Windows Vista: Microsoft What Happened?

Real Late and Real Bloated

1st I'll note I am not a Microsoft basher.
I have a strong belief that MS has progressed PC use through ease of use and accessibility. Something which when you consider the amount of PC's in the world is no small feat. Taking into consideration the thousands of different hardware and software combinations that exist, most iterations of Windows have had something to offer and worked effectively.

Now we have Vista which is several years late and has had key features removed. This Windows release without a doubt is very hard sell. Sure it is prettier but its requirements are absurd. If arguments in the past that MS was in league with PC manufacturers to exult users into upgrading their working systems for eye candy - this is it. There is little in the way of functionality that should compel individuals let alone businesses to upgrade.

XP Was Pretty Too

Yes XP was released with what many considered a visual makeover for Windows 2000.
Thats a good argument but XP also made networking and other user needed services easier to use than Win 2000. More importantly was stability. There were still many individuals and businesses using Windows 98SE. Windows XP served as a solid upgrade for many.

Driver Headaches

There was also the issues with driver support for XP when it was released. Something that is proving to be a problem with Vista. The difference here is that drivers are dealt with on a more critical level than any version of Windows before. This is in part of it is due to security, stability, and Digital Right Management concerns or DRM. Search Digital Rights Management for more details).

If you are a graphics or 3D professional, you should probably hold off as nVidia and ATI are still working out beta drivers for Vista. Vista no longer supports OpenGL natively, so its up to the hardware manufacturers to build capable OpenGL support. Any graphics or 3D program that benefits from acceleration or OpenGL will under perform with Vista..

Just Wait

If you really feel that Vista is in your future, the best thing to do right now is wait for Service Pack 1 or 2 to be released. It's by that time that Vista will most likely have matured.