Should You Buy Microsoft Vista?

If you are considering making the upgrade to Microsoft's new operating system, Vista, here are a few things to consider:

Security:

Pro: The number one component of the upgrade is security. Microsoft has completely changed the security structure of their system. The new bidirectional software firewall monitors inbound and outbound traffic to Windows Services Hardening, which prevents obscure background processes from being hijacked and changing your system. Full-Disk encryption should help prevent unauthorized access to your files, even if the computer is stolen.

Con: Microsoft's track record on security is pitiful. Every method they've undertaken has been cracked and there is probably little reason to expect this to change. Hackers are just as good as Microsoft's security specialists so it will be a major shock if security holes aren't found and exploited.

New Graphics:

Pro: Vista offers a new super slick graphics package called the Aero Glass interface. Long time Mac users will laugh at the "innovation" but for XP users it's a nice change.

Con: It's a big power drain. Unless you're computer is new and powerful you'll probably not get to enjoy these new features.

Internet Explorer 7:

Pro: The New IE7 is a dramatic improvement over IE6, adding features such as tabbed browsing and security features.

Con: FireFox is still way better! IE's tabbed browser is a poor imitation of FireFox and IE's security still pales next to FireFox.

Other Features:

Pro: Microsoft has added new features such as a desktop search, better updates, improved handling of multimedia, a better backup and sytem restore system.

Con: None of these justify the high cost of Vista. If you want a good desktop search, download Google's: It's better, anyhow. There are also many PC tool utilities that do everything that Vista is finally getting around to offering.

Conclusion:

If you have had security issues or fear security issues, then Vista is definitely worth the price. However; you can still protect your computer with third party software packages such as McAfee PC Protection Plus.

It took Microsoft very little time after XP's release before they had to come out with SP1 to begin fixing all the problems with XP. Let's see how long it takes for a Vista service pack.