Windows Vista is not receiving the open arms welcome that Microsoft expected. Could it be that they spent 6 years developing an operating system that nobody wanted? Could it be that Microsoft, in its infinite wisdom, failed to take into consideration the needs of its users? Did Microsoft choose to include anti-piracy software (DRM – Digital Rights Management) and build an Operating System around something that cripples the majority of its business users? Could it be? Yes. Is it possible? Yes. Did it happen? You bet.

Upgrading to Microsoft’s baby, Windows Vista, has been banned by numerous companies, including the FAA, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and Texas Instruments. Many public schools are moving entirely to Linux and are surprised by the ease of this transition. HP and Dell are moving towards offering Linux computers, and both companies have already seen a huge demand.

Microsoft is now trying hard to force customers into adopting the redheaded stepchild. They are removing the option to still get Windows XP, and will work on ways to kill XP to force Vista onto users.

Here’s just a few of the many things Microsoft did wrong with Vista:

- Placed security concerns on the shoulders of the average user, who, in many cases, will give full permission to harmful programs out of ignorance.

- “Fixed” something that wasn’t broken – the new interface is confusing, commonly used programs are now in different places and go by different names, and an independent study found that Vista actually reduces user productivity.

- Made Vista so power hungry that users are almost forced to buy brand new computers or heavily upgrade existing machines in order to run the new OS – a minimum of 1 Gb of RAM for most versions, 2 Gb to achieve XP level performance, and 4 Gb is recommended for optimal performance. This is in addition of increased processor loads that almost require a Dual Core processor!

Moral of the story – think long and hard before upgrading to Windows Vista. At the VERY LEAST… wait until the first Service Pack before implementing any changes to your Operating System. It might not be a bad idea to take a long, hard look at a Linux conversion. It is my opinion that, with the increased amount of users running from Vista, Linux may benefit and receive increased support in the way of software, making the changeover even less of a hassle in the near future.

Linux… your time is now.