Feature Articles

Are you Ready for Windows Vista?

By Vincent Chang - 15 Apr 2007

Conclusion

Conclusion

So far, the sales figures have indicated that the upgraders (the enthusiasts and early adopters who are likely to purchase retail editions of Windows Vista) have been shying away from the new operating system. While there has been a jump in buyers of new PCs equipped with Windows Vista (for obvious reasons), overall the sales prognosis has not been as optimistic as Microsoft would hope.

Perhaps our familiarity with Windows has made us indifferent to the newest iteration or it's simply the nature of the product - a box containing a DVD may not be desirable as that shiny new tech toy. It could be that the general public is finally growing weary of the unending siege of software exploits and other security related issues that have plagued Windows XP. The many more editions of Windows Vista this time around could confuse some upgraders, while the considerable retail price of US$399 for the enthusiast oriented Ultimate edition may be too much for enthusiasts who are usually the early adopters and would want to harness the full capabilities of the operating system.

Nice and shiny Vista may look but consumers aren't buying that yet.

Consumers could also be wary of potential bugs, especially for software that has suffered numerous delays like Vista. There is always the suspicion that Microsoft's urge to ship the product may override more meticulous code checking, even if the company insists that its development process has been tightened to reduce such occurrences. We all know that no software is infallible and more exploits could be lying in wait and it's anyone's guess. Perhaps holding out for the inevitable Service Packs could be the preferred choice for the astute consumer, but that decision really depends on how fond or weary the user is of his or her trial with Windows Vista's new features till-date (using the beta or demo versions floating about on the Internet).


Windows XP Still Gold

Lastly, the fact remains that for all its faults, Windows XP is still a very decent operating system (once you have gotten past all the patches and installed a firewall/antivirus program) and for enthusiasts who are likely to have sampled the new Windows Vista beta and demo versions, the difference may not be sufficient to overcome this inertia. Our own attempts to benchmark the usage patterns of a typical user have shown that in terms of the responsiveness and speed at which applications are opened and closed, the differences between the two operating systems may vary depending on configurations but in many cases, Windows XP still comes out looking like a vintage wine that has aged well.

While the minimum requirements listed should run Vista, you are likely to miss out on most of the 'nice stuff' that attracts users in the first place. You should definitely have at least 1GB of memory if you're running Windows Vista and 2GB if possible. Gaming also looks to be a weakness presently for Vista probably due to the early nature of the graphics drivers, though that is very likely to change in the future. Remember, we all went through a similar rough patch with Windows XP gaming in the early days and there is of course DirectX 10 games to look forward to late in the year that's so far the exclusive turf of Windows Vista users.

It probably doesn't help its cause that with the exception of the fancy Aero interface or the Search function, some of the new features are understated, understandably so since they may work quietly in the background. SuperFetch is one such example. Together with related memory features like ReadyBoost, they are not easily perceptible on a decent PC besides giving us a vague feeling that the computer has become 'faster'.


ReadyBoost Works (We think)

We tried to find out what influence ReadyBoost had on system performance and though we did find some signs of improvements, we also have no illusions that there are probably other less tangible effects on performance that have not been captured. Unfortunately for Microsoft, that also means that in many cases, it could be difficult for the typical user to even know that it's there and constantly improving system performance since they do not deliberately create scenarios to stress the system. In other words, you'll have to trust their word for it (there could even be a placebo effect). Meanwhile, other changes are incremental, like the Media Center and Windows Media Player 11 that look and feel very familiar to existing end-users of Windows XP. It's not as easy to sell Windows Vista as one would think.

The good news for Microsoft is that Windows Vista now comes preinstalled on practically all new PCs sold by major vendors, (unless the customer specifies otherwise) and this will guarantee that in time, Vista will come to dominate the operating system sphere like its predecessors. For the moment though, there are valid reasons for upgraders to hesitate. However, as our article has hopefully illustrated, these reasons have less to do with the hardware of the typical enthusiast (who is likely to have a PC equivalent to our mid-range system) and more to do with the other reasons listed above. So have you upgraded or bought Windows Vista yet?

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