Was Windows Vista an ideal operating system? . But without the constant bashing on the part of major technology and business journalists, I doubt too many of those issues would have seeped into the public psyche. And if we believe Microsoft's internal research, most consumers didn't have the kind of trouble that's been highlighted so many times on pages across the Web.

As someone who gets a lot of reader mail (not all safe for publication) I can tell you average consumers and super-geeks alike have had plenty of problems with Vista. Not everyone, but enough to be noteworthy. It's not the journalists, dude, it's the OS.

Will Windows 7 get a fair shake, regardless of what OS the reviewer uses every day? I think so. And so far, the early reviews are mixed. Computerworld's Preston Gralla isn't doing back flips over the new OS, but :

Anyone looking for massive changes or some kind of paradigm shift will be disappointed. But those who want a better-working Vista with the kinks ironed out and some nifty new features introduced will be very pleased.

Infoworld's Randall C. Kennedy says . After testing a pre-beta version, Kennedy says: