The view really hasn't improved for Windows 'Vista'

By Rick Castellini Four months after the release of Windows Vista, no one seems to be impressed except the teenagers who think it looks "cool". Last year, in this column, I wrote a preview article where I stated that I didn't believe Windows Vista would be a significant upgrade and could potentially be a marketing nightmare. Turns out I was correct on both accounts. Not the "Vista'' I'd hoped for I started using the beta (not quite finished) version of Windows Vista last summer and immediately disliked the interface. I look at software from the perspective of my customers who I teach and help solve their computer woes and the eyes of radio show callers. Again, as I wrote last year, the vast majority of computer users crave simplicity and continuity in their computers. This translates also to familiarity. Windows Vista does not exude a feeling of simplicity and definitely not familiarity when you sit in front of it. As the teens point out, however, it is pretty. It's a power hog Windows Vista also requires a great deal of computing power to run at any appreciable speed. In fact, my new computer with a dual processor and 2000 megabytes of RAM runs slower than my four-year-old computer that ran Windows XP. The interface is overdone and requires too much computing power to perform the basic functions. If you decide to opt for the Vista Basic (the least power hungry of the six versions of Vista), you will still need 1000 megabytes of RAM and then you are left without many of the 'features' that Microsoft touts for Windows Vista. It is pretty, though. It's not user-friendly My biggest beef with Vista centers on the unnecessary changes that were made in how computer users have worked for the last ten years: Absent pull-down menus on many screens Changed wording and/or locations for control panel items like Add/Remove Programs (now listed under Programs, then Uninstall a program) and Display settings for changing screensavers and the like (now called "Appearance & Personalization"). Newly designed Start menu without a "Start" button . now it is called the "Windows Orb" Annoying security pop-ups that require you to confirm a change or request that you already asked for (this is called the "User Account Control") Networking computers is actually harder than it has been in the past . especially sharing documents and folders. There is one good point . One feature I do like in Vista already available for Windows XP via third party or even Microsoft applications for free is desktop search is the ability to search for your documents from anywhere very quickly. Desktop search program like Google Desktop, Yahoo's Desktop Search and even Microsoft's Desktop Search allow Windows XP users have the power of instant searching right from the taskbar. Because they aren't integrated into the operating system like Vista, they feel a tad less responsive than Vista's desktop search, but they're just as effective. Certainly, this is not a reason to run to Vista. Don't uninstall that XP yet Vista has been so poorly received, in fact, that many large companies have "outlawed" Vista machines in their businesses and Dell had to resort to start selling XP machines again because of massive demand from their customers and the lower sales from their Vista machines. As I wrote a couple of months ago, Microsoft made a bone-headed decision, in my opinion, with Windows Vista and will pay the price via lost market share to Apple and Linux (see last month's Tech column on the web at www.reminderpublications.com/primeonline or search Rick's web site at www.HelpMeRick.com for stories on these topics) and a slower adoption rate of Vista by businesses than any prior Windows release. My advice is to stick with your XP machine for as long as possible. If your computer needs are more immediate, get a local computer shop or Dell to build you a Windows XP machine before the end of the year. For my money, pretty or not, Windows Vista is a last resort. Rick Castellini hosts a nationally syndicated radio show, is an author and computer consultant in Colorado. Visit his web site at www.HelpMeRick.comfor practical tips and computer information every week.