After five years of starts, stops, executive shuffling, feature rethinks and delays, Windows Vista is finally complete. ItÂ’s available to corporations already, and starting Jan. 30, itÂ’s what youÂ’ll get on any new PC. Its programmers, who probably havenÂ’t seen their families in months, will have an especially merry Christmas this year.
So after five years, how is Windows Vista? Microsoft’s description, which you’ll soon be seeing in millions of dollars’ worth of advertising, is “Clear, Confident, Connected.” But a more truthful motto would be “Looks, Locks, Lacks.”
Looks
Windows Vista is beautiful. Microsoft has never taken elegance so seriously before. Discreet eye candy is partly responsible. Windows and menus cast subtle shadows. A new typeface gives the whole affair a fresh, modern feeling. Subtle animations liven up the proceedings.
If the description so far makes Vista sound a lot like the Macintosh, well, you’re right. You get the feeling that Microsoft’s managers put Mac OS X on an easel and told the programmers, “Copy that.”
Microsoft Vista = Mac OS X 10.1 |