Issue date: 2/14/07 Section: News

Since Windows Vista hit the market on Jan. 30, the question of if and when campus computers will be upgraded has been debated by students and CaTS faculty. Despite its advancements from Windows XP, many people wonder if Vista is even worth the time and money.

"Vista is a poor excuse for a Windows version operating system," said Chris Huelsman, a sophomore integrated science education major. "WSU should not switch from XP, and if they do, they need to wait 3 years," added Huelsman.

"It's a copycat version of the newest version of Mac OSX, but campus should install Vista after the bugs have been fixed, which will be in 3 years," said Jeremy Moore, a junior liberal studies major.
The new Windows Vista differs from Windows XP in many ways,
some of which are its redesigned interface, cool-looking icons, and its new fast and reliable Windows search, which is similar to Mac's Spotlight search. Still, Vista is one step forward that our campus is not quite yet ready for.

"There are more than 4,000 computers on campus that run Windows, and security compatibility is important; some things haven't been tested for Vista," said Verne Smith, WSU's Lead Information Technology Analyst.

If Windows Vista were to be installed on campus computers, one computer problem would cause a bug in all 4,000.

"When all 4,000 computers have a problem, it can impact a lot of things; the last thing you want while registering for classes is to worry about a computer problem," added Smith.

Indeed, no one wants to deal with a technological malfunction, so is Windows Vista worth it?

The answer is yes and no. Windows Vista is a nice upgrade; however, it cannot be installed on any old pc.

"Vista requires a faster computer with more memory, so a computer older than a year or two can't run Vista," said Verne Smith. Do not upgrade an existing computer, but rather, wait until you're ready to replace the computer to install Vista, said Smith.

Next fall may be the earliest WSU computers see Vista, as CaTS staff mentioned a possibility of having a few computer labs with Windows Vista installed. Testing it will take at least 6-9 months to ensure its security and compatibility with WINGS, said Smith.

Making the switch from XP will involve a lot of time, patience, and confusion, so our campus might be better off buying all new Vista computers.

Along with Windows Vista comes the new Microsoft Office 2007. This will also require more training, but the CaTS staff is said to be well-informed.

The library will probably have Office 2007 for sale in July, which is when the university's new contract with Microsoft will take effect.

Although the CaTS help desk has not received many calls concerning Vista or Office 2007, they are ready and willing to answer questions for struggling upgraders.

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