The "vista" might look better under the tree

My dad was a very smart man and often gave me some very good advice about many things in life. One bit of advice related to automobiles. Back then in the 60’s GM and Ford introduced new models about as often as some of us get a haircut. When a new model came out my dad was quick to opine, “Wait till they get the bugs out. The old car gets you there, doesn’t it?” Well I think my dad’s advice is very appropriate relating to the introduction of the new Microsoft operating system, Windows® Vista ™

The operating system in any computer tells all those microprocessors, disk drives, printers and scanners what to do. It also serves as a sort of translator, taking your mouse clicks and keystrokes and turning them into actual instructions that the simple-minded machine can understand.

If you are a PC user there is no doubt that Vista™ will be the operating system that you will eventually have. The big question is when. Here are a few observations about when to change.

- Unless you are a real geek (and if you are you won’t be reading this) don’t upgrade you current computer to Vista™. While some claim that upgrading is as simple as putting in a CD and pressing “Enter”, experience suggest otherwise. The hardware requirements, memory size and program compatibility issues are not worth the hassle.

- Ask yourself if you really need Vista™ right now. If you use your computer for Internet surfing and email as well as word processing and perhaps bill paying, the computer you currently have most likely can serve you well for a few more years. Microsoft still supports Windows® XP™ so you don’t have to make a decision now. After all they just recently quit supporting Window ® 98™.

- If you do buy a new PC you will no doubt not have a choice as they are now being shipped with Vista™ already loaded. You will however need to decide what version you want and need. Vista™ comes in six basic “flavors.” Three of these are aimed at the home user. They are Vista Ultimate™, Vista Home Premium™ and Vista Home Basic™. Don’t bother with the Basic “plain vanilla flavor”. It doesn’t offer enough benefits to justify the change. Unfortunately many of the lower priced new machines will come with this Basic version because the hardware is just at the minimum level needed to run Vista™.

- Don’t presume that all the programs that you now have on your current machine will run on the new one. While Microsoft has tried to make sure this backward compatibility issue is addressed, some programs, especially those that handle security issues and spam filters don’t play well with Vista™

From what I have gathered, Vista™ should be an improvement over the current versions of Windows®. Unfortunately, history tells us that it may take a few tweaks to get it right even after the first copies shipped. So perhaps that new computer with Vista™ installed will look better under the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree next December.