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On Monday, I was chatting with Larry Magid, my co-author on Microsoft Windows Vista: Peachpit Learning Series. We were talking about Microsoft’s operating system, and how both of us are frustrated by it.

Performance issues and complexity were at the core of our discussion. In day-to-day use, I’m generally happy with Vista, but there are indeed times when I wish it had more polish and was less sluggish.

There are bigger issues, of course, including the fact that the Windows ecosystem is broken. But even though Microsoft does seem to be thinking about making Windows leaner, that’s years away. Windows Vista needs help now.

Inspired by my chat with Magid, I came up with a list of 10 things Microsoft could do to fix Vista sooner rather than later.

1. Simplify everything. Vista is horribly complex, both under the hood and in the user interface. You need only look at the Mac OS — and particularly the upcoming Leopard — to know that a powerful operating system doesn’t need to be complicated to use. Submitted as best evidence: The Network and Sharing Center. I’d make a “Vista Lite” interface a priority for Service Pack 2.

2. Speed up bootup and shutdown. Ed Bott disagrees with me, but Vista’s startup and shutdown times are atrocious. Yes, in a clean, virgin state, these are snappier, but operating systems are meant to host applications, and if they bog down at startup or won’t shut down properly because you’ve added programs, then something’s wrong.

3. Fix sleep. Microsoft just can’t get sleep right. Putting a computer in a low-power sleep state didn’t work very well in Windows XP, and the allegedly improved version in Vista is no better. Again, you need only look at the Mac OS to know quality sleep is possible on the Intel platform.

4. Create a one-stop driver shop. One of Vista’s biggest problems is not really of Microsoft’s doing, but it’s part of the overall dysfunction of the Windows ecosystem. There are simply too many hardware components for which there are no drivers, or with buggy drivers. Microsoft needs to be even more aggressive with hardware developers, perhaps even providing resources to get drivers written for older hardware with a large install base. I’d also like to see Microsoft create a one-stop Web site for all Windows drivers. (In theory, Microsoft was going to make most Vista drivers available through Windows Update, but I haven’t seen much evidence of that happening.)

5. Fewer versions, lower pricing. There are two many versions of Vista out there, which I suspect may be hurting its retail sales. Pare them down to Home Premium and Ultimate and slash prices. Or, even better, just offer Ultimate for $129 and be done with it.

6. Improve performance. In my chat with Magid, I mentioned that I was considering doing a clean install of Vista on my homebrew PC in an attempt to improve its increasingly sluggish performance. He said he’d done that and it helped for a bit, but that “the crud crept back in.” I’ve downloaded and installed the various performance and reliability packs, but they don’t seem to improve things much at all.

7. Back off on UAC. I think the User Account Control — which generates a confirmation dialog when users make a system change — is a good idea and makes Vista more secure. Both Linux and the Mac OS X have a similar system. But the UAC is way too aggressive, showing up for the most basic of actions. This causes a lot of people to turn it off, which ultimately defeats the purpose. Microsoft needs to dial this way back.

8. Fix networking. I have frequent problems with Vista not playing well on my home network, and I have heard from a lot of others with the same issue as well. Windows XP’s networking system, while not perfect, was much more reliable and easier to set up. See item No. 1 in this list for more details.

9. Crack down on junkware. Most folks end up with Vista on a new PC from a brand-name company, and most of those companies load up those systems with junkware. I know that Microsoft discourages this technically, and there are antitrust issues with Microsoft licensing Windows to prevent this. But the company needs to be more aggressive about discouraging the practice, or work more closely with its hardware partners to make these applications friendlier to the operating system. As it is now, they’re giving Vista a bad name.

10. Rework Vista’s marketing. Bott says Vista’s marketing team should be “sentenced to six months of focus groups” for its current ad campaign for Vista. Indeed, from the beginning, Microsoft has bungled the pitch for Vista. Six months of focus groups is probably cruel and unusual punishment, but the company badly needs to pump up the Vista message.

These are crucial days for Microsoft, as I’ve said before. Apple’s about to unleash a very impressive operating system, installing it on computers that are compelling in appearance and performance. As indicated by Apple’s latest quarterly earnings results, the Macintosh platform is on a roll. Microsoft should not take for granted that its current dominance is something permanent.

Just ask IBM.