Pros: Search bar at start menu. DX10 gaming. Tons of features. Error reporting that actually gives you solutions. Looks beautiful. Windows Side bar is great. Windows tools are better, like perfmon, task scheduler, task manager, Network and sharing center......... Vista has built in bluetooth support, burning/ripping software, Windows mail(kinda like a lite, pretty version of outlook). the list goes on.... Speech and handwriting recognition that work.(I would dream of such stuff as a child) oh yeah, did i mention that search bar in Start:)' Everything Windows was always supposed to be.

Cons: I dont have the 64 bit version.....

Other Thoughts: I have an older system, never had any issues. Abit 939 board. amd 64 4000+ 2 gigs of 184 pin ddr. 250 GB HDD, and an 512 MB 8500GT pcie x16. This box screams with Vista, much better than XP, or ubuntu 64. Did i mention I know what I am talking about.

Pros: I don't really have that much of a problem with vista, because as long as you're the administrator for the computer, user account control shouldn't matter, all you have to do is right click the program and just run it as the administrator. Plus its got good parental controls, and of course because it uses DX10!

Cons: Takes up lots of HD space and only recognizes 3GBs of RAM.

Other Thoughts: I don't know why everyone thinks it's so bad, I mean its minor flaws are definitely worth the DX10.

Pros: First of all, the Windows Aero interface is very pretty. You probabally knew that already. I have all the correct Windows Vista device drivers, and it runs without a hitch. With only a nVidia 7900gs, a 2.66 Intel Core 2, and motherboard sound, I can get 1680 x 1050 graphics on Flight Simulator X, which sucked on XP when it came out. If you set it up right, Vista will run everything.

Cons: User Account Control is a bit annoying at first, but after about a month you get used to it.

Other Thoughts: I have used Windows XP at school for many years. Prior to buying a Vista PC, I used Mac OSX. I think that Vista is far superior to Mac OS. Don't believe the anti-Vista hype.

Pros: Looks great and feels better. After using it for just a few hours I had the hang of it and was enjoying basic tasks because of how smooth and pleasant everything is. Flip 3D is great, have not used ALT TAB since. Most of the complaints people have about it are the same ones they used against Windows 2000/ME and XP, eventually this will become an accepted operating system. I am running 4GB of RAM (32 bit only recognizes 3.25 though) and a Q6600 so naturally it runs well. Vista does a pretty good job at load-balancing between the cores (though Core 2 and Core 3 seem to get the most use), and it loads stuff you use into RAM so it loads faster. All that RAM that is being used up is stuff Windows thinks you are going to need, since RAM is so much faster than a hard drive you will notice things flat-out run better. FireFox took up to 10 seconds to load under XP and it loads at the click of a button now, I'll buy $80 of RAM again for that kind of convenience. Continued in Other Thoughts

Cons: Price, I know they spent a long time working on this and they deserve to be paid off for their work, but Microsoft will see a huge increase in sales if they'd drop their prices.

People complain an aweful lot about this OS, but after using XP and Mac OS X (not the new one, leopard or whatever it's called, but the one before) I am very happy with the stability, performance, usablility, and overall feel of Vista--it's hear to stay.

Other Thoughts: All the drivers for my motherboard, video card, etc. installed and run flawlessly (this is the 32 bit version though, better driver support). What else can I say? I have been using it for months and have not crashed it yet (and I'm a big-time multi-tasker, gamer, and 3d artist).

Pros: Windows Aero is a very pretty interface, equal (in my opinion) to the best windows managers I've seen in Linux, and as pretty (to me) as the Mac OS X. Vista offers a lot of improvements for the average user, including feature packed Parental Controls, the User Account Control (no, seriously!), Windows Defender and the very cool Presentation Mode available in the Mobility Center. Meeting Space also looks to be a very neat collaboration tool.

Cons: User Account Control. It single-handedly changes everything about the way Windows works. It's smart, it does what _it_ should, but it won't do what the normal user expects. A lot of things blamed on UAC are actually being caused by Windows Defender, also, so troubleshooting requires different skills than in previous versions of Windows. Vista's much stricter security (always using least privilege with each application) is also very disruptive to a lot of older programs. There are a few complaints that some drivers are unavailable in Vista, but those of us around at the launch of XP remember hardware that fell by the wayside then, too.

