Windows Vista- First Impressions As a computer repair specialist, its important for me to keep on the cutting edge of technology so I can support my clients. Ive been using the new operating system from Microsoft; Windows Vista for over a month. So, how does Vista compare to past operating systems? This is one of the better operating system releases that Microsoft has done in recent years. Its definitely just a little better, and a little different than Windows XP, but not vastly different. One thing that I was happy about, is that for once it seems that Microsoft has released a product that is stable from day one. I have been using Vista for over a month, and I have yet to see it crash. Compared to my Windows XP system which crashes at least once a month. The User Interface is probably the most improved and most altered. Things are just a little more transparent. And its just a little easier to multi-task. Its easy to have multiple windows up, each doing different tasks. One of my favorite innovations is when you hover over the tasks on the bottom taskbar, it gives you a small thumbnail of what that page looks like. This is perfect for having a few browsers open, and finding the exact page you wanted without having to open all of them. What I found surprising is the voice recognition capabilities of Vista. I hadnt expected that it would be so robust. It takes a little bit of getting used to, but you can effortlessly blend normal computer operation with voice control. Its not perfect, dont get me wrong, but it is a novel way to interact with the computer and has tons of potential. The problem is hardware requirements. Vista is a beast when it comes to hardware. The more you got the better it performs. I find that Vista loves memory, and a fast video card is essential as well. I wouldnt bother with Vista unless I had a computer that was made in the last year or so that had at least 1GB of memory. I played with it, when I took most of my memory out, and left 256MB in the machine, and it almost ground to a halt. So after one month of Vista, I have to say, Im pretty pleased. Its a very fine release from Microsoft that I believe will prove to be quite popular. Its probably not worth it to spend money to upgrade as its not that different from XP. But, is a great choice for any new computers that you purchase. By: David Smith Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com David Smith is a specialist in computer repair in Jacksonville, FL. He provides technical support, computer repair, software installation and memory upgrades. You can find more about his services at his Jacksonville Computer Repair website.