Windows Vista: Why That Dog Don't Hunt

The next version of Windows, known as Windows Vista, is expected to be released later this year. It will have a revamped graphical user interface which will be VERY DEMANDING in terms of 3D graphics performance. A friend of mine who's an expert industry insider told me:

One thing to consider is that both Apple and Microsoft are moving towards a true 3D UI (I think Windows Vista is such a beast, not sure about Apple's latest UI) so the 3D performance of your graphics ASIC will start to matter for basic desktop functions. Both ATI and Nvidia are mapping out future chips where the 2D hardware is dropped entirely since 2D can be quite correctly considered simply a subset of 3D operations, but we then gain all the advantages of the features that have been put in 3D cores over the past several years, such as shaders. The new UIs seem to be geared towards that end (e.g., translucent windows that you can warp, etc.).

Which is precisely why the uptake of Windows Vista when it comes out later this year (**if** it comes out later this year!) will be the worst yet of any Windows version. New PCs will have Vista preloaded but who’s going to upgrade their older machine to Vista with its excessive new graphical requirements? Who’s going to buy a new video card just for Vista?

Yes, I know, you can force Vista to use the “classical” Windows interface, but then you lose the biggest draw of this new Operating System. Why even bother with Vista, then?? (The other big draw of Vista is Micro$oft’s promise of greater security. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha – oooh, my sides are hurting!! If any of you believe that Vista will be secure, stand on your head and piss into a pencil holder...or raise your hand.)