed me the differences and why it was important to upgrade. With Windows Vista I could care less.

An early review from Walt Mosberg of the Wall Street Journal really sums up my feelings about Windows Vista:

A new version of Microsoft Windows, the world's most popular and important computer operating system, will finally arrive for consumers on Jan. 30. It has taken the giant software maker more than five years to replace Windows XP with this new version, called Windows Vista -- an eternity by computer-industry reckoning. Many of the boldest plans for Vista were discarded in that lengthy process, and what's left is a worthy, but largely unexciting, product.

Ding.

With good effort I've researched what is new in Windows Vista, but there is noting that really stands out. When thinking about what I wanted from a new Windows operating system I cam up with three things:

Make it easier: Windows XP didn't make things much easier for me. I'm an advanced user of Windows, so I demand more in terms of automation and less clicks to do things. Neither of these things have been addresses in Windows Vista. In fact, some things in Windows Vista require more mouse clicks than in Windows XP. Heck, even choosing the right version of Windows Vista is a crap shoot. Why does Microsoft want to sell so many versions?

Make it fun: Getting a new operating system should be fun. You should be amazed at the new features and dig into them. With the list of features there's nothing that screams, "Oh, I can't wait." At least with Windows XP things like Movie Maker were included.

Make it more reliable: The reliability between Windows 98 and Windows XP was great. From Windows 2000 to Windows XP it was just ok. Nothing I've read makes me think Windows Vista will be more reliable than Windows XP. To the contrary, I've read reports where Windows VIsta is less reliable.

Will I upgrade when it is released? More than likely. I need to become very familiar with it, as I know we'll end up supporting it. I'm looking forward to getting into it and reporting on what I find.