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Vista Still Not for Everyone

The motivation is unclear, but the bottom line is undisputed. The recently released operating system Microsoft Vista is not available for everyone. The new product is on store shelves with a price tag, sure, but it is still difficult for Mac owners and other customers to adopt and use freely. Be the cause security concerns by the Seattle based company, as it states or a cool business decision that Microsoft refuses to explain is remains the question around some circles, mainly the five percent of Americans who own Mac computers.

What is at stake is a technology called virtualization. Private users have now the access to switch between operating systems, a feature that was once available only to corporate data centers and web servers. It is an efficient and flexible feature, made possible by such features as Macintosh computers from Apple that use Intel chips like those used at Windows-based personal computers. This way, Mac users can operate programs that require Windows Vista even though they themselves use another operating system by switching automatically back and forth.

Both $199 home version and $239 premium version editions of Vista come with a 14 page long license agreement that bans such double operating system virtualization. To be legally allowed to do so, the user must purchase one of two more expensive versions of Vista from Microsoft. The company, on its behalf, claims it is trying to protect users from security holes spawned by the technology in the cheaper versions that have computers vulnerable to malicious programs, evening users? needs and security.