Del Boca Vista?

So is anyone picking up some of that Windows Vista stuff today?

I myself am not, though I've definitely been keeping an eye on it, as it was one of the reasons (along with, like, that money thing) I haven't tapped out my checking account for a new laptop. Wait to get a computer with Vista already on it, I was told by people who apparently know a lot more about these sorts of things than me.

And so here I am, waiting for opinions from the masses, taking note of sale prices in from the big box technology stores, and lying back in front of the TV and computer, while the media onslaught (such as Bill Gates appearing on The Daily Show last night) washes over me.

I assume I'll need it at some point, like anybody waiting for their computer to kick, start, and sputter on Windows 2000 instead of XP. Yet it also appears I have about five years to get on board. And given my usual tortoise-like approach to new technology, I'll need every one of those years to assimilate.

▪▪ The Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro has endured a love-hate relationship with Vista, while going into much-appreciated layman detail about installing and using the new software.

▪▪ Robert Vamosi of CNET.com says Vista is really nothing more than an overrated XP service pack (and that seems to be the general consensus).

▪▪ Bruce Gain at Wired.com says you really don't need Vista right now, especially when it doesn't quite seem ready for prime time.

▪▪ Wired.com also has image galleries on Vista, and MS Office 2007, which from most reports, is perhaps the best feature of the new Microsoft operating system.

▪▪ Table of Malcontents has a list of references and allegories to Microsoft in science fiction film and literature.

▪▪ And on a completely unrelated note, this article from yesterday's USA Today explains why Verizon turned down the opportunity to partner with Apple on the iPhone. As a Verizon customer, that question's been plaguing me as I try to decide whether this thing is worth switching over to Cingular this summer.