I now have three computers in my main work area, a Windows XP machine, my new Windows Vista computer and a Mac. My Vista computer is a delight, but the programs that I need for my daily computing needs are not all Vista compatible. In fact, my main Windows workload is pretty evenly split between the two Windows computers. Here’s why.

Many programs work with Vista including Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer 7, Outlook, Outlook Express and Firefox. But even if all you do is email, word processing, and Web surfing, you are sure to run into glitches. For instance, I tried to view a Web movie with Apple Quicktime and found that the Vista version is not quite ready yet. There are other programs by major companies that even though Vista has been on the market for several months, are still not compatible.

Because of the major changes in Windows Vista, the situation is much worse than it was when Windows XP was released. And it is a mixed bag. Some manufacturers were quick to update their products, some are lagging way behind. Some are offering free updates. Some are putting out new versions which require an upgrade that needs to be purchased.

There is no way to tell the status of any program without a trip to the company’s website. And don’t expect it to always be spelled out for you. Some manufacturers of Windows programs don’t even mention the word “Vista” on their website. Others give little information. For instance, I might have tried to run iTunes if I had not read about the Vista incompatibles on several message boards.

Different programs by the same manufacturer may have different levels of Vista compatibility. Adobe is a good example. Adobe was quick to offer free Vista updates to the latest versions of Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements. They have planned free updates for Adobe Acrobat 8 and Adobe Reader 8, but have not yet released them. Most of Adobe’s Creative Suite 2, which includes their high end programs like Photoshop and Illustrator, work with only minor problems, but those problems will not be fixed. Instead, Adobe expects consumers to ante up for the Creative Suite 3 which will be released in March or April of 2007.

Even some programs that offer free upgrades can be at least slightly problematic. Dragon Naturally Speaking offers a free upgrade to Vista from their latest version, but downloading it took hours, even on a high-speed connection.

So if you need to get all your work done, keep your Windows XP computer on your desktop right next to your Windows Vista machine. At my house, these two will have to co-exist for at least another 6 months or until Vista is more mainstream.

3-7-2007