One of the challenges of being in the business of answering questions is staying out front with technology. We jokingly refer to it as living on "the bleeding edge." Because of that, I started using the beta releases of Microsoft Vista last fall, and last week decided it was time to install the final version.

Since I work on both Windows and Mac systems, Apple's MacBook Pro has been my all-in-one solution since late last summer. Using Apple's Boot Camp software I've been able to run the Intel-powered laptop in either Microsoft XP or Apple OSX, depending on the audience or client I'm working with. Having two MacBook Pro's let me try an installation on one without having my business come to a grinding halt if there were problems.

Knowing that a "Clean Installation" was my best chance of success, that's where I started. First I downloaded the latest version of Boot Camp (1.2) and ran it on the Mac. I set aside 30GB for the Windows partition (for system files and programs only) and started the Vista Ultimate installation. It ran smoothly, and when finished, I used the Apple drivers disk (that Boot Camp had me create at the beginning) to install the necessary drivers for the MacBook Pro. Now it was time to see how (if?) it all worked.

The only surprise I encountered was that there were no surprises. From the start everything worked well. I loaded up my standard suite of software and everything ran as expected. Microsoft Office 2003, Photoshop CS2, Photo Mechanic (the beta of version 4.5), MWSnap (screen capture software), iView MediaPro 3, FileZilla, Nikon Capture NX and Nikon's Picture Project. I also loaded MediaFour's MacDrive 7, which lets the Windows side of the computer read Mac-formatted disks. That's important because it gives you access to the Mac portion of the hard drive for reading and writing files. The only software I use daily that didn't work with Vista was Avira AntiVir, one of the best free antivirus packages out there. Time to find a new antivirus package, I guess.

With everything working, I decided to take Vista on the road with me last weekend to teach a two-day seminar. I had a bit of a bump while setting up, as I couldn't get the computer to send the image to the projector consistently. Sometimes it would, sometimes it wouldn't. Making a call to a friend at Microsoft (Mike Tedesco), he reminded me that I might need to check for an update to the video driver on the MacBook. Sure enough, a visit to ATI's website and a short download later, I had a control panel with added functionality that had the computer working with the projector immediately. With that installed the rest of the weekend flew by without a hitch.

Having used Vista for a week now, I've got to say I really like it. Most of that has to do with the interface. It's cleaner, easier to use and just plain prettier. That may sound minor, but the new look and feel are a true joy to work with. When I shift back to XP now, the interface seems old and dated. Vista also seems more responsive, but I haven't done any speed tests to confirm that.

Next on my list are upgrading the AMD tower my son Nathan and I built last summer, and then eventually an upgrade of the other MacBook Pro. I realize that most people will stay with XP for the short term, but the future is Vista, and that's where I plan to be.