The wow is not yet!

My house, for all its sins, has good quality window frames that really were built to last. The underlying woodwork is preserved against the elements by a tough primer, several layers of resilient undercoat and a highly polished gloss exterior. The smooth surface hides a multitude of hidden stratas; each coat of paint provides a robust foundation for the neighbouring coat above it.

Many times, the effects of driving rain, wintery gales and sub-zero temperatures have been wiped away with the stroke of a cloth and the occasional squirt of polish. However, over time, the relentless onslaught of the weather gradually erodes this painted armour. The once pristine surface begins to look aged and imperfect and the challenging maintenance cycle begins.

With care and attention, the frame can be restored but each repair introduces subtle imperfections that accumulate over time. Of course, other parts of a house are prone to this gradual degradation and even the most dilligent handymen struggle to keep everything in showroom condition. Corners are cut and compromises are made to patch up a problem because of other more pressing maintenance and decorating issues. Ultimately, the patching, redecorating and restoration can no longer resolve the effects of an ever ticking clock and the window frames have to be replaced.

It is at this point that the inevitable analogy with PC based windows can be made. The question is, does Vista apply just one coat too many in the continuing search for a new glossy finish? Sure it looks pretty with its 3 dimensional application browsing and fancy widgets but look beneath the surface and perhaps the undercoat is beginning to crumble a little. For my laptop, applications run more slowly when they can actually be bothered to run at all. The entire system locks up with more regularity than ever before and refuses to reanimate itself unless rebooted. The continual need to reaffirm my identity, even as a system administrator, is annoying at best and common tools and features have been juggled around to the point of obscurity. Many of the once promised features have been omitted leaving a pretty shell with an aging interior.

Everyone around me is busily reinstalling Windows XP as new hardware manufacturers grudgingly offer alternative operating systems.

I have always supported Microsoft in their endeavours and continue to do so but the problem of beauty only being skin deep remains. A pretty face will always turn heads but this fascination soon fades especially when there seems to be little inner depth below the surface. My expectations of Vista have far outweighed my experience and I can only hope the disappointment of this flagship product is not repeated. The wow is most definitely not now!