DOES VISTA STILL NEED ANTIVIRUS PROTECTION?

     “Anti-virus software skeptics got a big boost last year when Microsoft co-president Jim Allchin stated that Windows Vista's new security features are so strong that anti-virus software is no longer required. In fact, he boldly claimed that he would have no problem letting his seven-year-old son use a Vista computer without any anti-virus software installed.”

     Now check out the comments by DADDO at the bottom: “1. I will believe Microsoft's claims about Vista security as soon as I finish installing my patches. 2. Didn't Microsoft make similar claims about Windows 95, Windows NT and Windows XP security? - yes they did. 3. How many enterprises do you know that have standardized on Vista? 4. 300,000 viruses, trojans and worms causing more security incidents then all the DoS attacks, network intrusions and data leakage events combined - far, far more. 5. Have you looked at how Microsoft's virus scanner has performed when tested? Dead last in most tests.”

http://www.itsecurity.com/features/does-antivirus-matter-090407/

THE GOOD SIDE OF VISTA

     Scroll down the WIKIPEDIA article on Vista to the “New Or Improved Features” section, and you will see a long listing of virtues.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Vista

     Also, COMPUTERWORLD says, “Upgrading to Windows Vista now will mostly bring frustration. But over the long run, gaming in Vista is likely to transcend gamers' wildest dreams.”

http://www.computerworld.com/comments/node/9014463

SHAREWARE FOR WINDOWS VISTA

     MICROSOFT lists here Windows VISTA shareware “demonstrating the highest standards available today.”

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/wugnet.mspx

CAN’T AFFORD VISTA? AN UNUSUAL SOLUTION

     It costs a lot to upgrade to Vista. Here’s a novel solution from PC WORLD: Since the main benefit of Vista is its appearance, make Windows XP LOOK LIKE Vista!

http://forums.pcworld.com/docs/DOC-1300