Vista is dead.

Okay, maybe not really dead like the Macarena, but it’s not living the life that Microsoft had hoped for it. In fact, a large majority of businesses have been avoiding it like the plague. Microsoft has had to extend the life of its archaic (in terms of software lifespan) Windows XP by five more months from January 2008 to the end of June. Because of heavy consumer demand, hardware manufacturers have been lobbying the software giant to keep Windows XP on their desktops and laptops. Say what you will about the progress Microsoft has made with Vista (I myself have praised certain aspects of it in the past), but at the end of the day, Vista is a colossal failure.

Sure, Vista is inherently a more secure operating system, but it comes at the price of a very frustrating user experience. Not to mention that many common tasks that were so intuitive in XP are now excruciatingly frustrating in Vista.

I have a good friend who has a very strong IT background, who has two PCs, one XP and one Vista. For two months now, he has been unable to network the two together. With XP to XP, it was extremely simple. Even XP to Mac is not at all difficult. Why do things need to be this complicated? And don’t even get me started on Vista’s endless DRM (Digital Rights Management) issues, such as the inability to legally back up DVDs, both commercial and home made. Plus, Vista is still Windows with the same vulnerabilities to viruses and spy-ware.

Am I alone in this negative outlook towards Vista? Certainly not. Don Reisinger, one of CNET’s most prolific contributors, has recently called for Microsoft to abandon Vista, move on and start fresh with a brand new operating system. He sees no end to the problems with Vista and does not believe that any subsequent service packs are going to save it. Time will tell. One thing for sure however, is that the competition is getting more fierce. Apple is almost ready to unleash their latest and greatest, Leopard, and Linux is gaining significant momentum in both consumer and business markets. Both Mac and Linux, while not perfectly secure, offer much better and safer environments. So if both Mac and Linux provide better security and great looking interfaces, why does Microsoft continue to dominate?

Marketing, supply, and more marketing. When we walk into a big box electronics store, we’re presented with PCs and laptops that are loaded with Vista. Most stores do not sell Macs and Linux hasn’t quite made it into the mainstream. Our choices are very limited, for now. I finally believe that this is about to change. I can feel it. I’m sure Microsoft is feeling it as well. If they don’t do something to fix the albatross that is Vista, their dominance in the PC market is in serious jeopardy. I’m not the first person to say this and I won’t be the last.

As much as I look forward to the day when Mac takes over as the #1 operating system, the repercussions from a security perspective are almost frightening to Mac lovers. For a long time, I’ve been saying that we are not far off from a large virus outbreak for Mac OSX. When it happens, I worry that it won’t be an isolated incident. But we’ll deal with that when the time comes. For now, it’s time to put Vista to rest and start embracing the alternatives. If you’re in the market for a new PC, do yourself a favor and look at Mac, or at least try a cool Linux distribution like Ubuntu. You’ll be happy you did.