My new Vista computer!

The day Windows Vista was launched, I went on the internet and ordered my dream computer (well, as close to it as I could afford!) That was nearly two weeks ago and it finally arrived on my doorstep on Thursday morning.

There are few purchases in life that get me really excited. You could probably list a car, a house, and a vacation on some tropical island among the most exciting, and I wouldn’t disagree, but I’d definitely add getting a brand spanking new, jaw-dropping, show-stopping, fully loaded, high-end Windows Vista Ultimate PC to that list.

I won’t go into technical details except to say that this has a dual Intel Core CPU, with both processors clocking in at 2.4 GHz. It’s got 2 gigabytes of RAM, and a GeForce 7600 GT graphics card.

So what does this mean in terms of performance? Well, Vista can measure how good your machine is with its “Windows Experience Index” score. My computer got 5.3, which is pretty good according to the help file.

A computer with a base score of 4 or 5 is able to run all new features of Windows Vista with full functionality, and it is able to support high-end, graphics-intensive experiences, such as multiplayer and 3‑D gaming and recording and playback of HDTV content. Computers with a base score of 5 were the highest performing computers available when Windows Vista was released.

Windows Aero, which produces the flashy glass-like graphics you might have seen in screenshots is really nice, and my old Windows XP machine, which I’ve got networked to my new computer, looks really tired and dated beside it.

Thom Holwerda compared the usefulness of Aero’s visual effects to the night view cameras on the new Mercedes S class:

The S class has two night vision cameras on the front of the car, which will, at night (obviously) display its images on a screen right behind the steering wheel, greatly enhancing what you can see on the road, making it much easier and safer to drive at night. Now, this is typically one of those features which many people will claim are pointless, but at the same time, all the people who actually used it, will say they never want to go back to a car without this extra safety precaution. Vista’s Aero effects fall into the same category.

Perhaps the only complaint I have of Vista is the constant barrage of “Are you really, really, really sure you want to do this?” security messages. I’m sure it’s just because I’m still installing stuff, and they’ll become less frequent over time, but it seems like overkill.

A note to people who buy a Vista machine in Japan: If you get a Mouse Computer, as I did, you’ll find McAfee Security Center pre-installed. If you want to get rid of it, as I did, take my advice and just re-install Vista. I wasted two days trying to remove McAfee, and even when I gave up and thought I’d use it… it didn’t work! Seriously, Vista took like 20 minutes to automatically re-install and picked up most of the drivers itself – easiest Windows installation ever!

Before I wrap this up, and it was never meant to be a review (Mike kept hassling me for photos!), I’ll just add that with Vista Ultimate you can install a language pack so the whole operating system runs in your chosen language – this is a huge, huge reason to get Vista if you’re buying a machine in Japan and can’t read Japanese. Note: Office 2007 still functions in Japanese, although there might be an Office language pack available, too.

If you like, you can find me on Twitter at @nick_ramsay. I'd love to hear from you!