New review of Windows Vista
In his regular Thursday consumer electronics column in the Wall Street Journal today, Walter Mossberg gives a useful review of Vista. His conclusion is, “Worthy, Largely Unexciting”. Here are some of his observations:
There are some big downsides to this new version of Windows. To get the full benefits of Vista, especially the new look and user interface, which is called Aero, you will need a hefty new computer, or a hefty one that you purchased fairly recently. The vast majority of existing Windows PCs won’t be able to use all of Vista’s features without major hardware upgrades. They will be able to run only a stripped-down version, and even then may run very slowly.
He notes about RAM requirements:
Microsoft says that Home Basic can run on a PC with half a gigabyte of memory and that Premium and Ultimate will work on a PC with one gigabyte of memory. I strongly advise doubling those numbers. To get all the features of Vista, you should have two gigabytes of memory, far more than most people own.
And about the increased security measures he says:
Also, despite Vista’s claimed security improvements, you will still have to run, and keep updating, security programs, which can be annoying and burdensome. Microsoft has thrown in one such program free, but you will have to buy at least one more. That means that, while Vista has eased some of the burden on users imposed by the Windows security crisis, it will still force you to spend more time managing the computer than I believe people should have to devote.
His last observation touches on what I consider to be the key flaw in the security measures used on PCs today. They are simply too demanding and too complicated for something that is used by ordinary, non-technical people. Most home PC owners have neither the training nor the time to do what is required.
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