Windows Vista"s one-year anniversary is Wednesday. Microsoft released the software to everybody on Jan. 30, 2007. A day earlier, Microsoft held a launch gala for Vista and Office 2007 in New York. In this post, I score how well Vista has done in 12 areas since its real launch 12 months ago. Microsoft also launched Vista on Nov. 30, 2006. But the release that matters—when businesses or consumers could buy PCs—happened two months later.
I chose attributes that I believe matter most in evaluating Vista"s real relevance, particularly in relationship to Windows XP. The scoring is my own, based on my personal experience using Windows Vista for nearly two years and on my assessment of other users" perceptions and experiences, including Microsoft customers and partners.