Well I always knew Apple were at least a generation ahead with OSX, but it looks like they were really two generations ahead. MS have designed the look and functionality of Vista with a sheet of tracing paper... pity it still won't be anywhere near as solid or thoughtful as OSX - the real reason for Apple's recent strength.
Vista still looks a bit untidy and ununified in its look. Those pics had better not be what the final release looks like. They look slick on initial impression, but the slightly amateur design shines through in the details (classic MS style) - the so so spacing between buttons, bad font choices that promotes aliasing, crappy "standing up" folder design that just looks ungainly and unsettled... and the yellow folders look dated... They've totally ripped off OSX's trash can with the recycle bin this time - its an identical wire basket style, but not as clean nor classy looking, which is the case with all windows icons. Whats the point of blatantly copying if you still don't beat the original?
I am absolutely perplexed as to why MS refuse to hire a gun design team to create something beautiful that people will actually want to use... Why do they keep thinking this stuff doesn't matter... Yes, Vista does look better than XP, but man, that wasn't hard. It just looks like a decent winamp skin. Vaguely modern and slick, but hardly polished, far and away from a classy next-gen futuristic OS...
The benchmark for stability to beat: OSX never locks up. Ever. (unless you try to get a hardware fault, like throwing your laptop down some stairs, in which case Macs still fair much better than any PC laptop). This is a very scary target to aim at with any first release new version of windows... MS's track record ain't exactly fantastic there... You're always a dill if you buy the first release guys... don't see it changing this time round.
I'd also like to see what MS's answer to Apple's iLife suite of applications is... they'd better have something good, otherwise they have the business smarts of a gnat!
PCs vs Macs - my experience:
Basically, if you really need a PC for work (specialised applications you just can't get on Mac) or you need to play games (which consoles are much better at generally these days - thats where all the good devs are anyway) you will need a PC, and I wish you all the best, you'll need it.
If you want to do anything else with your computer, there is no need to put up with MS.
You'll just laugh like mad at MS if you actually understand WHY mac users are like they are... Apple users ain't MS haters for the hell of it, they're just mac fans! I have both, the pc stays off most of the time, even though its actually faster in sheer grunt (and I LOVE GAMES!). That says a lot about the strength/usability/enjoyment of OSX. I'd rather use a mac even though I can't play the latest games. I fired up the pc to play half-life2 and far-cry and then went back to the mac. The PC is pretty much just an expensive game console nowadays!
Its funny, I saw those Vista pics and they just didn't scream "wow this is a new generation of OS" at me. They might do that to current Windows users, but they were really underwhelming to me - they actually looked a bit dated. I expected Vista to make a much bigger impact considering the amount of hype and dev time it has had. I suppose MS just have a crippling corporate culture that just breeds mediocrity. Can't wait for the endless security updates and bug fixes.
Not that MS care about the actual product, they'll rake it in nonetheless...
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