Al's Morning Meeting

CompUSA will keep stores open past midnight, Best Buy will keep some stores open late, but most will close at the regular hour. This is way different from previous operating system launches, when people were beating the doors down to get the latest "thing."

Skeptics say users should wait and let Microsoft work out any bugs in the system after launch before buying it.

The Associated Press said some retailers will offer great deals on computers to attract folks who might otherwise blow off the Vista launch. Some big-box electronic stores will offer deals on installation, add-ons and tech support -- which is where they can generate serious money, in the same way that car dealers earn money back in the service bay as well as on the sales floor.

The system also has a few additions that Mac users have loved for years, including a desktop search feature and a gadgets button that lets you instantly monitor stocks, weather and such. It also has new taskbar features that make it easier to flip between open windows. The Internet Explorer 7 browser makes it easier to add stuff to blogs or Web sites.

The Vista program also has a cool feature that future computers may take advantage of. The new Vista slideshow would allow laptops to display a "slideshow" of contents without the computer being turned on. The computer manufactures would have to build in a display on the outer skin of the laptop that might display appointments, calendar items, notes or recent e-mails. We will have to see if manufacturers tap into this one.

You can test drive Vista free online without installing it by going here.

From this point forward, most new PCs will have Vista installed on them -- just as WindowsXP is installed on PCs now. Microsoft says it will not abandon XP users, and promises to provide support through 2014.

Vista is not cheap: $259 for the top-end version, $99 for the basic.

But there are many critics and skeptics. C/Net gives Vista a 7 out of 10 rating.

The Associated Press says:

The Wall Street Journal said ... that Vista was the prettiest Windows system ever, with better navigation than its predecessors. But the reviewer said it wasn't a breakthrough in ease of use, and parts of the system ran slowly even on new computers. The large headline called Vista "Worthy, Largely Unexciting."

My buddy Mike Wendland at the Detroit Free Press points out some problems you should be aware of:

Lost in all the hype and hoopla are warnings about a whole bunch of software compatibility issues. Some of the every day programs you rely on may not work on your PC unless you get an update or, in some cases, purchase entirely new software. Among the popular applications that have had issues: Quickbooks, Lotus Notes and several anti-virus problems.

Those who use Virtual Private Networks to access work computers remotely may have problems, too.

To find out whether your system -- software and hardware -- will work with Vista, head over to a special section on the Microsoft Vista page. It offers free downloads of programs that will scan your current system and let you know what works... and what doesn't.

USA Today points out that low-end computers with wimpy memory and processor speeds will struggle to run Vista, which requires more horsepower. You will need at least a 40-gigabyte hard drive with an astonishing demand for 15 free gigs of hard drive space.

Why does Vista need so much more memory? Windows 95 included 11.2 million lines of code. There are reports, which Microsoft will not confirm, that Vista includes 50 million lines of code.

Snowy-Street Etiquette

The Rocky Mountain News has an interesting story about how, when snow falls and people get out and clear a parking space on the street, they expect to have squatting rights on that space -- after all, they cleared it. But sure enough, when they come home, they often find others have claimed their now-cleared space. What is legal and traditional in your neck of the woods?

Al's Morning Multimedia: The Crossing

Every day here on Al's Morning Meeting, I feature at least one multimedia project to help you think through your online strategies. This one from the Rocky Mountain News is an opus.

It is a 33-part (yes, 33-part) project called "The Crossing."

On the morning of December 14, 1961, a train cut through a school bus loaded with children. 20 children died. But 16 children and the bus driver survived Colorado's worst traffic accident. This series and the powerful multimedia presentations that are a part of the story online document how a few seconds changed the lives of so many. Some of those who survived are now nearing retirement.

The projects team has done tons of chats with the public about their work.

Members of Congress Post all Appointments

How refreshing. Sen. John Tester and Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand have posted their detailed daily schedules online so show who they are meeting with, including lobbyists. Tester even keeps an archive so you can check trends.

It is such a cut above the hopeless, bloated, self-promoting, useless sites that most politicians post at taxpayers' expense.

I have been using a wiki called Congresspedia for story tips lately -- it has been fairly useful to me. It carries all of the liabilities that citizen-generated and edited wikis do, so check everything.