Earlier today, having some free time on my hands, I decided to take myself to Currys Digital (formerly Dixons, which is now more like Dixoffs) to have a look at the latest offerings on the Windows Vista/Office 2007 front.
There were around six laptops, eight desktops and some monitors displaying a “WOW!” slideshow. One of the six laptops had frozen, mid animation.
I decided to wait and find out how long it would take Redmond’s magical anti-crash powers to unfreeze the console.
After twenty minutes, it still hadn’t moved, and I asked a staff member to intervene and restart the system.
Well done Bill.
Now comes the really fun part. Vista took forever to boot and log in on that laptop. Even after that the test interface ran slowly and without A.E.R.O. (Microsoft’s jazzed-up Explorer interface, featuring frosted glass windows and glowing buttons). And in the demo interface, it was constantly freezing and crashing.
You’d better make the next version good Mr Gates, or I’m taking my business elsewhere.