Well, I've been using Vista for a little over a month now, and I'm getting used to the changes. Some are for the better, others seem to be for the worse.

First, the things I like. The new "Aero" interface is probably the most obvious and widely talked about new feature in Vista. Things like semi-transparent windows, 3-D windows switching and other "eye candy" have gotten a lot of press.

Having used it for a few weeks now, I like the new look. It took me a little while to get used to it though. At first, I thought the windows looked a little clunkier than they did in Windows XP. And I've never been a big fan of a lot of animation and special effects - I would rather have a computer that runs a little faster at the expense of all the extra processing for this stuff.

Well, Vista uses the processor on the video card to do a lot of this stuff and I was pleasantly surprised how fast it runs. I tried turning it off as a comparison, and it didn't really speed the computer up noticeably.

I also like the new layout on the start menu. It's close enough to past versions of Windows that I didn't have to retrain myself to use it, but the layout has changed for the better. Things are much easier to find and the way it works is much more efficient.

The one thing I don't like about the start menu though is the pause whenever I open a subfolder. I like to keep my start menu organized in folders according to what they do - utility software, graphics software, office programs, etc.

I haven't been able to find a way so far to shorten the time Windows pauses before opening a subfolder. I find this slows me down enough to be annoying.

As far as what I don't like…

I've got a couple of programs that just don't work in Vista. It has some "compatibility" features that let you set the way certain software runs.

It will run it as if it is an earlier version of Windows (XP, 2000, 98, etc.) or with certain settings for the resolution, number of colors or other things.

So far, these compatibility settings haven't made a bit of difference to any programs that aren't working in Vista. They won't work with or without these settings.

The networking setup in Vista is something that was supposed to be much improved, but I find it's still not as good as it should be.

I have a mix of Windows and Mac computers, and Vista still doesn't recognize them all properly.

It also seems to disconnect my other computers - Windows and Mac - from the shared drives every so often, requiring me to reconnect and login again to get access back.

I don't use wireless on my Vista system, but I've been reading some poor reviews of its wireless networking as well. Hopefully Microsoft will get these issues sorted out with an update or service pack before too long.

Overall, I'm happy with Vista (unlike some other high-profile Windows users like Chris Pirillo). There are still a few things that need to be ironed out, but overall I haven't seen anything that would stop me from recommending it.

The only warning I would give you is if you're upgrading and you have any older hardware (especially scanners) you should check for Vista drivers before making the leap. A lot of people are having trouble using older drivers under Vista.

If you're buying a new system with Vista preinstalled, this shouldn't be an issue.