Windows Vista – An Irritant

This is a rant.

I have installed Vista on my MacBook Pro, while I do prefer using the Mac for many things (as it suits my work flows better) but there are occasions where Windows is required (whipping up a Win only app, software designed for windows only, or websites that will just not work with any browser other than IE – typically embedded web pages in things like routers, and of course gaming).

After using Vista (Ultimate) for a little over a month now – as an alternative, I have come to the conclusion that it is anti-User. There are so many things that Vista has been programmed to do by Microsoft that cause a level of frustration beyond describable.

Annoyances – UAC, I won’t harp on about this here as it has been covered nearly everywhere in the IT press and online, but I now cringe when I see that little quad coloured shield of pain, as I know there will be a nasty interruption to my work flow just around the corner. (I don’t turn it off as that disables some of the extra security benefits added to IE7, and based on experiences with IE6 and WinXP, I’d like to keep those!).

Vista does its job – its an operating system which lets you run programs so that you can be creative, be entertained and be productive – however the work flows that enable you to do this as currently implemented by the operating system are not as good as other options out there – I find myself many times more productive under WindowsXP, Mac OS X and Linux than under vista. I am pleased with my current decision to migrate toward the mac as my platform of choice – as it appears that many others are also. I doubt I will ever make the switch to Vista as it is not a tool – its a thing that want attention all the time. I’m not prepared to sacrifice the security enhancements offered by UAC by disabling it, and I’m not prepared to continue to use Vista if I feel the levels of frustration and stress rising when I do, rather I’ll continue my migration toward Mac OS X and Linux for my computing needs, while keeping WinXP about for my gaming fix.

I wonder how long before Vista is required to have on the retail packages – “Warning – may increase stress levels and reduce productivity” likely never, but one can only hope!