Obviously, I spend a lot of time working with beta software. If you're envious of that for some reason, consider this little slice of "grass is always greener" logic: Sometimes I wish my PCs just worked. Sometimes I wish I just used my computers as the tools that they are, and didn't have to spend so much time installing, reinstalling, and fixing problems. From my side of the fence, your lawn is looking pretty darned good too.
What I'm getting at is that the Next Big Thing isn't always a given. Sure, Windows Vista is cool, sort of, and it's got some neat new functionality. But what would you say if I told you that the vast majority of new end user features in Windows Vista were already available to you--most of them for free, no less--in Windows XP? And that by skipping Windows Vista, at least for the time being, you'd be left with a PC that was faster, more compatible with the software and hardware you own, and just about as capable as an otherwise identical PC running Windows Vista?
Well, that's exactly what I'm telling you. No, you can't get the Windows Aero user experience without Vista, though I suspect the wizards over at Stardock will get pretty close. But do you really need Aero, along with its annoying incompatibilities, many of which result in sudden and jarring jumps into the Windows Basic interface? And no, most of Windows Vista's security features aren't available to XP users either, but you know what? You might not need them either, especially if your system is adequately defended with a hardware firewall and a good security software suite.
I'm talking about pure end user goodness here. Applications that are supposed to make people want Windows Vista. Things like the Windows Sidebar, Windows Calendar, Windows Photo Gallery, and Windows Media Player 11. These and other Vista-specific applications are really neat, but you can get identical or nearly identical applications on Windows XP too. And by doing so, you can eek some more time out of your XP investment, save up for a future Vista PC, or just avoid all the headaches that go along with upgrading to a new Windows version. Sure, you've waited 5 years for Windows Vista, but so what? Will another 6 months or a year be a problem? Really?
If you'd like to stick with Windows XP for a while longer, here's some good news. You don't need Windows Vista. And as I'll describe in the next section, there are plenty of excellent solutions out there that will make you forget all about Redmond's next operating system. At least for a little while.
XP replacements for popular Windows Vista applications and features
Windows Search: Windows Desktop Search
Back in 2003, Microsoft proudly showed off the WinFS-based Windows Search features it then planned to include in Windows Vista. Since then, three years of delays have allowed competitors like Google and Apple to take note of Microsoft's strategy and release desktop search packages of their own. Today, there are plenty of desktop search products available for Windows XP. You've got your pick.
In my mind, the contest comes down to two choices. If you're looking for the XP search tool that most closely resembles Windows Search on Vista--mostly because it's based on the same technology--then Microsoft's Windows Desktop Search (WDS) is the way to go. WDS replaces XP's Start Menu-based Search tool with a far more functional version and provides you with a handy taskbar-based Deskbar.
If you're looking for a bit more, consider Google Desktop as well. Like WDS, Google Desktop provides a taskbar-based Deskbar for quick hard drive searching. But Google Desktop also includes an interesting Sidebar feature that is very similar--but more capable--than the Sidebar feature in Windows Vista (see below). If you think you want to use both desktop search and a Sidebar-like feature, look into Google Desktop.
Both WDS and Google Desktop are free. WDS offers better shell integration than does Google Desktop, which runs its local searches in a Web browser just like Google Web search.
Windows Defender: Anti-spyware
When Microsoft purchased Giant Company Software in December 2004, I knew Windows users were in for a treat: I was a dedicated and enthusiastic Giant Antispyware user and knew it was the best anti-spyware solution on the market. Now, Microsoft's version of Giant Antispyware, dubbed Windows Defender, is an integrated part of Windows Vista. But here's good news for XP fans: Windows Defender is available for free on XP as well. And unlike some Vista applications that have been made available on XP in slightly-hobbled form, the XP version of Windows Defender is just as good as the Vista version.
Unlike some other security features, such as firewalls and anti-virus solutions, it's not only feasible but advisable to run two or more anti-spyware solutions side-by-side on the same machine. For this reason, you should consider a second anti-spyware product. There's been a lot of confusion in this space, and many people seem to have particular favorites, often for nonsensical reasons. My choice is ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware, which is only $19.99 (you can also get it as part of the excellent ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite).
Internet Explorer 7: Web browser
Say what you will about Internet Explorer--I certainly have--but version 7 is not just the best IE version yet, it's also a credible challenger to the current Web browser champion, Mozilla Firefox. Best of all, Internet Explorer 7 is available for XP as well, though it loses two key Vista features, IE Protected Mode and parental controls integration. It's still worth it: IE 7 is more capable and more secure than its predecessor. Even if you're not going to use IE regularly, upgrade IE 6 to IE 7 as soon as possible.
