| It was almost midnight, and the crowd’s excitement was palpable. The line had wrapped around the electronics store, getting longer with each passing hour. As the clock ticked closer to midnight, the pack grew more and more electric. In just a few minutes, it would be in their hands. Was the crowd waiting to buy a new CD? Was a new Star Wars movie opening? Was there some new game console about to go on sale? Believe it or not, people were lined up to get a copy of the new Microsoft Windows operating system—and, yes, some people did line up for Vista; it happened. However, the rabid fan base didn’t really need to wait in line for Vista—thousands upon thousands got it early, via the beta program or a TechNet subscription, or they got their hands on it when it was released to corporations some two months before the consumer release.
Still, Windows Vista came with all the hype and fanfare you’d come to expect from a new Windows release. Millions were spent on the launch, and it was clear that Microsoft had a lot at stake in Vista. The good news was that Vista made some great strides with new and improved features, especially in security. As an IT professional, you’ll appreciate its ease of configuration and deployment to your users. With all its new security features, you’ll probably be able to sleep a little better at night. Users will appreciate the slick new graphical user interface—even if they will have to learn some new places to point and click. |
