As most of us will have already noticed, Microsoft has finally launched the latest version of its enormously popular Windows operating system: Windows Vista. After one of the longest development processes in the company’s history, Vista is intended to become the most powerful and easy to use products that Microsoft has ever released. While it is not revolutionary, or particularly ground breaking in its appearance, Vista will probably change the way we use our computers, and perhaps even bring them into the living room as Microsoft has promised for many years.

Windows Vista has been designed to be more secure to viruses and interference than any previous generation of the software, and Microsoft has been keen to let people know just how important security is to the new software.

It is also designed to be more integrated with the Internet than ever before, the new Windows Live network will provide users with access to search functions, news feeds and much more directly from their desktop.

Much has been made of the new look Windows Aero interface, which is more attractive than previous versions, and includes plenty of nice touches including the ability to display the desktop in 3D to make navigating between programs much more straightforward.

The new Windows system has been criticized for its high requirements when it comes to the quality of the computer required to run it properly, and these are well founded, however, most new computers are more than capable of running the system perfectly happily, and generally, any computer less than 2 years old will be Vista capable, although some older accessories may not work completely.

The question of whether or not to upgrade to Vista is a tough one. Most users will be happy with XP and not need to upgrade, but with the added security features available on the new system, it might be worth while upgrading early if your computer is capable of Vista, otherwise, it may well be better to wait until you buy your next machine before getting Vista.