There has been a lot of talk about Windows Vista but I am confused. Must I upgrade? What will happen if I don't? Will everything I now have work with Vista?
Sam, North Point
The Oracle: A good operating system (OS) ought to be like children and waiters: seen but not heard.
That, sadly, is rarely the reality. Microsoft has been energetic about promoting Windows Vista but the truth is, most people don't want to know. They just want to get tasks done.
Vista, the latest Microsoft Windows computer OS, was made available worldwide on January 30 - more than five years after Windows XP was introduced. There are four main consumer editions: Windows Vista Ultimate (HK$3,339), Business (HK$2,650), Home Premium (HK$2,128) and Home Basic (HK$1,795). The Ultimate edition combines all the entertainment, mobility and business-oriented features a power user may want from a PC.
The quick answer: no, you do not have to upgrade. Nevertheless, you may want to consider your options. The first step is to determine whether you can load Vista at all. If your machine is a little old, that could be problematic. The next step is to see what software will run. With all these things - and this is not purely a Microsoft problem - a new OS often will not run older software applications. If you are lucky, you can download a patch that will support the new OS. If you are not, you may have to wait until somebody writes one.
