Introduction
"Oh lord, not another Vista article!" Like me, I'm sure many of you might be thinking something along those lines whenever you see an article with the word 'Vista' in the title these days. We've had what can only be described as a plethora of articles on Windows Vista, almost all of them repetitive, one-sided and of little practical use. Some of them have bordered on the absurd, such as Infoworld declaring Windows Vista to be the second biggest tech blunder in history, giving as its reason a one paragraph description that serves more to highlight the author's ignorance than provide any actual logic for their decision. We've been suffering under the weight of these nonsensical, sensationalist and opinion-laded pro- and anti-Vista articles for far too long.
So what makes this Vista article any different? The title provides a clue: it's as much about providing practical working solutions to resolve some of the commonly-quoted Vista annoyances as anything else. That in itself should give all Vista users a reason to read it. However it doesn't matter whether you use Vista or not, because this article does something that most of the others don't: it takes an objective and up-to-date look at the current state of Vista, with a range of facts, clear examples and informed opinions aimed squarely at debunking a lot of the myths and FUD we've been gagging on for the past year. So for those of you still considering whether to make the switch from XP, for those of you who want to abandon Vista and go back to XP, for those of you who used Vista a while ago and who are wondering whether it's worth using again now - this article puts things in perspective with the latest facts.
What this article doesn't do: it doesn't try to make you believe that Vista is the greatest (or worst) thing since sliced bread. It doesn't try to force you to think a certain way by taking liberties with the truth just to prove a point. It doesn't try to highlight how witty and incisively sarcastic I can be. And most certainly this article doesn't try to dazzle you with technical jargon.
Whether you use Vista or not, the article should have something to interest you. It provides a range of working solutions which put to bed quite a few of the annoyances people often cite as being the reasons they dislike Vista. It arms you with information so that you can start to better understand what Vista is doing and why, and how you can alter it to suit your tastes. It also takes a factual look at the Vista debate, giving everyone some food for thought from an unbiased perspective. It even provides you with a range of practical reasons and examples why you might want to consider using Vista if you don't already. Finally, for the true skeptics, I provide clear evidence as to why you should believe me when I say that I'm not in any way biased for or against Vista.
Surely I've piqued your curiosity by now, give it a read through to see if I'm telling the truth.
In this Guide
Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: Background Info
Page 3: The FUD Factory
Page 4: Annoyances & Solutions
Page 5: Annoyances & Sol's Pt.2
Page 6: Annoyances & Sol's Pt.3
Page 7: Reasons to Use Vista
Page 8: Reasons to Use Vista (Pt.2)
Page 9: Windows 7 & Concl.