It's a tough call, but I'm going to remain with Mozilla Firefox. While I recognize that most mainstream Windows users will continue to use IE, I feel that Firefox is still safer, and it's definitely got some unique features that are missing in IE 7, though the gap is closing. However, both IE 7 and Firefox are superior to IE 6.
Windows Sidebar and Gadgets: Mini-Applications
Windows Sidebar is an onscreen real estate-stealing panel designed to hold HTML- and script-based mini-applications that Microsoft calls Gadgets. The Sidebar is clearly a reaction to Apple's Dashboard feature, which hosts HTML- and script-based mini-applications that Apple calls Widgets. Dashboard, in turn, was clearly ripped off from Konfabulator (since purchased by Yahoo) and other desktop customization utilities like Stardock Object Desktop.
If you're into this kind of thing, there are a number of XP-based solutions. Microsoft is reportedly working on an XP version of Sidebar, but I haven't seen any code since January and Microsoft has been curiously silent on the issue. But you could always go with the original, Konfabulator, which is now called Yahoo Widget Engine. This solution is more similar to Apple Dashboard--go figure--than Windows Sidebar, however, and doesn't include a screen edge-mounted panel of any kind. So if you're looking for something that more closely mimics Sidebar, you'll need to look elsewhere.
I mentioned Google Desktop previously as a replacement for Windows Search. Google Desktop also includes a Sidebar-like mini application environment called the Dashboard, and it's a decent Sidebar replacement, though it offers the standard Spartan Google interface. The Google Desktop Dashboards hosts HTML-, XML-, and COM-based mini-applications called Google Gadgets, and as you'd expect from a Google service, there are all kinds of useful Gadgets out there.
Windows Backup: File Backup and Restore
The new backup functionality in Windows is Windows Vista is as full-featured as it is attractive. In fact, it's so full-featured that it offers both file backup and restoration features and image-based full-PC backup, the latter of which uses the VHD virtual machine format first developed for Virtual PC.
System imaging is pretty much a power user feature, but everyone should be regularly backing up their data. The problem is that virtually no one does. Vista's Backup and Restore Center, with its automated backup feature, should help fix that problem in the future. But if you're using Windows XP today, you're going to have to look elsewhere.
There are plenty of decent backup applications out there, but my favorite also happens to be part of a complete PC protection and maintenance suite called Windows Live OneCare. It's not free, but it's not expensive either, and I've seen it available for as little as $15 after rebates (it's typically about $20). Windows Live OneCare is a must have for a variety of reasons--it's got tremendous anti-virus and firewall features, integrates with Windows Defender, and keeps your PC running at full speed by regularly defragging the hard drive. But the best feature, perhaps, is its Backup and Restore functionality, which lets you backup data automatically to external hard drives or optical media.
Windows Mail: Email
Windows Mail--aka Outlook Express 7.0--is one of the few Windows Vista applications that has almost no redeeming value. Therefore, even those who do upgrade to Windows Vista should look elsewhere for an email application. The commercial alternative--Microsoft Outlook--is your best bet. But if you don't have Outlook and don't feel like paying for it, fear not. There are plenty of excellent alternatives.>
If you're looking for a standalone email client, look at both Mozilla Thunderbird and Microsoft Windows Live Mail Desktop Beta. Both are free, though WLM Desktop is ad-supported, unless you pay for a Hotmail Plus or MSN account. WLM Desktop is the most similar to Windows Mail; indeed, it's based on the same Outlook Express underpinnings. But unlike Windows Mail, WLM Desktop supports Web mail accounts like Hotmail.
Don't be afraid to consider a Web-based email client. Most of the new generation Web mail clients are quite nice, but the winner, by far, is Yahoo Mail (currently in beta). Gmail (from Google) and Windows Live Mail (which works with Hotmail accounts) are functionally similar, but neither is as attractive in a Web browser.
Windows Calendar: Standards-Based Scheduling
Windows Calendar is a tough one: It's nicely designed and has all the sharing features you'd expect from an iCal-based application. Frankly, there isn't a standalone calendar application that comes close on Windows. The only exception is the Calendar component of Microsoft Outlook: If you have that, just use Outlook. If you don't, your options are a bit more limited.
