Well, we have Windows 98, Windows Millenium, Windows 2000, and for enterprise level systems, we have Windows NT and Windows Server 2000. These different operating systems are created to suit the needs of the various market segments. A home user will choose the home edition, and a developer could choose the professional edition.



For most home users, Windows 98 second edition is already a rather stable OS, compared to Windows 95. However, it's still lacking in features. There is no firewall, and networking features are almost non-existent. As home users grow more and more sophisticated, the demand for these features grow as well. For enterprise level users, they face similar problems as well. Windows 2000 server doesn't come any form of protection, making the Internet Information System (IIS) prone to packet attacks. Packet attacks mean hackers are sending bogus packets of data to the server from computers that they hijacked all over the world. So the server administrator will experience the server slowing down to a crawl, till it's almost non-functional. Since then, many software companies have sprung up to fill this gap by introducing protection software.

Meanwhile, the hardware side of the personal computer industry is heating up. CPU power is doubling almost every year, RAM is getting bigger in size as well, and hard disk cost have taken a nose dive. Improvements in hardware provides the fertilizer for improvements in software. No longer are software constrained by hardware specifications. Recognizing this trend, Microsoft knows that it's high time that they get their act together, and surprise the market with a brand new software - the birth of Windows Vista.

The process of creating Windows Vista was a painstaking one. Microsoft took pains to really listen to customers. They talked to customers, did surveys, analyzed the results, and based their new OS on what the customers want. Everyone was talking about Windows Vista for many months before it was finally launched. The result?

Many users were tremendously pleased with the visual improvements in the OS. Windows 98, was a far cry from Mac's OS in terms of visual effects. With the launch of Windows Vista, Microsoft has finally been able to close the gap. Many additional functions such as firewall, desktop personalization, etc. that were non-existent in previous versions of the OS are now made available. The new OS is definitely more stable, but as with all new software, there are some compatibility issues with other third party software and drivers. But none are too serious to matter much. Now, it's time for the software vendors to play catching up. And many have already done their part by upgrading their software shortly after the launch of Windows Vista.

Today, Windows Vista is a formidable force. The additional powerful features sure make it very tempting to perform an OS upgrade. With online downloads so conveniently available, it's no surprise that most will be downloading their own copy very soon.