They wouldn't waste a zillion bucks developing something worse, would they? A very long time ago, a forward-thinking prehistoric man named Grok invented something that would revolutionise the world as we knew it; the outside toilet. Meanwhile, in the cave next door, his friend and golf buddy, Thog, came up with something else pretty clever, a device that made both moving and riding in his wagon a whole lot less painful; a circular wheel. Since then many have tried to improve on Thog's original idea but there isn't much we can do to make it better. Sure, we can cover it in a fancy rubber jacket or bling it up with chrome rims but underneath it is pretty much the same old design. Which brings me (slowly, I know) to my point; in Computerworld every few years we are told that we need a new wheel, one that is much better and nicer looking with more features and better security and naturally this wheel is more expensive than the old wheel and we have to have it or else.

I am, of course, talking about Vista, the "revolutionary" (lame pun intended) new operating system from Microsoft. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not anti-Microsoft or anti-big- business or anti-globalisation (whatever the hell that is) or anti- (insert your cause here), so don't be flaming my inbox with your high- horse whinging. I am merely stating for the record that I am always surprised by how companies like Microsoft (and Symantec is another one) can reinvent the wheel every few years and, in what can only be described as marketing genius, gently but firmly persuade us into adopting the new wheel under dire threat of all manner of virtual plagues and crop failures if we don't. Firstly, it has to be said, this is an extremely clever thing they have done. Secondly, as a Windows user, I'm not sure whether to be excited about it or insulted at being so patently manipulated. Come to think of it, maybe that's why all those Mac and Linux users hate Microsoft with the kind of pathological ire reserved for child molesters, politicians and brussels sprouts. Or, could it be because Vista looks and feels more like OSX and Gnome desktop than any version of Windows should?

The thing is, we have rolled over Windows versions before; I can still remember the queues of geeks camping outside retailers the night before Windows 95 was released; but how long before consumers get hip to the strategy? "Do we really need a new Windows version?" you cry. "Will my first-born be taken by Bill Gates and fed into some kind of Matrix to power future off-planet colonies if I don't upgrade?" you wail? The answer is, of course, yes. Unfortunately you can't fight progress, because progress equals money, and Microsoft has more of it to fling about than almost everyone else combined. But the question remains: why build a new wheel? Because they can, and as long as they can convince us that we need a new wheel, and get us to shell out our hard-earned coin for it, the cycle will continue (lame pun intended).

So will I be upgrading to Vista? Hell yes! Do I resent having to pay for it and upgrade all my hardware just to run it? Hell no! It has to be better. They wouldn't waste a zillion bucks developing something worse, would they? They wouldn't borrow all the best that Mac OS and Linux has to offer for nothing, surely. Then there's the emotional angle. Have you ever felt that loneliness when you are the last person to leave after a meeting? That empty silence where all you can hear is fading conversation in the carpark outside? If you are one of those people who still use Windows 3.1 and regard it as the high-point in the Windows evolutionary line, then that feeling probably doesn't bother you. I bet you don't do Trade Me or internet banking either. But hey, whatever blows your hair back. For me though, being part of the latest technology makes me feel like a bit of an adventurer, a trail-blazer. Of course, there is a risk: the fear I may make a fool of myself or not be able to cope with the changes, but at least I am not going to be the last one to leave. When you're done, can you turn out the lights and lock the door?