Other Thoughts: I came in expecting Vista to be horrible, and that my second day of owning a new laptop would be spent re-formatting and installing XP Pro. I didn't do that. Instead, I spent some time using Vista, discovering that it was more useful and less aggravating than the Mac commercials made it sound (since Microsoft has already stopped running commercials on any TV channels I've been watching!). My experiences with User Account Control has actually been very positive, with UAC only nagging me during installations of software, or when I need to access programs that change system configurations. I already run debian Linux on my other laptop, and, truthfully, I didn't find the Consent Control from UAC any more annoying than the control that asks for my credentials in Gnome. I plan to continue using Vista.

Pros: Automatically installs most, but not all drivers.

Cons: Need a Service Pack instead of massive downloads of updates. Very annoying UAC (User Account Control). Too expensive for something mass-marketed and only costs about $2 to manufacture.

Pros: Looks pretty

Cons: Got this pre-installed on a nice Toshiba notebook.
Began by trying to get rid of Microsoft running buddies (Norton, McAffee) and load WORKING protection programs.
Since I had to restart repeatedly, and this OS is slower loading than ANYTHING I have ever used (people, we are talking about DOS 3.0 on, as well as 3 versions of LINUX), it took about an hour. Then tried to install Zone Alarm, AND GOT A BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH!! Haven't had one of those in 10 years! It installed the second time, with no indication of any problem, THEN I started updating VISTA. After nearly 2 hours I finally finished the last update only to discover that the final one had COMPLETELY DISABLED MY LAN PORT! I then tried to roll-back the last install (another 15 minutes) then got a message that it had been unable to roll-back, but couldn't tell me why, then got another dialog that said it HAD rolled-back! Since my LAN port started working again, I assume the second message was the correct one, I have run out

Other Thoughts: If there is anyway you can make do with XP, do it!

Pros: Looks great and can run good if it is properly installed and configured in the right system using the proper components. We build PC's for people that want their PC's Custom made for their needs and Vista Premium can work if the person using it knows what their doing with it.

Cons: Right know there are so many Vista scared people they either want to keep running XP Professional or switch to Ubuntu 7.10 or XANDROS. They work and feel more comfortable using them because they are used to that older version O/S look.(of Windows that is).

Pros: While it's no moon landing, it seems like a reasonable step forward. It takes a little getting used to, but everything's pretty intuitive. It does it's job, it does it well, and it does it pretty quickly (heck, and I'm only running 1GB of DDR2-1066 because my other stick was DOA).

Cons: No complaints, once UAC was turned off and other minor preferences were set. I have had no driver issues, no crashes, and no real issues with any applications I had that weren't outdated.

Other Thoughts: Please don't bash this product unless you've actually installed and configured it yourself, and you're running a system that's actually appropriate for it. Please don't whine about the drivers for a piece of hardware you own or a particular program not working in a brand new operating system - either of those need to be made to support the OS, not really the other way around.

Pros: It has made me and my girlfriend see the light and switch to linux - Ubuntu 7.10. Thank you Microsoft!

Cons: It is incredibly horrible for something that MS's been working at for so long.
It looks like the talent has left the building, and MBAs can't write software.

Other Thoughts: Came preinstalled on gfriend's Thinkpad. She gave it a fair try, and so did I trying to get things she really needed working. I'm a 15+ years MS Windows user, and a software professional.
In the end, we decided that it really wasn't worth it - even though it was "free".
We now use Innotek VirtualBox on Ubuntu to run XP for the apps that only run on windows.
She's happy, I'm happy, ..and we never looked back :-) BTW, the linux stuff is all free, and surprisingly high quality.

Pros: Great look and feel, some good features.

Cons: Vista has too many bugs. Some of which, is software compatibility with XP, requires a pretty top of the line computer to run at its fullest capabilities, takes too much RAM, and althogether it's not that great.

Other Thoughts: Just wait about a year until they filter the bugs.

Pros: Very stable. running it on a Dell inspiron 9400 notebook, and inspiron 531 midtower. Easy to get used to. Visual pleasing. Nicely overhauled from Xp. Media center & movie maker, picture viewer replace some high dollar software packages.

Cons: Uses almost 500 mb ram, so you have to use 2gb standard. Windows defender is annoying, constantly requires permissions. Media player gets bogged down and lags if you enable sound effects and enhancements. (use seperate audio player if you can,like creative labs stuff)Games play a tad bit slower than xp.

