Vista? Not necessary

"Vista? Not necessary." These were the words that came out of a network administrator's mouth, while having a conversation with some Microsoft representative, who was persuading him to upgrade to Microsoft Vista. All this time, I was going gaga over Microsoft Vista on how cool it looks; how easy it is to install; and boasting about all its upcoming features. But, after hearing those words, I really gave it a practical thought; how will Microsoft Vista be more useful than Microsoft Windows XP????

Let's get back in the time wheel, shall we? Every newer version of Windows boasts enough features, in a way, compelling any Windows user to upgrade to the latest one. Windows became popular with the introduction of Windows 95. Soon, Windows 98 replaced it with enough features to boast about, and then came the dreaded Windows ME, which Microsoft itself never took very seriously. It was just to bridge the gap between the release of Windows 98 and the upcoming NT-based OS for the desktop.

Come October 2001, Windows XP became finally available to everyone; some of them even managed to get hold of it even a month earlier than that. And for once, it was the biggest upgrade anyone could ever imagine. The instability issues with Windows 9X range were almost eliminated; the computer didn't crash for every single reason and I got rid of the cumbersome process of installing Windows 98 every 3-4 days. For the first time, my OS could run at a stretch for 6 months non-stop working 24*7 without any signs of slowing down. Obviously, Windows XP did cost me a bit as I had to upgrade from 128 MB to 256 MB, but it was worth it. Initially, Windows XP had lots of security problems, but then it was at least more secure than Windows 9X series. With the release of service packs and now, the monthly release of critical patches, Windows XP is close to being a perfect OS, at least for me.

Microsoft Vista is here finally (at least, the RTM version), but we have just realized that right now; except for a gamer, there's no need for anyone else to upgrade. There have been minor updates, but not worth the price one has to pay for the new OS and of-course, the hardware cost. It boasts about cool and sleek looks, but frankly speaking, does a corporate need the cool looks? It boasts of high security. Well, update your Windows XP with the latest patch and have the security centre running in background, and you will be the proud owner of one of the most secure PCs around. It boasts of new applications with newer features. Internet Explorer 7.0, Windows Media Player 11, Windows Defender, Windows Desktop Search, etc, have all been released for Windows XP as well. It boasts of widgets. We have Yahoo! Widgets which even betters the competitor. The interface might have turned easier, but over the period of five years, people have learnt using Windows XP so well that using Vista will be like spoon-feeding them.

The biggest competitor to Windows Vista is not Mac OS X or Ubuntu Linux. It is Windows XP itself. If DirectX 10 had not been mandatory for Windows Vista, even gamers wouldn't have upgraded to Windows Vista. Windows Vista will eventually replace Windows XP, as newer machines will come bundled with it, but the current breed of Windows XP-based machines certainly has no reason to pay and upgrade it.

P.S. My next PC will be a notebook for sure and will be looking forward to a Windows Vista based one.