The Mozilla Corporation, responsible for some of the finest Web browser (Firefox) and email (Thunderbird) applications on the planet, is also working on a standalone calendar application codenamed Sunbird. Mozilla Sunbird isn't as fine-tuned as Firefox or Thunderbird, and it certainly isn't as fully developed. But even the current pre-release Sunbird versions are decent enough for regular use. My guess is it will get more attractive over time.
If you're already using Web-based email, the major vendors of those services--Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo--all offer Web-based calendars as well. Curiously, Yahoo's entry isn't particularly nice looking (unlike its new Web mail), but then neither Google Calendar nor Hotmail Calendar are particularly Web 2.0 either. If I had to pick one above the others, it would be Google Calendar. Why? Like most Google services, Google Calendar is supported by a wide range of third party add-ons and has a nice community of users. It's also updated fairly frequently.
Windows Photo Gallery: Photo Management and Sharing
With Windows XP, Microsoft was pushing a task-based photo management scheme that was based in the files and folders of the Windows shell, and not in a standalone application. The success of Apple's iPhoto on the Mac OS X platform proved, however, that users prefer to use a nicely-designed, attractive, and functional application for photo management. So Vista, as is so often the case, follows in OS X's footsteps with an application, Windows Photo Gallery, that handles photo management, importing, and sharing.
To be fair, Windows Photo Gallery isn't actually an iPhoto clone. No, as it turns out, Microsoft already had an excellent photo management solution, which it had been selling as Digital Image Suite. Photo Gallery is simply a pared down version of Digital Image Suite 2006, so if you want something that works like Photo Gallery but is even more capable, that's the way to go.
Of course, Digital Image Suite isn't free. What's amazing is that you can get an application that offers much of the functionality of both Windows Photo Gallery and Digital Image Suite 2006, but is absolutely free. It's called Google Picasa 2, and it's a fantastic application. Since it's a Google application, Picasa utilizes Google's search engine to automatically find all the photos on your PC, regardless of where they're hidden. But its editing and sharing features are excellent too, and a recent update adds Picasa Web Albums compatibility, so you can upload your photos easily to Google's version of Flickr.
Windows Media Player 11: Digital Media Jukebox
Microsoft's next-generation version of Windows Media Player had its thunder stolen recently when Apple finally shipped a version of iTunes, iTunes 7, that includes beautiful album art views. But the real irony here is that the best looking version of Windows Media Player 11 is available for Windows XP, not Windows Vista. Weird, eh?
Anyway, if Windows Media Player isn't your thing, fear not. There are better digital media jukeboxes out there. My favorite is, go figure, Apple iTunes 7. It was recently updated to fix the stability issues that dogged the initial iTunes 7 release, and it's got a much cleaner and professional-looking interface than does Windows Media Player.
Windows Movie Maker 6: Digital Movie Editingp
The version of Windows Movie Maker (WMM) included with Windows Vista is the best yet, with support for Microsoft's recorded TV (dvr-ms) format and outputting in various HD formats. But XP users already have a very capable digital movie editor in Windows Movie Maker 2, and if you can live without those two aforementioned new features, you pretty much already have everything you need.
Windows Media Center: Digital Media in the Living Room
The Windows Vista version of Windows Media Center (WMC) is an evolutionary upgrade over the version offered in Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, though it should be more widely distributed thanks to its inclusion in two Windows Vista product editions, Vista Home Premium and Vista Ultimate. It also includes unique new features like DVD jukebox integration and digital/high-definition television support. Unfortunately, there isn't really any true analog to Vista's WMC. If you have Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, however, you get most of the best WMC features.
But what if you don't have XP Media Center 2005? Snapstream Beyond TV 4.x offers the same digital video recording (DVR) functionality as Media Center, but without any of the Digital Rights Management (DRM) silliness that bogs down Media Center (with protected content anyway; Media Center won't let you share certain content, such as that recorded on HBO or Cinemax). Note that Beyond TV is not free, however: The download version is $69.99, and of course you'll need a TV tuner card and possibly other hardware. Check the Snapstream Web site for some reasonable bundles.
Final thoughts
In the interests of complete disclosure, there are definitely important new features in Windows Vista that you just can't get anywhere else. But for many XP users--and let's face it, we're talking about several hundred million people here--there's no need to upgrade to Windows Vista right away. To stave off the sense of loss that might accompany any decision to hold off on that upgrade, I hope this list of applications and services helps. But if you absolutely have to get Windows Vista right away, logic be damned, fear not: I'm working on a similar list of gotta-have-it Vista features as well. I'll be looking into these reasons why you simply won't want avoid Windows Vista in a future showcase.