I setup a new Windows Vista machine yesterday on a network with two Windows XP systems. My client wanted Vista to be the main computer that shared files and printers with the other two computers. It only took me 45 minutes to figure out how to set it all up. In Windows XP I can setup a network in less than 15 minutes – probably less than 10.
One of the first complaints I had early on with Windows XP was that it was loaded with too many wizards. This only bothered me until I started using the wizards. Now I depend on them.
A wizard is a feature that leads you step-by-step through the process of a complicated task such as setting up a network or burning to a CD. The Windows XP wizards turned out to be one of its biggest strengths. They made it easy for a friend, family member, or tech support person to walk you through setting things up.
Windows Vista assumes you know what a network is and it tries to control it. While Windows Vista is being praised as a more secure operating system, I have found myself accidentally discovering computers and networks with it that weren't meant to be discovered. This especially happens while using my laptop on a wireless network.
Sometimes all I have to do is switch my network settings from "public" to "private" and I can see the shared folders of other people using the WiFi network.
For every time I find myself saying, "That's kind of a neat feature," about something in Windows Vista, I have three features that make me ask, "Why did they do it that way?"
Windows Vista is bad. It isn't buggy it's just full of stupid features and power hungry options that will likely never get used by most users.
I suspect that the first big service pack to Vista will feature more obvious methods of turning off the stupid features. I hope they put a toggle switch for turning Aero (the prettiness feature of Vista) on and off easily on the task bar.
