Skip Windows Vista

Windows Vista is a disaster.  I have been in the computer business since 1991, and I have never seen such resistance to an operating system - and for a good reason.  To put it plainly, Vista is garbage.

I can make this definitive statement not because I have ever installed Vista on one of our machines, but due to the fact that I've been forced to work on it for some residential customers.  These unfortunate souls were force-fed Vista when they went to Best Buy, Circuit City, or other retail outlet to get a new computer and XP was not an option.  Little did they know about the hell they would be going through with Vista.

Here are a few reasons I dislike Vista so much:

• Outrageous hardware requirements.  Based on thousands of reports from users, XP runs faster on much older hardware than Vista runs on new hardware.
• Driver incompatibility issues.  Printers, cameras, and other devices that worked fine with XP often have problems in Vista.
• UAC (User Account Control).  UAC bothers you with an Allow/Deny window WAY too often...for example, simply adding a printer will present you with a window asking for your permission to complete the task.  Note that you can turn off this intrusive security "feature", but if you are going to defeat Vista's numerous security enhancements, why not just stick with XP?
• Instability.  With two minutes of working on a client's Vista machine, I got the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).
• Confusing user interface (UI).  Again, I have been in this business for a long time, and simply finding where I should go to connect to a wireless network was a major hassle.  The UI is too busy and translucent Windows and other graphic elements are distracting.  Microsoft seemed way too focused on the "cool factor" here, and copying OS X, but they did not do a good job at either task.

What to Do?

WAIT.  Simply wait until the next version of Windows arrives ("Windows 7" is due to be released sometime in 2009-2011).  Don't laugh to hard at this estimate.  Microsoft is used to releasing major OS revisions every 6 years.

What If You Already Have Vista?

If you are not frustrated with Vista - stick with it.  Some people have told me that they are "happy enough" with Vista, and they only browse the web and check their email.  Perhaps some people just don't know what the appropriate level of performance should be for their computer, so they have no reason to be dissatisfied.  However, if you are confused by Vista, hate its performance, or have compatibility issues, then consider upgrading to XP (if you can still find it as of this writing).