As I continue my multi-day campaign to dispell the Vista rumors in the world, I find further evidence of the media's role in pushing the "Vista sucks" meme. Now let me first say that administrators everywhere are a busy bunch. Actually taking the time for a thorough analysis of new technology to gain one's own opinion requires an amount of time that many administrators often don't have today. But when established and respected media outlets like ZDnet and InfoWorld continue to push this anti-Vista meme, I wonder if they realize the harm they're causing to the industry that is "systems administrators".

My reasoning for this commentary comes from today's column written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, a reknown blogger whom I read regularly and has lately taken to task what appears to be his own very subtle anti-Vista campaign. Through some careful title wording, today's column suggests that everybody's throwing the baby out with the bathwater: Who's giving Vista a miss and waiting for Windows 7?.

In his commentary, he asks three questions of his readers. The first tells an interesting tale of the power of punditry. In this question we see how the recent "grass is greener" thinking affects the administrator population through the assumption that "Windows 7 has got to be better":

Continuing down this path, he suggests that continuing with Windows XP over the long haul -- even in the case of reduced support options -- is a better idea than making the jump. This concerns me particularly because a decision like this is more involved with risk-reduction in terms of support contract options than how one favors a particular OS:

Lastly, we arrive to the kicker. His last question illuminates much of the problem with the Vista debate of today: Due to that inability to set aside the proper time, many people are choosing to believe the punditry over their own eyes. Though a goodly number of people (administrators or not) want to believe the "Vista sucks" meme, most of them are sourcing their information not through their own opinions, but of the opinions of voices in the media.

This last question tells the true sad tale about Vista's relevance in today's business networks. If we at the grassroots level can't be bothered with taking the time to form our own opinion, then Vista is doomed to wither on the vine. The punditocracy's been slighted by it and refuses to look back.

I get emails constantly from readers of both this community and my work with Redmond Magazine and MCPmag.com. Those readers tell me their joys and pains with Vista. The messages I get with positive affect towards this OS reveal administrators who simply took the time to learn the new interface with all its quirks, changes, and newfangled widgets. The other half tell me stories of pain, but in most cases also a too-quick decision to drop it and run back to the comfort of what's familiar. Nearly all the anti-Vista messages I get arrive full of incorrect assumptions and old data.

As an old buddy of mine likes to say, "Give Vista a chance." I think we need to add to his comment, "...a rather extended one."

In fact, I challenge every Vista hater who reads this community to try the upgrade once again. But this time, give the new operating system three months. That's the length of time you'll need to grow accustomed to where its icons have moved, where the "hidden" parts have been relocated, where your needed drivers are, and how to best manage it using Group Policy and other centralized management tools.

If after three months, you still think Vista sucks and has no place in your IT environment, then I'll concede defeat.

But I want to hear about it. If you're a Vista hater willing to take on the "Give Vista a Chance Challenge" drop a comment here or email me at gshields@realtimepublishers.com. I respond to every message and we'll track your progress.