Vista is a perfectly respectable new iteration of Windows. It took Microsoft over five years and $6 billion dollars to create Vista.

There's a lot of functionality built into Vista — for example, the photo editor, which is integrated with the operating system and which works like a stripped-down version of the already-stripped-down Photoshop Elements.

And now, some really good features of Vista

• Vista looks pretty. The edges of the windows are transparent. Vista is blatantly following the trend set by Apple. Many of Vista's features are pilfered directly from Mac OS X. But in general Apple has shown itself to be far more efficient and innovative in the operating systems market.

• Much of the challenge of creating a good operating system is design, not technology. Which means figuring out a visually logical way for users to get at all their information easily. Vista is creeping in that direction, with improved search functions and nicely built-in music and photo organizers.

• Vista is securer..Windows is a near-monopoly, what makes it a magnet for phishers, viruses, adware and other malware writers. Microsoft has worked on that. The most impressing thing is probably the built-in parental controls..you can decide when your kids will use Vista, what websites they can go to, what applications they can run, who they can IM with, and so on.

• Vista is expensive and a bit of a resource-hog. There are two versions targeted at home users : Basic, that costs $199, which is about what OS X costs, and Premium, $239. For the Premium edition Microsoft recommends a 1Ghz processor and 1GB of RAM, but it is reccomended though, to have quite a bit more power to get the full, smooth experience..

However, translucent borders are all well and good, but out there in the jungle, no one cares how pretty you are.