Other Thoughts: Not worth upgrading if you have xp. If you are putting together a new system, or buying one, then it is definitely something you should consider. the first service pack will be out in January, and will address several performance and security issues. The complaints that people have right now are the same as when xp was before xp's 1st service pack. (now everyone loves the hell out of xp)

Pros: This product is outstanding!

Cons: If there's a con, which after reading the reviews there is, it would have to be that the "Tutorial" isn't mandatory to read prior to use for those that can't seem to get it. I'm not sure what these folks have done to their computers that Vista "sucks up memory" and crashes constantly. I built my latest computer on 5 Jul 07. It has been on 24/7 without a glitch.

Other Thoughts: It is different than XP, ME, 2000, etc. It's also a LOT better. Some people don't like change so they complain. Don't knock a product because YOU aren't comfortable with it, especially when you've had it less than a week. How long did it take you to get used to Win 95 or even 3.1?

Pros: Used it on my girlfriends computer and liked it. looking to buy

Cons: little difficult to get use to until switched to classic view. see below

Other Thoughts: I don't own this yet but am looking to buy it. Just as a side note: If you think vista is hard to use then switch the view to classic. It is windows xp which should make it a little easier for everyone to figure out.

Pros: ummm...it looks pretty (cause it looks sort of like mac) and i like the way it is set up.

Cons: Windows is right the wow starts here. Wow was my reaction every time my computer crashed. I had an hp touchsmart iq770 for 2 days. The last 3 hours that i had it, it crashed 8 times. I got the blue screen of death (dumping physical memory.) so i returned it and got a new one which within the first hour crashed. i was really frustrated, so i called hp technical support and a tech guy remotely loged into my computer and did everything he could to prevent it from crashing, but guess what, it crashed 2 more times before i returned it. I strongly dislike vista. also, as mentioned before, vista takes a crapload of memory. and i had 2 gigs of memory, amd turon 1.6 ghz dual core processor and it still, and vista still booted up slower than my old windows 98 computer.

Other Thoughts: well i am going to get an imac. i already have an imac g4 and i wanted to try vista, but this whole expierence taught me something. never buy a new microsoft product. wait like a year to buy a new microsoft os.i also have xp and i like xp. it is way more stable than vista.

Pros: Pretty, Smooth, PACKET WRITING!!

Cons: This system comes running very sluggish. It's not really user friendly. The MSConfig option is awful to try and locate and it's not very user friendly when trying to setup a network. Too many pop ups and messages when running programs. I think it uses too much ram.

Other Thoughts: It was slugglish until I de-selected the "load startup" in msconfig. I then added back only necessary items, it ran much quicker. I'd have to say overall, it's a beautiful OS once it is setup properly. It's just navigating this complicated OS that forced me to give it 3 stars.

Pros: i love it its works great i started with beta then rc1 now this

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: i have this runnin on an old 478 3.0 p4 2gb ram 6800 and are havin no problems lookin to get 64bit for my dragon

Pros: its very nice lookin, presentation and ease of acces to programs are improved

Cons: not really much except for driver support. eats ram

Other Thoughts: you guys do realize that this OS just released. Its goin to to be a bit quirky until they release updates. At best this OS runs right now as an improved XP. and seriously...dont play intensive games on laptops. they arent that well suited for it...esp a Dell

Pros: Looks Pretty(not a pro just beinf sarcastic)

Cons: microsoft designed something finally so complicated that I as a tech support guy cannot figure out what to do. Oh yeah they tried to make it look like mac OS X. well as much as simple mac os x is Vista is on the other side.

Other Thoughts: i wish i donot have to provide tech support on it.

Pros: Easy to install, very stable, much better user interface than XP.

Cons: Lack of drivers from some manufacturers.

Other Thoughts: This is a giant step in the right direction for Micro$oft.
The guy below...dude, you got a Dell. nuff said.

Pros: Well lets see except that it looks attractive there are no pros.

Cons: Were Should I start? Vista is maybe the worst operating system ever created the only time I ever said WoW to it was when i realized how bad it was. I just baught a Dell Dimension E521 that has 1GB DDR2 Memory a 160 GB HD and AMD Athlon 62 X2 Dual Core 3800+ and has a Nividia GEforce 7300 LE and it made it run so slow. Vista freezes up alot leaves imprints of windows on other windows and when you first get it it will not be able to run simple games like Counter Strike. Vista also is packed with so much unescescary things like the side bar which is the origin of it causing computers to act slow. it is a Cheap imitation of Mac os X but one thing is different Mac os X is better.

Other Thoughts: it is horrible.