The Windows Vista Experience

Well with the release of Windows Vista I am sure many of you will be wondering if it's worth making the upgrade. I am sure many of you will have heard the horror stories that are associated with any piece of new software. Rest assured the chances are there will be no problems making the transition. Be prepared it may be necessary to perform a clean install. This was the case for myself, but I didn't see this as a massive problem as I was prepared. As is the case for many home users I didn't have much to backup except for some documents.I would imagine that the majority of people have some version of Windows XP by now and if that is the case you are eligible to use an upgrade disc.

This is also the case for Media Center users who I was one of. The next decision to be made would be which version to go for and my personal recommendation is the home premium edition. There is also a home basic edition but this may not even be worth the upgrade. Similarly the other versions are really intended for businesses so unless you own one you won't get any added benefit. The first thing you will notice about Vista is how visually impressive it is and how better organized it is and the latest versions of Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer are included. Security has also had a revamp with the new Windows Firewall software. To be honest this can become a little annoying as you're constantly asked to allow access for certain programs. On the positive driver installation has become a lot simpler as simply connecting your printer will allows windows to search for a driver. In the case of well known brands the driver will easily be located and installed automatically.

Another note is don't pay much attention to the so called minimum system requirements as I am running Vista with a laptop using only 512 of ram. Despite apparently not meeting the requirements I have no problems with using the operating system. If you do decide to use an upgrade disc just be sure to install in windows as this the only way the disc will work. It has been reported that you will need a physical XP or media edition disc to make the upgrade. Quite simply this is not true. So make the upgrade you won't be disappointed.