Our first Vista implementation

We've finally bitten the bullet and are in the process of delivering a new computer with Vista Business instead of Windows XP installed. Yes, I know we're a little late in the game but not so late when you read what other companies are doing - most are still delaying.

Working with Vista is not at all difficult. The hardest part is figuring out where everything is. I like the interface. I don't like the endless 'are you sure you really want to do that' sort of questions. My opinion of the product has not changed - why do we really need it?

So why did we choose to go ahead with a new Vista workstation when everyone else in the company is still on XP? It was because the computer with the horsepower I wanted and needed for this individual was not available with XP. I think somebody is being sneaky about that.

Of course it is inevitable that we will make the switch. The boss doesn't like it. Sometimes I think he has no clue what an operating system is but then he doesn't need to know in order to run a multi-million dollar organization, does he? That's why he hired me.

So why didn't I just install XP over Vista? I tried. It threw up so many times that it became a waste of my time. I think it had something to do with the lack of drivers for some of the new features of the hardware we got. The old XP CD didn't seem to like PCI-E and SATA drives.

I suppose I could have figured it out eventually, but I would have spent hours and hours just nuking the drive, finding all the right drivers and reinstalling all the applications. I chose to make the investment of those hours in answering questions from the end-user on why Vista is different.

No, I still don't plan to do a wholesale migration of all the computers in the company to Vista. To do that we would have to replace three fourths of them with newer models. That will wait until next year when most of them are scheduled to be replaced. Yes, by next year I mean 2009.

So what do you think? Are we behind the ball on rolling out Vista or ahead of the curve?