This is probably one of the best Vista screensavers around. Such an incredible array of colors, fish, fauna, coral and more underwater species. This screensaver is an instant classic.
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This Vista icons package is a great addition to your desktop. With 50 icons like a binocular, life saver, scissor and plenty more.
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Perfect wallpaper for the Vista OS. Green plants, green sky and a greeny yellow sun really make this wallpaper unique. Great choice of colors.
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Is it time for Microsoft to abandon Vista and move on to something else? Maybe Microsoft should consider doing what Apple did and create an OS based on an existing UNIX based system (BSD, Linux, Amiga, etc…). Or maybe Microsoft should “move up the time table” of Windows 7, Min-Win or Microsoft Singularity and make a radical change? Or maybe they incorporate some of the forgotten features of Longhorn into a “new and glorious” Operating System? How about taking some of their experimental technologies, like “Singularity” and fusing it with a UNIX based OS? Or Microsoft just buyout Novell now and make a new Linux based OS (Microsoft SUSE)? Hey, I’m not saying that Vista is totally bad; however it is starting to look more and more like the “Windows ME” situation. My apologies to the Windows ME lovers still out there on planet “Wishful thinking”, but I digress! In some of the business sectors I work in, I.T/MIS departments and various individuals alike will not touch Microsoft Vista or even allow one connected to their network. There are still issues with legacy software and recently purchased hardware. You need to justify making the upgrade and unfortunately for many businesses, but not all, it just is not there. Now, maybe you home users can tolerate the incompatibilities and problems. One of my extended family members recently purchased an HP system with Vista Premium (they forgot to ask for my advice). Let’s just say “she is not a happy camper”! Too many problems and issues with hardware and software left her with no option but to return the “lemon”. She just did not have the time to deal with it and neither did I.

I use Microsoft Vista 64-bit business edition, at my place of work. It runs great, but I have 4 GB of RAM, a nice SATA drive and a supercharged video card (512MB); along with a whole host of goodies, however I imagine I am not the “average” person or small business. They say that “time is money” and many I’ve spoken with, who do not want to spend that amount of cash and time with Vista. In addition they are often saying, with an assumption, that they will wait until SP2 (Service Pack 2) before they make the dive into the Vista world; if that even happens. Recently Microsoft came out with their revenue and profit numbers, on Vista. I am sure it was meant to show a positive spin on Microsoft’s financial outlook. It also was probably more to do with the release of Apple’s new Operating System called Leopard. However, how are the OEM and retail figures broken down? How many OEMs are allowing downgrades to XP, just to ensure the sale? Acer, Dell and others have made recent changes and moves; allowing users to downgrade to XP or even get Linux distros like Canonical’s Ubuntu. Microsoft cannot simply bury their electronic heads in the sand and hope the issues go away. Sure Microsoft is large and they can “weather the storm”, however I just wonder how much time Microsoft has before it starts to impact on them as a company? Maybe they are planning something in secret and will take a page from Steve Jobs and say nothing. Maybe Bill Gates will come back and lead them to victory. Or better yet, maybe they should outsource it? Sorry, it was just an idea!

By: Andy MJ
a.k.a “The G.T.A Patriot”
Toronto, Ontario

I have been using Microsoft Vista for about 3 weeks now and it’s far better than people say it is. I have found it to be efficient and fast for me, maybe other people have had different experiences but mine has been all good, with no problems, Vista cannot be proved to be better than XP but in my opinion it is. I find the new features brilliant and a good extra, (as shown right) when you press Windows Key + Tab, this shows what windows you have open so you can view what the page looks as of at that time, if you want or need to. Another favourite new featureon Vista is the new taskbar, I love the new Start menu, it’s so much easier to find the program you want by searching for the program. Most of the added features are just make it look better they don’t actually improve efficiency or make itany easier it’s just extra features.

Computer needs:
For Vista to run efficiently your computer needs a good amount of RAM I don’t know what the mininum requirements for the RAM are. You also need a good graphics card due to the effects. I am not going to put Vista on my desktop pc due to the risk of losing all my files and causing problems with my pc. I have no reason to stop using XP also, it is just as good. I recommend not putting on your current pc unless you have a good reason and your computer can manage the program. Vista is a brilliant new product from Microsoft it has just too many starting bugs, I personally think it was brought out too early, but if it had been held up I wouldn’t be using it now so maybe it was a decent time to release it, they are releasing an upgrade feature soon which should go down well. Some computer manufacturers such as Dell have gone back to XP due to people having doubts about Vista’s ways.

A lot of people saying Vista is crap is from people with computers which do not fit it’s full compactability using it and having a bad experience of it, service pack 1 is out for Vista soon which should hopefully change Vista for the better and give more people positive views on it, I don’t recommend getting Vista at the moment I must say because of the amount of problems. I’d say your computer is much safer/better having XP on it (or older versions i.e 2000) I am leaving XP on my desktop pc so I can go back if I need it, also to keep all 140GB of my files safe!

Vista is not without its skeptics. Computer makers say it will require more processing power, graphics capabilities, and memory than is typical of today’s mainstream machines. Software vendors complain that Vista’s vaunted security features are, in fact, locking them out. Some people may wonder if it offers enough that’s truly new to be worth the bother particularly given that a number of Vista features and bundled applications are also available for Windows XP. In my view i’d pick Vista but I can see why some people may choose XP, especially since there is nothing wrong with XP.