Vista

It’s not often that I write a negative post, but this time I’ve just had enough.  I have been running Microsoft Vista Ultimate for about 6 months.  When I first installed the OS I was genuinely impressed by the speed and new features.  Microsoft certainly listened to the user community regarding feedback.  All the tasks I execute via shortcut sequences now take one or two few steps- plus it was MUCH faster.  The computer booted in about half of the time it took XP. 

This love fest was short lived.  Unfortunately I have quite a few applications that I regularly rely on running on my computer.  The rebuild process for to migrate back to XP would take at least 3 days, not to mention document restores and setting reconfigurations.  These hurdles have forced me to live with Vista despite the significant degradation in speed and amazingly high annoying factor.

At first when Vista asked me three times whether or not I should allow it to run one of its core features I thought it cute.  I would remember the MAC vs. PC commercials and smile.  Now I’m filled with an overwhelming urge to toss my laptop into the Canals.  I turn on my computer, log in, and wait for explorer to crash.  After restarting explorer I need to confirm that Vista can in fact run a Skype plug-in I use every day, tell the OS whether I’m at home, work or on a public net and answer a host of other questions.   

My inner early adopter beat out the pragmatist.  I know very, very well to never install a Microsoft product before SP 1, yet I did anyway.  And this is my punishment.