Microsoft will launch its Windows XP successor next week dubbed Windows Vista on Jan 30. Key features include a newly skinned GUI, better search (allegedly), new multimedia creation tools such as Windows DVD Maker, and “completely redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems.” That’s about it.

The thing is, my PowerBook has been doing all of this since 2001’s release of Mac OSX. It’s a much better OS than any I’ve seen, though I currently use XP on my desktop. To upgrade to Vista, most computers 1-2 years old don’t support the minimum requirments like a graphics card to run Vista, hence, it should be at least a few hundred dollars to upgrade, not to mention the hassle and time spent in reloading all of your programs (something Apple does out of the box).

So the technologist in me wants to buy and install it right away just to see if it stacks up, and if it can significantly improve the operating system experience. The skeptic in me tells me it wont do anything better than OSX, a trusty browser, or even XP does. And I wouldn’t have to worry about upgrade headaches and additional costs. Will you be buying Vista next week?