Okay. I read all the horror stories. I panned Windows Vista because it wasn’t ready, because it continually screwed up, because I didn’t want to be a part of the BETA testing. I waited. I waited a whole six months and then, ahem, pulled the trigger on Windows Vista Home Premium System Builders version. What does it all mean?
For those of us (dorks) who can build their own computers, we can install a version specifically for the computer. It is cheaper than the full blown version. The only difference? I didn’t get all the cool cardboard with the box. Yeah, that’s about it. Anyway, I’m around a hour in (after a flawlessly clean install), have been dicking around, and so far I’m very, very impressed. Let me count the ways.
First, Vista recognized my network card and installed the drivers appropriately. It recognized my network drive, allowing me instant access to all my saved files on the NAS. It even instantly recognized the Mac sitting in the corner (something XP did not do well) and will even allow me to print to the Mac’s rather tasty Canon printer (something XP refused to do without major hassle). And don’t get me started on how quick this thing rolls. Oh, and lets not forget Aero, the reason one would upgrade in the first place. The Aero interface is absolutely stunning. Well done Vista. So far, so good. Expect more updates as this dork gets deeper into the system. Meanwhile, it is time to check out my new Nvidia 8800 GTX video card, see what this sucker can do. Too bad I don’t have any DX10 compliant games. I need to fix that.