Paul Thurrott is at it again, this time declaring Windows Vista RC-1 (which is basically what this new version everyone is playing with is) is quite amazing. It just works (way to steal a tagline, hack)…
And just like that, Windows Vista rebounds. Years of delays, broken promises, and reduced expectations have dogged the Windows product team, which has been portrayed as hapless, indecisive, and unable to ship products. But the recent release of a surprisingly good Vista pre-Release Candidate 1 (pre-RC1) build, combined with internal information about the expected completion today of the actual Vista RC1 build that will ship in early September, suggests that the doomsayers suddenly have a lot less to talk about.
Given the lackluster quality of Vista’s previous pre-release versions, I wasn’t expecting such a sudden turnaround. But Vista build 5536, which Microsoft shipped late Friday, rights most of the past wrongs and offers major performance, compatibility, and fit-and-finish improvements, along with a heaping helping of bug fixes. Suddenly, I can use the phrase “it just works” in tandem with Vista and not burst into sardonic laughter. It’s real this time. And, I have to say, it was quite unexpected.
You can cut his giddiness with a knife. Honestly, I’ll never understand it. This was a guy who on repeated occasions has panned Vista (don’t believe me? Check out the links from the Mac Daily News article I found it on) and is now suddenly solidly behind it. It just doesn’t ring true. You can’t tell me they fixed everything in one release.
Of course, Thurrott is the same guy who wanted to prove Dell’s high-end workstation was cheaper than Apple’s MacPro, and who consequently configured a cheaper Dell with a cheaper processor and declared victory, only to be utterly smashed by John Gruber, so what he says is probably to be taken with a grain of salt. He’s not exactly a writer of high integrity.
[tags]thurrott, windows, windows vista[/tags]