Karan Bajaj

Although Vista is getting rave reviews on its shiny new user interface, and Microsoft has been going on and on about how it's better than the previous OS in terms of security and usage, users should not jump onto the Vista bandwagon just yet. Just like any other Windows OS, Vista also has its share of teething troubles; we give you the top five out of them.

Will it run on your PC?

Windows Vista requires a high-end computer to run properly. The minimum requirements are an 800 Mhz processor, 512 MB of RAM, a DirectX 9-capable graphic card, and a 40 GB hard disk (with at least 15 GB free). The recommended requirements are 1 Ghz processor, 1 GB of RAM, a DirectX 9-capable graphics card with at least 128 MB memory onboard, 40 GB hard disk (with at least 15 GB free) and a DVD-Rom drive. Most of the computers used today are safe when it comes to the processor and hard disk, but fall flat in the RAM and graphics card category. So to properly run Aero and all the visual treats of Vista, you'll need to spend at least 5 to 10k on upgrades.

The graphical user interface

The graphical interface used in Windows Vista is called Aero. It's hardware-based and includes loads of transparencies and graphical eye candy, making it resource hungry. Win XP users might not like this new interface for the simple reason that it does not add any new functionality. Instead, it just gets in the way. The new Start menu will be one of the major problems for users - instead of the menus expanding like in Win XP, it works in a tree structure with drop-down menus like Windows Explorer. The shutdown button is kind of hidden too. There is a button with a power icon in the menu, but it takes your PC into sleep mode instead of shutting down. The primary argument here is that Aero is just graphical eye candy instead of a useful addition.

Will your games and applications work on Vista?

Unlike Win XP, Vista is based on an 'all new' fortified kernel architecture. Drivers for various hardware, such as graphics cards, sound cards, etc, are not yet available for Vista and a stable release of the drivers may take some time to arrive. Firefox has been reported to show trouble running on Vista along with various anti-virus software such as Kaspersky, Panda Antivirus and F-secure.

The heavily used Bluesoleil application, used to transfer files over a Bluetooth adapter and compatible Bluetooth devices such as phones, crashes with Vista. The latest version of Nero's popular CD writing software doesn't support Vista at all. DivX converter closes down after one minute of encoding; Symantec's partition magic 8 does not work. Firewall applications such as Zonealarm and AVG Internet suite's firewall component does not install. Adobe Premiere 7, Pinnacle Studio, and Microsoft's Active Sync software have heavy compatibility issues. On the games front, games such as Trackmania Nations, Second Life, Sim City 4, Need for Speed Carbon, City  of Heroes, etc, have shown heavy compatibility issues. 3ds Max 9 and ACD See 9 have also got minor issues with running on Windows Vista. The bottomline is, you'll have to wait for Vista-specific versions of almost all the software you need.

To properly run Aero and all the visual treats, a hardware upgrade of at least 5 to 10k will be required

Are you sure which version  you want?

Microsoft has released multiple versions of Vista. There is Windows Vista starter, Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise and Windows Vista Ultimate. Now you can see all the features of each by just going to the Microsoft website, but how do you know what you need? The starter edition will be available in Colombia, India, Thailand, and Indonesia only to make people buy original software.

Vista Home Basic edition and Premium edition only have the difference of advanced media support such as HDTV and DVD authoring. The Business and Enterprise versions have added multi-lingual user interface, remote desktop and fax support. The question that stands out is - what if a user wants a couple of things from each version? He would have no option but to go for the Ultimate edition, which has all the extra applications and support. So, in the end, having multiple versions of Vista to choose from is just going to leave the consumer nonplussed.

Games such as Trackmania Nations, Second Life, Sim City 4, Need for Speed Carbon, City of Heroes, etc have shown compatibility issues

When will the big security hole show up?
Windows Vista is a new OS, which is kind of scary. Take the case of Windows XP as an example. When it first came out, it had loads of bugs and security flaws that Microsoft kept on patching. Finally, Service Pack 1 was released. Even after that, users kept finding problems leading to the release of Service Pack 2. Critical updates are constantly being released to make XP more secure. So you might want to wait and see if there is some big security loophole before trusting Vista completely.

Source: Living Digital