Microsoft's new look

• The Good: Easier and faster to install, with greater flexibility; a vastly improved user interface; a built-in desktop search, calendar and sidebar; greatly improved security


• The Bad: The price — hey, it's supposed to be just an operating system after all; it's a memory hog; Vista Home basic will disappoint anyone looking for an improvement over XP; it could require hardware upgrades


• The Verdict: a handsome, stable operating system that makes you realize XP's interface was getting sadly tired