I downloaded Windows Vista RC1 and installed it on my PC. I have to say, it's pretty amazing! The GUI (graphics user interface) is beautiful and even my 2 and a half year old computer can run most of the special effects. At first my sound didn't work, but I could download drivers from my card's manufacturer's web site easily. I also installed my graphics card drivers. I didn't have to download Canon Pixus printer drivers because Windows Vista already supports it and the drivers look similar to the XP version.

The biggest change other than appearance is the new security function. Every time you or a program wants to access a sensitive area of the computer, such as the control panel or user administration, a special pop-up box double checks that you want to do this. You can deny the program access or grant it permission to access or open the data. I think it's great, but can get pretty annoying. However, most people wouldn't see that pop-up box very often.

I also downloaded and installed MS Office 2007 beta. This beta is for testing and costs $1.50 US to download but comes with the full suite. Office 2007 also looks great but the GUI is very different than previous versions. I kind of like the new interface but it takes some getting used to.

Office 2007 beta will expire in December and Windows Vista will expire next June.

I am also testing out another beta program from Microsoft called Writer. This program is for making Blogs right from your desktop. It works like MS Word and I can connect directly to English-Japan.com and post a blog. In fact, this post, the one you are reading, I did using only MS Writer and didn't open my web browser (also a beta version of Internet Explorer 7).

I'm looking forward to the official release of both Windows Vista and Office 2007.