High Protein Menu

I've had a MacBook Pro for a couple of months now, and after reading so much about Microsoft's latest operating system, I decided to take the plunge and install it into Bootcamp. Of course, some things don't work, but most of the hardware in this fine piece of kit runs great - so much in fact, that I have decided to switch over to Vista full time.

If you're an Apple fanatic like I used to be, you might be wondering what the hell I am thinking. Well, suffice to say that over the past few months, Microsoft has won me back over in a big way.

Installing Vista was a breeze, simply burn the downloadable ISO, set your language and basic settings and hit install and around 30 minutes later you're greeted with an interface that is undeniably slicker than what OS X has to offer at the moment.

Aero Glass is really, really slick. With the Radeon 1600xt in the Macbook Pro, it runs like a dream out of the box. Of course, some shiny new interface isn't enough to make me want to switch from the premier OS, is it?

Well, almost. It really is that good. However, there are too many great new features in Vista than I could list here - you can take a look at the current featurelist on Vista's Wikipedia page.

Hardware support isn't 100% yet, with Bluetooth and the iSight being a little flaky. I managed to get Bluetooth working with the instructions on the OSX86Project forums.

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that the drivers on that page stick around after a restart, which is a bit of a problem if you're using Bluetooth devices on a regular basis.

Overall, performance is quite snappy as you would expect from hardware of this caliber. Applications open extremely quickly and are a joy to use with the glass effects enabled.

The primary reason behind my switch however was to experience the entire Live lineup as it is intended.

I've long waited for Microsoft to really deliver on it's promises of real integration between devices, and it really seems that with Live, they're going to pull it off.

Before my move to Melbourne, I owned an Xbox360, which I enjoyed a lot - particularly the Live functionality. Online gaming was a breeze, and it integrated seamlessly with my existing Live (read: Passport) account.

As I had expected, so does Windows Vista, and all the Live services associated with it. I currently am using Windows Live as my start page in Internet Explorer, logged in with my Live acccount that automatically personalizes the page based on my location and other preferences.

I also use my Live account in the most popular IM service (in Australia, at least), Windows Live Messenger. I've also been testing the other Windows Live services, such as Live Local and Maps, all of which give outstanding experiences running inside Vista.

The way I use my computer and other online services has changed dramatically thanks to this tight integration between services. For example, Live Local automatically knows my location when it loads maps, giving me quick access to the tools that I want to use straight away.

Unfortunately, I don't have a Windows Mobile based cell phone, but integration with my Nokia 6280 is tight. Outlook calendar events and contacts transfer via Bluetooth to the phone seamlessly in seconds using the Nokia software (which, I must say, integrates almost perfectly with Vista).

For some people, this still won't be enough to break them away from the joy of using OS X. And that is cool, of course. It really is a great operating system.