When it comes to operating systems I tend to stick to what I know. I don't rush out and buy the latest OS for at least 2 years. It took me until 2004 to bother with XP. My main reason is I tend to get comfy with an operating system usually around the same time that a new one comes out. The only real exception to this was the upgrade from Windows 98 SE to 2000 and that was only because I was given an installation disk. My other reason is it gives the peeps who make the OS time to iron out the bugs (and believe me - even the most robust operating systems in the world have bugs). So it was kicking and screaming that I ended up with Vista. And I mean literally kicking and screaming...

Now here is an important bit of advice. This one saves you money. A new Vista disk costs you in the region of £180. You can buy an upgrade disk, but this assumes you have a copy of XP or 2000 to upgrade from. If, like me, your copy of XP is missing or the restore partition on your HD is missing then you've got problems. You HAVE to buy the full version (full versions are better as well, but I'm digressing). To save money go to a computer hardware store (Microdirect, Computer Plus or whatever, but NOT a highstreet store) and ask for an OEM (other equipment manufacturer) copy of Vista and a really cheap power supply. Now you have to buy a power supply due to Microsoft's terms-of-service in regards to OEM versions. The OEM version of Vista sets you back around £80 and the power supply will be about £15 so the total is £95. By reading this review you could have saved yourself £85! :)

So reboot and off we go and see what it's like. Well it's certainly more swish. Microsoft have been taking lessons from Apple in the interface design. As a rule I'm generally against making an interface more complicated than it needs to be because it's another layer of things that can go wrong, but this improvement impressed me. Windows now has something called Aero (we'll ignore that Macs have had this sort of thing for ages). If your graphics card supports it and you have over 128Mb of graphics memory then you are treated to this visual feast (if you don't you're stuck with the 'Classic' view). It means that interface looks better, the windows have semi-transparent borders and you have something called Flip 3D (be warned that the Home Basic version does NOT have this). Flip 3D is the new improved version of ALT+Tab. By pressing the Windows key and Tab you get a 3D version of the windows you want to scroll through. Some people like it, some hate it. With me it's down to how I feel at the time. Another nice effect is when you hover your mouse over the task bar you get little thumbnails of the window you're hovering over (I used to have this on XP, but only because I bought a copy of WindowBlinds which has this feature). This can be very interesting if you have media player playing a video as it updates in real time.

Something else Microsoft have included is the side-bar. One of my pet-hates is these things. I do admit that they occasionally have their uses, but I just don't like them. Once again this is down to personal preference, and it can be customised with 'gadgets'. Gadgets are basically add-ons for the side bar. Anything from stock-tickers, to weather forecasts to analogue clocks can be added. I think Microsoft have tried to stop the customiser software market in it's tracks by adding these and to be honest I do think they're making head way.

Well security wise it's a bit of a nanny. Pretty much everything you run will throw up something called the User Account Control box. This is basically a check that you have tried to run something and it's not a nasty evil program. Open your browser - are you sure? Let's check e-mail - do you really want to do that? How about writing a letter to Aunt Fiona in Filey using Word - would you like to open Word? YES ALREADY! ENOUGH! I can understand why Microsoft thought this feature would be handy, but after a while it just gets so annoying. Thankfully it can be turned off and I can see a lot of people doing this sooner or later.

Vista also comes with something called Defender. Once again this is something that I use a third-party application for, but the idea is to spot malware and spyware. I really can't say how good it is, but I've heard mixed reviews about it. If you're on a tight budget then stick with it (hey - it's free!), but otherwise consider but otherwise consider buying an antivirus product with one already built in. Why? Because you have to!

Windows explorer (what you use when you go hunting for files) has also had a massive overhaul so expect some system shock when using that. At first it takes a bit of time to figure it all out, but read the help sections and it all makes sense eventually. I've had Vista for about 6 weeks and I'll be honest, I took a brief excursion onto an XP enabled machine a week or so ago and I do prefer the Vista version than the previous one. Once you get used to it, you'll probably love it.

Where this is displayed most evidently is with graphics cards. If you don't have a Vista certified graphics card then you can kiss goodbye to any hope of watching high definition video. Apparently Windows knocks down the resolution and while it may well be better than DVD quality it still feels like it's a kick in the teeth.

Speaking of DVDs this is where I had a major problem. Windows now "formats" DVDs to it's own filesystem and at first this confused the heck out of me. This basically means that any blank DVD you insert will be formatted to this format that is unreadable by anything except Vista. I would have preferred it if you had the option to this as opposed to it being turned on by default, but this was another thing I had to change, especially as I occasionally need to port data to other machines that aren't on my network and that don't run Vista.

So, would I recommend Vista? In some ways yes, and in some ways no. Yes from the point of view that it looks nicer, it feels nicer and is generally the latest operating system. No from the point of view that there are compatibility issues and still a fair few bugs that need ironing out.