Vista: Time to Upgrade?
Simplicity Force is advising users to only upgrade if they are purchasing a new, well equipped computer. Even then, Windows Vista may not be the best choice.
The primary advantage of Vista is increased security, but most home users do not need the level of security offered by Vista. If security is a concern, a fully updated copy of XP used only under a "limited" account with updated virus protection will provide a reasonable level of security. For the highest level of security available, however, Vista Ultimate does offer high end security features like whole drive encryption, protecting the data in case of hardware theft, which are unnecessary for most users.
Of course, the Aero interface looks much nicer than the standard explorer, and, if this is important to you, then buy a well equipped machine and the Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise edition of Vista. Keep in mind, however, the substantial performance loss because of the heavy graphics.
Overall, Vista will make most systems run slower for limited improvements. Is this really an upgrade?