Windows Vista Home Premium: Full of Greatness for this Average User!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Great new interface! Runs nice! Nice to look at!

Cons: Annoying warning pop-ups!

The Bottom Line: 
Vista is worth getting on a new computer. It is fun, easy-to-use, and looks nice!

Author's Review
Easy to Use. Easy on the eyes. Functional. All I want in an operating system!

When I had to purchase a new computer this past year, I went with a duo-core HP computer that came pre-installed with the new Windows Vista Home Premium operating system.

Yes, I realized that I was purchasing Microsoft software that had yet to even have a first service pack, but the computer was just too good to pass up. I took it home, plugged it in, and booted it up.

First Impressions

Vista is more eye-appealing then XP. It booted up very quickly, loaded my apps very quickly, and was pleasing to look at. I struggled a little with navigation, as some changes are a bit different then in XP, such as the Start Menu being a list and not cascading, and other small changes. I was floored by some changes, such as when I hover my mouse over the task bar on the bottom of the screen; a small window appears showing the exact contents of the other window, even full-motion video! I find this very helpful, especially if I am using the media center to watch television, I can just hover over to see a small screen instead of completely flipping windows.

Security
Windows Vista is very security conscious, to the point of annoyance (see “The Bad” below). So far, I have had no security issues, so it appears to work. I also use Microsoft Windows Live Onecare for my security needs and it plays very nicely with Vista and Internet Explorer 7. The Windows website has a list of statistics showing how much safer Vista is then XP and some set-ups of OSX, such as “three times less likely to be infected with potentially unwanted software than Windows XP-based PCs” and “Based on their first 180 days of availability, Windows Vista has been shown to have fewer vulnerabilities than Windows XP or MacOS X 10.4”. My last XP computer did have several secur

Search
Much like with the Google desktop application, Windows Vista has a built in search system that pre-indexes all the files on your system (or the ones you let it), and then can instantaneously retrieve results. The initial indexing can take a looooong time if you have tons of files. I really like this, but I still prefer the Google Desktop version.

Aero Desktop
One of the key features touted with this release was the Aero windows interface, with all of its pretty features, such as transparent glass panes, live window flipping (Windows Flip 3-D, where you can see all the open windows at an angle running live), and live thumbnails (which show you the actual document as a thumbnail! Very cool!). Over-all I really enjoy this interface and it is pleasant to look at, easy to use, and fun! I don’t use the Windows Flip 3-D, as I prefer seeing the pop-ups when I hover over the open programs on my windows bar.

Windows Media Center
The Windows Media Center is where I watch TV on my computer. The cable feed is nice, the system works well, and the interface is easy to navigate. You can also use the Media Center for media files, web RSS 2.0 feeds, and more, but I use applications such as Itunes and others for my non-TV media. The Media Center would be great, though, for a living room large screen TV.

The Bad
Pop-up! Yes, pop-ups! Every time I try to move a folder, add something, delete something, or do just about anything (yes, I’m exaggerating a wee bit), a pop-up pops up and asks me if I really do want to do what I just attempted to do. Often, a second pop-up pops up and asks for permission to do what I just clicked on the previous pop-up to explain to it what I wanted to do! Arghggh! It’s worse if you are using a non-administrator account, as many of the pop-ups require the administrator’s password (or an extra click if you are not using an admin password)! Yes, this will be nice when my daughter grows old enough to use a computer, but it is very, very annoying!

Final Thoughts

I love Windows Vista. I don’t want to go back to XP, and have no plans to. Each service pack, I’m sure, will make it even better and increase options. The ease-of-use, appealing visuals, stability, security, and overall “coolness” make this worth getting on your new computer. From what I have read, though, upgrading from XP on an older computer can be a harrowing experience!