I had sampled Windows Vista a long time ago when it was still known by its codename, Longhorn. This was a primitive prototype that has undergone significant change in the past few months, as Microsoft gears up for a release (hopefully) sometime before January 2007. However, the coincidence of the first public beta release of Windows Vista a few days ago and my switch to the Mac allowed me to utilize the freed up processor cycles of my notebook for some Vista flavor. While installing a beta OS from Microsoft on a notebook with custom hardware is not recommended for the average computer user, I faced some issues that corroborate this tip as well. Most notably, audio output was not handled well by Vista, with sound levels failing to exceed 1% of their maximum capacity. This, however, was the least of my concerns, as I’m sure Microsoft will ensure hardware compatibilities (atleast within the desktop computer domain) as their release date approaches. The most depressing fact to me is that Vista is a beast of an OS, in terms of the resources one has to feed it in order to make it heed. While the beta that Microsoft has provided, is the future Windows Vista Ultimate edition (read ‘most feature-rich version’), my notebook is fairly high-end as well. In other words, a really large segment of Windows Vista consumers are going to see the need to upgrade their systems, primarily video RAM (Vista needs atleast 128MB dedicated video RAM for a good user experience). This kind of computing power is overkill, and is beyond the requirements of an average home computer user.
Another glaring fact about Vista is its attempt to build a stronger level of security into its processes. While it does a good job, the best it could probably do without complicating things too much and without implementing a Unix-like system, there are minor aberrations in the implementation. For one, blanking the screen and then displaying a security dialog box seems like a glitch. Hopefully, this wont exist in the final release. Secondly, the system even displayed a security dialog when I tried running Internet Explorer 7 for the first time, asking for a confirmation lest I doubt the authenticity of the program. One would think Microsoft could build internal security checks for its own programs.
I do realize Microsoft has a ton of different issues to worry about, such as support for the countless third-party hardware (peripherals and components). However, average computer users who are going to be compelled to buy expensive hardware for basic usage are not going to feel too happy. That is, if they realize this is the case.
