What I’m hearing about Vista

The word “Vista” is starting to enter the common vocabulary, much as “XP” did some years ago, and I’m getting questions about what it is and whether it’s needed. Fortunately, Microsoft got it right with their product naming strategies, so this time I don’t face the additional hurdle of asking whether the question is about Windows Vista or Office Vista. There is no such thing as Office Vista – phew!

The short answer is that Vista is the new Windows XP, and it’s not worth getting your knickers in a twist about it. Rather than take the time to write up my own summary of Vista, I’m going to refer you to well-written articles by others. (That’s the real beauty of blogging — you score points simply by talking about what other people are talking about.)

Here’s a good one from Redmond Channel Partner magazine. This article might be particularly interesting for small business computer users, because it’s not written for them. It’s written for me as a Microsoft partner and someone who is supposed to make money by selling and implementing Vista. Do the arguments presented here compel you to upgrade? If so — and if you’re one of my clients — then give me a call. How’s that for a soft sell?