Review: Vista Shows Big Promise For VARs, But Will It Deliver?
With that question in mind, the CRN Test Center dove into Microsoft's next-generation platform to determine what's good and what's bad for the channel.
VARs will find that Vista has evolved into an OS of compromises, enhancements and backward compatibility, all to meet the wide variety of desktop users. Vista is broken down into multiple versions: two versions for home use, and business, enterprise and "ultimate" versions. For the channel, either the business or ultimate versions will be the primary movers, with the enterprise version being aimed at volume-license agreement customers.
Engineers have followed the evolution of the product since the initial beta release, through to the release candidates (1 and 2) to the RTM code made available in early November. Each release has shown significant improvement over the previous one and the RTM code shows significant refinement.
Surprisingly though, Microsoft has been reluctant to release volume-license agreement keys or even single product keys for the RTM code, which has complicated testing. Is that an indication there is still something to hide or is the company that paranoid about piracy?
That said, the RTM code will run for 30 days without activation, but to install the code legally on more than one system, multiple install keys are needed. Once installed, updates from Microsoft are frequent and in most cases happen without user intervention, an indication that bugs are being addressed and patches pushed out after the code going to RTM status.
Vista incorporates several features that will help fuel sales. First and foremost is the product's improved security. Microsoft has integrated antispyware, antiphishing, antispoofing and a vastly improved firewall. What's more, users can sign up for antivirus protection via Windows Live OneCare. Engineers believe that is Microsoft really wants to push the security message, OneCare should be included with Vista and not be an add-on.
Engineers, however, encountered problems with the online service, such as it preventing Microsoft's own VPN client from working on a Vista test PC.
The security theme continues with Internet Explorer 7, which strives to protect Vista's internal code from compromise using a "digital sandbox" approach that allows users to "play" on the Internet without spilling malware over to the OS. Another nod to security comes from new user account control paradigm, which allows administrators to fine-tune users access rights.
With previous versions of Windows, one of the most frequent help-desk complaints was due to connectivity—that is, the Internet is down, or the user can't access the network. Microsoft has offered a fix for this: Network Center, a visual approach to defining and troubleshooting network connections.
The Network Center employs connection wizards and an integrated troubleshooting tool that simplifies connecting to new networks. Mobile users will appreciate how well they can control access to wireless networks, while stationary users will be able to quickly solve connectivity issues using automated tools.
Ease of use is a general theme throughout Vista. Elements such as menus and dialogs have been improved, helping to make the transition from previous versions easier while still exposing new features to those not familiar with the OS at all. The new Aero Glass interface offers stunning visual appeal and doesn't stray that far from the expected Windows experience.
While Aero Glass is more about style than substance, users will find the 3-D representations of multiple windows (applications) and previews of minimized windows a more intuitive way to navigate through multiple active tasks than XP's method.
All of this new functionality, though, comes at a price—specifically, hardware. While XP would hit its stride with just 512 Mbytes of RAM, Vista doesn't start to hit its pace until the ante is upped to 2 Gbytes of RAM. Processing power also has a dramatic effect on Vista's performance. The OS really starts to sing when dual-core CPUs are used, but users can expect a decent experience with fast single-core processors. Perhaps the biggest concern comes from video—to run Aero Glass, a powerful video card is a must.
To date, testing has show good software compatibility. Typical business applications such as Lotus Notes, Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, Intuit Quickbooks and others work with out a hitch, but some proprietary/bundled apps thave proven problematic.
For example, Lenovo's fingerprint security suite and wireless connectivity center (both designed for XP) refused to work properly under Vista. Once the full launch of Vista is under way, VARs should expect many of the proprietary applications from hardware vendors to quickly become compatible.
Vista promises a bright future for the channel, one filled with hardware sales and integration opportunities. But only time will tell if the features and security offered will offer the ROI that the beancounters look for in today's corporations.