Windows Vista is Launched - The Inside Story of the Latest Operating System
Windows Vista, the successor to Windows XP, has been official released to customers. From Times Square in New York City, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates hosted the worldwide launch of Windows Vista and the Microsoft Office System 2007. After years of delay, and tons of speculation on which features will make it to the final release and which ones won't, the next generation operating system is finally out into your hands.
Well, but does a launch of this magnitude create any excitement anymore? Ten years ago, Windows 95 was the biggest launch in the history of an operating system. Shops were open at midnight for consumers to buy their first copy of the new revolutionary operating system that would forever change the face of personal computing. And those were the days when the Internet was just beginning to be a phenomenon, with hardly a high speed connection to be found.
Today, although Vista is great for many reasons, I would be surprised if it generated half the excitement as Windows 95. Simply because the world is a much different place today. It's better connected. "Windows" is a daily routine. Start, Programs, Accessories, Lock, Login, Shutdown are all household terms. You check your mails every morning as regularly as you brush your teeth. This is the days of Mobiles, PDAs, Tablets, Blackberries and iPods. And a brand new Operating System is just another new box nicely piled on the Computer aisle.
Vista was plagued with difficulties right from the moment Microsoft came up with an initial list of planned features, way back in 2001. After a two year delay (it was originally planned for 2005), only half of those features found their way into the final product. And many of those make sense only to the technically inclined people, while for the layman it's all about the fancy graphics and the many interesting goodies.
Some features were dropped because of the technical complexities involved wth certain technologies, and others because of the various lawsuits which forced Microsoft to release a version called Vista N for the European Union, otherwise, and more popularly, known as "the version for EU that nobody will use, pay the same price and get less. And no Media Player!"
Windows File System (WinFS or Avalon), supposedly the new way of organizing files on your computer and expected with Vista, was dropped a year before, because it was "technically difficult". The existing Task based desktop of Vista is far from the initial model, which had a sliding Start menu-like vertical tab helping you with all your frequent tasks. And a countless number of small features, which would have made a huge difference to the otherwise docile operating system, went missing half way during the course of its development.
The conventional pixel graphics is now replaced by Vector graphics, the good old IIS is now called Windows Activation Service and runs close to the OS kernel, .NET Framework 3.0 containing the three new technologies driving the next generation Service Oriented development - WPF, WCF and WF is an inherent part of the Operating System, security is highly enhanced.
But despite its delays and shortcomings, Vista is certainly worth paying attention to. You may not be able to enjoy it with your existing laptop or desktop - because Vista's advanced technology requires advanced hardware - but desktop and laptop manufacturers have already started selling Vista-capable machines and will soon have Vista pre-loaded.
If you are planning to switch to Vista, you would have to upgrade your hardware and memory as well. Or stick to our old pal, Windows XP. If you are planning to buy a new computer, make sure you get hold of a Vista loaded one.
