Anilrgowda

Last week's column, on problems one computer consultant had with a recent version of Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system, brought a vigorous defense days later from the company. Chris Flores, Microsoft's group product manager for Windows Vista, predicted in an interview that consumers will have few problems upgrading older computers to Vista when it's introduced Jan. 30. Troubles with a Vista upgrade were reported here last week by former IBM and Deloitte & Touche computer consultant Jim Rea of Eden Prairie. The upgrade of his two-year-old Windows XP PC failed, and a full install still left the PC unable to recognize his DVD burner and a second hard drive, and unable to use his HP printer or a Corel photo-editing program. Later he was unable to reinstall Windows XP.
The explanation is that Rea was using the "release to manufacturing" version of Vista released in November, said Flores, who is based at the company's Redmond, Wash., headquarters. Although Microsoft said at the time that the release "signifies the completion of our development work," it really wasn't finished because hardware and software firms still had to make their products compatible with Vista, he said.
Rea's difficulty reloading Windows XP is still under study, Flores said. Vista will be "dramatically different" by January, he added.
"The majority of PCs sold over the past two years can run either Vista Home Basic or Vista Home Premium," the low-end and high-end consumer versions, Flores said. "The vast majority of PCs now for sale will run Vista."
Consumers can test for compatibility by downloading the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor at www.startribune.com/a2082.
Flores warned that accessory manufacturers may not provide Vista compatibility for gear, such as printers, more than six to eight years old.
But Rea remains unconvinced. "Microsoft is now implying that development of Vista is not done -- it's still being developed and thus still being tested and debugged," Rea said. "Which version will be pre-installed on new PCs? And how tested will it be?"
Rea also wonders how many consumers will have to buy new accessories because their old ones aren't Vista-compatible.
Rather than buy Vista in January, "it would be safer to wait until it has been field-tested for some time," he said.