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Would have been good PR if MSFT did that.

And in the end, at least in my eyes, Vista turned out to be exactly what it was planned: a minor release. i can easily see Vista becoming the next Windows ME (OK... not THAT bad :P).

They should've made Vista be more interim. Not trying to push so much stuff into it. Vista just feels half baked to me. I'll only use it if it comes preloaded with my next computer and I have no chance of not paying for it.

I EAGERLY expect, though, to see what can Microsoft do with the next release of Windows. At least they can use what they've learned from the whole Vista ordeal.

PS.: Thanks to Vista, I'm buying my first Mac in these next few months :)

If XP SP2 had been released as anything other than an SP it would never have got the fast and wide adoption it did. Anything else would have meant that it was an optional upgrade.

Microsoft was right in being more concerned about protecting users and having SP2 as widely deployed as possible. In the end it is Microsoft that would have lost more if SP2 was not rolled out widely.

You two brought up some extremely good points but bringing ME up in the discussion was something I disagree with.  I think you were saying the idea of what ME was, though there were many features cut I don't think I consider this a minor release.

If Vista is a minor release, why does it require much greater resources? ... new drivers? ... new security protections? .... new interface? .... incompatibility for older programs especially with the embarrassment with Zune software?

I think it is a new OS release, but from the reviews, it would appear to be rather rough around the edges.

Questions>

maybe I am living under a rock, but I thought Vista was out (RTM) before Zune released. If so, how is it Vista's fault that zune and other software doesn't work on it? Btw, if you just go by reviews to give your opinions, I'd suggest getting of those linux journals and installing the vista build. I've been runnin Win98 games on it, old apps from win2k days, news apps, and so far there hasn't been anything that didn't work. Sure some might have issues (thats mostly because of the features, including security, in Vista). But there are ways to get the program running if you trust that program.

The new drivers because Vista works best with the new hardware that's out there. You need the OS and apps to take advantage of these new hardware. Not sure about you, but I don't plan to run my new ATI card with a standard out of the box driver.

oh forgot, there is something called Windows Update in Vista that practically found all the latest drivers for my new hardware (both on my home desktop and work laptop).

"maybe I am living under a rock, but I thought Vista was out (RTM) before Zune released. If so, how is it Vista's fault that zune and other software doesn't work on it? Btw, if you just go by reviews to give your opinions, I'd suggest getting of those linux journals and installing the vista build."

Not to be rude, but you missed my point. I said Vista appears to be more of a major new OS release rather than a minor release based on the fact that lots of  XP designed software is incompatible with Vista.  I had no such problem with XP and XP SP2 software. XP SP2 was described in this article as a major OS release and Vista is not.

The reviews suggest that Vista's testing missed a bit on fit and finish, and it has some obvious bugs. That's disappointing for a product that was touted by Microsoft as being the most tested product ever.

BTW, what the heck are you doing by referring to a Linux Journal?  I presume Vista's installation will be no different than XP or Windows 95. Just put in the disk.

hmmm... Linux. Are you giving me a hint?  Maybe Vista isn't so great if you have to refer to Linux, which I think is the complete opposite of Vista in terms of accessibility to the non-techie like me.

Mary Jo Foley and Robert McLaws are in a discussion about whether Vista is Longhorn or a "reset"

I think if they can deliver most of the Longhorn release in a Vista and Vista R2 release then they'll do quite well.

Frankly, I hope microsoft will abandon the 'moon shoot' philosophy and make releases more like OS X. Hopefully they will decide to stay on the NT 6.x code base for a while.  I don't think we'll hear about Vista R2 until PDC 2007.

I don't want Windows to become like OS X. Apple sucks and makes you buy new versions of their OS every year or so. At least Microsoft knows how to separate out bug fixes from new features so you don't have to shell out $130 every year or so.

Just to be clear - there was nothing "embarassing" about the Zune in-box software not supporting Vista.  The people who have had legitimate access to Vista have always had access to the Zune software for it, and it's been available to the public for weeks already and Vista still isn't available to the general public.  So can we put that myth to rest, please?

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C'mon XPSP2 wasn't THAT big an upgrade and even if it was, it was only in terms of security enhancements. An OS release must be an overall improvement, like 2000 or XP. Vista again is focussed chiefly on security and improving upon EXISTING features or making them work better. Whatever few NEW features are being introduced, most of the key ones are being backported to XP. So, I REALLY think I can skip Vista and go for "Vienna". Bcoz I only got MSBlast, no other worm and now my computer can survive on XP.

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