One of the newsletters I read each week is the Clif Notes Newsletter.

This week, Clif had a link to a great Vista cartoon at ctrlaltdel-online.com.

Thanks for the grin, Clif. I’m pretty sure anyone trying to change to Vista is going to recognize the feeling.

DesktopLinux.com has a great multi-part article where the author is installing Vista and Linux on the same computer for a showdown.

A Vista vs. Linux Matchup describes the installation, issues and compares Vista Ultimate and SimplyMepis 6.1, which is based on Ubuntu Linux.

So far, the articles in the series are “Part 1: Leveling the Playing Field, ” “Part 2: Dual-booting Vista and Linux” and “Part 3: Hardware Wars.” The series has more to go…

Windows Vista is a nice piece of eye candy - Microsoft has dramatically changed the interface and added much more impressive graphics (if you have the graphics card to handle the Aero interface) and many security improvements under the surface.

Windows Vista, on the other hand, will be confusing to almost everyone whose been using Win98, WinMe, Win2000 and WinXP.

But, like new versions of Windows for a long time, Windows Vista doesn’t come with a manual.

That’s where the new manual from O’Reilly comes in –
Windows Vista - The Missing Manual.

Kind of hard to believe, isn’t it?

The Windows Vista interface is the number one eye-candy item in Vista — and the only visible effect of upgrading that most people will see.

InfoWorld has an article that kind of takes Microsoft to task for such a blatant non sequitur. I say “kind of” since the article doesn’t quite go so far as to question how gullible MS thinks we are…
In classic MS style, an testing lab found that, despite Windows automatically downgrading the Aero interface to an interface like XP’s on computers that don’t meet their standards, this doesn’t mean that Aero slows PC’s.

Excellent observation on the corporate impacts of Vista in 3 Reasons Why Corporations Are Going To Hate Windows Vista

The first two were obvious to anyone who has ever been in a corporate environment (but, apparently that excludes Microsoft Corp.).

The third observation, though, is the hidden problem. I noticed it when I saw a demo and then promptly forgot about it. But, most users are lost without the Start button.

ZDNet columnist Ed Bott reports that Microsoft has changed its planned EULA for Windows Vista retail purchases (not OEM copies) to allow transfer to other machines for your own use.  Of course, you have to remove the copy from your old computer — you don’t get to use it on multiple machines.

Good move, Microsoft.

This goes to show the power of blogging…

I love that Yogi Berra saying “It’s Déjà Vu all over again!”

In the latest news, Microsoft is playing the consumer-manufacturer games that they did with the Windows XP introduction right after Christmas.

That’s right — according to an article at Seattle PI, Microsoft is offering some free upgrades to buyers of new computer systems during Christmas.

If I recall correctly, the manufacturers’ experience was that the pre-XP Christmas was one of their worst.

Interestingly, not all current XP OS versions will have a free upgrade! The most common Windows XP system sold to consumers has Windows XP Home. Unfortunately, the coupon for an upgrade to Vista will still cost $49.99 for the actual upgrade — plus shipping.

Manufacturers are free to price their upgrades the way they want to, so some may offer better (or worse) deals.

Moral of the story: If you want a new computer for Christmas, make the family a pretty gift certificate good for a Vista computer system. Don’t plan on buying an XP system and then upgrading immediately.