Windows Vista is here, but does Microsoft’s ground-breaking OS live up to its promise? We put Vista through an extensive road test.
It’s the most important OS launch since Windows 95, it’s been five years in the making and it’s here - Windows Vista has finally arrived, but is it fit to unleash upon your PC?
In this feature, we’re going to fully explore the OS that’s pivotal to the future of the world’s biggest company. We’ll examine whether it lives up to its promises, test the series of new applications that come with Vista and reveal exactly what version of the OS you should be running - and whether your current hardware is up to the job.
So what’s Microsoft trying to achieve with Vista? The company’s long-stated top priority is to improve on the security problems that have blighted XP. Crippling virus attacks, hundreds of flaws and the monotonous regularity of Patch Tuesday have further damaged Microsoft’s (already tarnished) security record. The company simply has to get it right this time - and there’s no doubt it’s making a huge effort to get its house in order, with new features such as User Account Protection and advanced cryptography.
Aside from security, Vista is introducing dozens more new features, so in an attempt to simplify its marketing message, the company has grouped these functions into three themes: Clear, Confident and Connected.
Clear covers the significant work that's been undertaken on the Windows user interface, including the introduction of Virtual Folders, the Desktop gadgets available from the newly implemented Sidebar, and the sophisticated Aero interface.
Confident encompasses the enhanced security features discussed earlier, plus stability and the long-overdue backup facility.
Lastly, Connected is the umbrella term for features such as the rejuvenated networking facilities, laptop- and tablet-specific features (including the option for auxiliary screens on notebooks for an instant glance at email messages, for example) and innovations such as Meeting Place that promise to end the tedium of photocopying handouts before meetings.
In the pages that follow, we’ll be putting each of these three categories through a forensic analysis to determine whether Vista users really will be Clear, Confident and Connected or Muddled, Mistrustful and Marooned.
One thing that isn’t in doubt is Vista’s significance. After spending more than a decade in Microsoft’s shadow, Apple is finally beginning to gather momentum with Mac OS X. Apple shipped more than 1.3 million Macs in the last quarter, which, while still small beer compared to Windows shipments, was an impressive 12 percent up on the same quarter in 2005. More worryingly for Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, more than half of the Mac buyers from Apple’s retail stores were new to the platform - suggesting that people are being seduced by Apple’s aggressive campaign that encourages switching.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs also takes great delight in regularly pointing out that Apple has produced four OSes (or upgrades of OS X, to be more accurate) in the time it’s taken Microsoft to build one (he conveniently forgets about the Tablet and Media Center versions, not to mention SP2). However, Jobs really will have bragging rights if Apple manages to get Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) out of the door before Vista, which would become increasingly likely if Vista was subject to any further delays. Wags in Apple’s marketing department are already referring to Leopard as “Windows Vista 2”, because they claim it improves upon many of the features Vista is poised to introduce.
So the stakes are high for Vista. Get it wrong, and Apple will continue to capitalise on Microsoft’s misfortune and potentially erode its position as the dominant OS. If it’s a success, however, the very future of Mac OS could be under threat, given that Intel-based Macs are now capable of running Windows. Either way, it’s going to be one hell of a fight.
FEATURE CONTENTS:
Under the skin
Security and encryption
Networking, IPv6 and beyond
Out of the box
Versions and requirements
What Vista might have been