Vista — Love It Or Hate It

The second thing I was surprised about was the glitziness of the interface;
it’s much more suited to the consumer PC user than the business consumer.
Don’t get me wrong, business users will like the crisp interface and new
usability tools, but generally business users just want their computers to help
them get their work done — it doesn’t matter if the interface looks
pretty. For businesses, the important addition (and biggest question) will be
whether the improved security promised to be provided by Vista will be worth
the expense of the beefier PC hardware required to run it properly. As a result
of the new hardware requirements, I’m betting most accountants will probably
migrate from Windows XP to Vista later rather than sooner. In contrast, consumers
might line up to purchase the new OS like they did with the launch of the Xbox
360 last year.
So with no fanfare, and in no particular order, here are a few of my top likes:

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Sidebar and Gadgets —
Though very similar to (okay, maybe ripped off) OS X’s Dashboard and widgets,
the sidebar and gadgets have some appeal. Gadgets are little applets that live
on the right side of your desktop. You can show or not show them, and the list
is pretty customizable. Some are a little (yawn) boring like the one that shows
the time and temperature, but others have the potential to spice up those long
conference calls (like Video Poker and Sudoku). Remember the boss screen (for
those who don’t, it was a game of Free Cell that minimized to an Excel
spreadsheet titled budget.xls)? It may be time for another boss key for these
intriguing gadgets available for the sidebar.

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Aero Glass GUI —
I really like the new graphical user interface; however, Aero Glass is available
only if your PC is outfitted with a video graphics card carrying at least 128MB
of video memory (see what I mean about hardware?). You also need to get a special
Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) driver for your video card. Early WDDM drivers
are included with Vista, and graphics card makers are getting their drivers
ready.

Vista’s success will not just be tied to a new UI and usability —
Success will also be determined by the surrounding applications and services
needed to compete with the likes of the well-known iTunes juggernaut. Hence
the introduction of Windows Media Player (WMP) 11. WMP 10 did a good job of
ridding itself of earlier version limitations and was quite useable. WMP 11
adds a slick new look and an integrated music store called URGE (URGE is a new
online music store Microsoft has launched in partnership with MTV). So now we
have the first Windows-based alternative to iTunes that has a real chance of
success. The URGE model, however, is different — it is a subscription
service where you pay about $15 per month for all you can listen to (but not
own). This particular model has some potential upside, compared to Apple’s
99-cents-per-song fixed pricing. If you just want to see WMP 11,
a version for Windows XP is currently available and can be downloaded and installed.

So if you are ready to experience Vista yourself, you probably won’t
have to wait too long. If you like to live life on the edge, go ahead and download
(or order the CD) of Beta 2 (or most likely RTM by the time you read this),
but be sure and backup your data before you load it. Be prepared to rebuild
your test machine, and be prepared to lay some capital out for new hardware.


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Mr. Goodfellow is a partner of BKR Fordham Goodfellow, LLP, and manages
its wholly owned subsidiary One Tech, LLC. He can be reached at 503-648-8523
ext. 115.