At times, I can be a massive nerd. So much so that I work in my school’s IT department, fixing computers, babysitting the phone, and using my charm and devilish good looks to quell even the most temperamental, frustrated users.

However, the metaphorical storm clouds are a-gathering, and I fear my abilities may not do my job justice. What is this maelstrom bearing down upon us all, you ask? I can sum it up in two words: Windows Vista.

Today’s link of the day will take you to an article that surfaced on Digg.com today, entitled “3 Reasons Why Corporations Are Going to Hate Windows Vista.” Now, for those of you who really couldn’t give a rat’s behind as to the hell this is going to impose upon the business world, then I relieve you at this moment of your responsibility to read the rest of this post. I’m sure there’s plenty of AIM away messages that you need to check.

But as for the rest of you, this, the first significant release of Windows in five (or was it six?) years represents a major change in how both consumers and professionals will be doing business. Aside from the new ridiculous EULA (End User License Agreement) – which puts major restrictions not just on who owns the license, but on how many times a copy can be installed on a computer – Microsoft has taken their baby and rebuilt it from the ground up.

For the more technically savvy, this is kind of exciting. A more stable OS that might not be plagued by the major headaches of spyware/viruses/idiocy that Windows XP brought? Less crashing? A pretty new interface? A new file management system? Sign me up!

Oh, wait. The file system rewrite was dropped. Never mind.

Unfortunately, as I’ve come to realize, there are way too many people out there who still confuse desktop icons with their religious namesakes, so to speak. These are the people who, when asked what OS they’re running will answer, “Internet Explorer,” or “Office XP.” They need their hands held when being walked through even the simplest of computing tasks, and are typically the most grateful when IT staffers help them in any way, shape or form. It’s frustrating, yes, but at the same time, they make me feel like I’m actually qualified for my job.

And if my boss happens to be reading this: Hi. Please don’t take the above line too seriously.

Well, all of this is about to change. With Microsoft’s complete revamping (others will argue that the changes are merely superfluous, and we still have the same yucky OS running under the hood, but I’m not talking to them) of Windows, everything that we’ve come to know and love (read: “hate”) about Windows is getting an update.

Case in point: the “Start” button. Microsoft has opted to dump the little guy completely in favor of the “Pearl,” which is, basically, a “Start” button but without the “Start,” just a Windows logo.

You must be thinking I need my head checked if something as simple as this is going to turn the IT world upside down. However, you aren’t the type of person I’m talking about. I’m referring to the aforementioned folks who don’t know a mouse from a monitor.

As the article says:

Sounds really silly but this is an example of just one change Microsoft has decided to make which will send users running to the local support folks to sort things out. As anyone who has worked in a large corporation knows, you will always have users who can’t stand it when something changes. They constantly want to be “trained” and require hand holding for even the most basic tasks in Windows Vista.

Anyhoo, it’s an interesting read. Comments are most welcome.