Windows Vista RTMs. Now what?

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 09 November 2006 22:48

Your IT - Entertainment

With Windows XP so dominant in the marketplace, and with its effective 100% compatibility with virtually all hardware and software on the market, most consumers would be well advised to stick with their current computer and configuration until it is time to upgrade to a newer system while the dust settles around the Vista launch, new drivers are released and early bugs are ironed out.

And for those looking to upgrade now, the choice will be between a shiny new desktop or laptop PC from one of the myriad PC vendors and white-box cloners, and a shiny new Mac in desktop or laptop form, which is also able to run XP, Vista and other operating systems while simultaneously running the very capable Mac OS.

The opportunity to buy a PC with Vista pre-loaded will come soon enough, with virtually all PCs sold at retail from January 30 onwards coming exclusively with one of the many different versions of Vista as standard.

And while Windows Vista has finally reached the RTM stage and will be released to businesses on November 30, Vista development will continue right up until the general consumer release on January 30 – and beyond, with patches, bug fixes, updates and likely new features through Microsoft’s ‘Windows Update’ service for some time to come, until Microsoft comes up with a Service Pack and/or other updated retail offering.

This is because Microsoft has committed itself to never repeating the massive time gap between major operating system releases again as it has with Vista, even though it did release Windows Server 2003, two versions of the Windows XP Tablet Edition and multiple versions of the Windows XP Media Center Edition, all actually major editions in their own right.

It’s just that these other editions were not taken up by the general public in numbers anywhere near plain ol’ Windows XP, despite Microsoft’s desires for this to happen, although it has to be said that over the past couple of years, the Media Center Edition of XP has enjoyed an excellent growth rate with consumers keen to experience digital media and television through their Media Center computers.

Windows Vista will sell, of that there is no doubt, and very soon it will be the mainstream OS that most PC users will not only aim for, but will end up with sooner or later. It’s just that right now, most will take a wait-and-see approach, with only the early adopters eagerly jumping on the Vista bandwagon.

Vista will definitely be a hit. It’ll just start off as a slow burning one, but that may be the best kind, and the best that Microsoft could hope for right now. Hasta la Vista, baby!