It took five years, $6 billion and 8,000 workers for Microsoft to develop their new 'Vista' operating system, but if you're smart you won't buy it -- right away that is.

That's because, as most security experts will confirm, the giant that is Microsoft has become a favourite target of hackers. And, despite the emphasis placed on making Vista secure, online troublemakers will be working furiously to find holes.

In fact, only 10 per cent of the market is expected to adopt the new operating system immediately -- meaning 90 per cent won't even touch the product until it has been tested on the open market.

"Most security experts, myself included, would advise people to wait to see the impact of Vista launching," Digital Journal Editor-in-Chief Chris Hogg told CTV.ca.

"Microsoft owns 90 per cent of the operating system market and when you're big, you're a target... just by installing it you are going to be putting yourself in front of the firing squad that's going to be going after Microsoft."

Instead, Hogg suggests waiting at least a year until it gets the go-ahead from IT professionals and after patches have been released to fix any bugs.

To test the product, a trial version of Vista was released to the world's best programmers and IT professionals who put the software through rigorous testing, trying to find any areas that could be exploited. Their feedback helped the team at Microsoft to shape Vista.

Still, within days of its early release to businesses last December, reports began to surface about security problems. Expected news for Microsoft, faced with the daunting task of creating a system for a client base that boasts nearly 1 billion computers.

Most companies will be the last to install Vista on their networks -- waiting until they are fully confident that their systems will remain secure.

"Don't be mistaken, everyone is going to get Vista eventually," says Hogg.

Vista features

To address concerns, Microsoft has made security one of the primary pillars of Vista. With Windows XP often referred to as a 'Swiss cheese' operating system because it has so many holes and Microsoft now famous for its 'patch' Tuesdays, the industry giant has totally redesigned the back-end of the software.

In Windows XP, hackers could hijack any part of a computer and use that section to take over the whole computer. In Vista, it's been compartmentalized so that if there is a security breach the problem remains quarantined.

In simple terms, with XP, hackers could break into a print driver and gain access to an entire computer. With Vista's isolation feature, if a hacker hijacks a print driver all he can do is mess around within that area.

There are also a lot of user interface changes on Vista including quick searches -- comparable to Apple's Mac OS X or Google Desktop -- and tags on photos, similar to websites like Flickr.

"They've taken a lot of information and a lot of habits from the way people browse the internet so when you have photos you can tag them... if it's a buddy's wedding you can just type 'wedding', you don't have to remember where you specifically store those photos," says Hogg.

Users will also enjoy not having to search for minimized programs in Vista as live mini-previews of each window pop open when the cursor is moved along the task bar.

In another perceived 'Mac knock-off', the right side of the screen contains small programs known as gadgets which display headlines, weather, microprocessor loads and memory utilization.

Buzzed-out

When Windows 95 was introduced as the replacement for Windows 3.1 the advancement was enormous and so was the response as customers camped outside stores to get a copy.

It was the same thing when Windows 98 was introduced as a product more usable and better than its previous counterpart. Windows XP was also highly-anticipated as it proved to be light-years better than 98.

For Vista, the buzz seems to be humming a more quiet tone.

"Microsoft has played catch-up for so long -- to Google to Yahoo to Apple -- that this launch is seen more as a catch-up than it is as an innovation -- that's the public perception," says Hogg.

Another reason is the launch of six different versions which is creating "an unbelievably confusing mess for the consumer," says Hogg. "They don't know what they need, they don't know if it's worth it, they don't know one version over another."

'Vista Home Premium', at $299 retail, will likely be the most popular as it features digital media capabilities allowing users to author DVDs and burn in high-definition.

Open up

Microsoft, while still the elephant of the industry, is starting to feel the ever-increasing pressure from competitors that offer alternatives to consumers.

Microsoft's tradition of positioning itself against open source code has pitted the behemoth against a rival mass of users bent on computing on their own terms.

For the technically-challenged, open source refers to software coding that is made publicly available, usually for free. In effect, users can modify programs or operating systems, like Linux, to their individual preferences.

Internet browser Firefox is also based on open code and, with one in 10 internet surfers using it instead of Internet Explorer, the browser has made a significant dent in Microsoft's market share.

Still, Microsoft refuses to make open source software, ensuring that nobody knows how its operating system works in the background. As a result, the company makes huge profits by selling licensing rights and forcing other companies to pay premiums to make their products work in unison with Microsoft's secret coding.

The company also keeps their source codes private to protect the software from being modified by hackers. But the same thing that protects Microsoft also makes it a target of hackers after something they can't have.

Online competition

The company is also being forced to adjust to the rise of applications on the Internet and downloadable software.

"Things like Google Desktop (have) really blurred the distinction of when you're online or offline and Microsoft has taken a page from the online book," says Hogg.

For the first time ever, Microsoft will make Vista available for download, preventing the consumer from having to buy packaged discs in long lines.

"Microsoft has really pushed this software as a service because it gives you the ability to only buy what you need so potentially in the future if you want Microsoft Office -- rather than spending a couple hundred bucks to get a bunch of programs you don't need -- you can only buy one program and pay a monthly license fee," says Hogg.

"Software as a service online being connected online... that is where Microsoft is pushing and that's where the future of the entire industry is because it can constantly stay updated and you don't have to go and buy new upgrades and new CDs."

For now, Microsoft continues to push its own agenda because, quite simply, it can.

But the monolithic empire may have to make friends soon as competitors like Google may force a collaboration.

"It's going to take a really big competitor and there's been a lot of rumours that Google will eventually launch an operating system," said Hogg. "If Google did launch an operating system, based on their current track record online -- that will be one of the biggest factors to change the industry and that could change it overnight."

For now, Google fiercely denies the rumour but, with shareholders demanding more and once they've developed everything they can online, the lucrative operating system market may be the catalyst that brings the best of both worlds together.

The six versions are:

• Windows Vista Starter is designed to allow families and new PC users to learn how to use computers to maximize educational benefits that PCs and the Internet have to offer.
• Windows Vista Home Basic will cater to users who only browse the web or check email. (Upgrade: $129; Full Retail: $259)
• Windows Vista Home Premium will add on to Basic by offering a whole bunch of digital media capabilities including DVD authoring software that lets users burn in high definition. (Upgrade: $179; Full Retail: $299)
• Windows Vista Ultimate will take Home Premium and Business tools so that a user's PC can be geared toward use at work, home or when travelling. (Upgrade: $299; Retail: $499)
• Windows Vista Business is the new version of XP Pro, but Goffe says the company learned that people didn't like the word "pro" in the title of the previous OS because it made small business think it would be too powerful or complicated. (Windows Vista Business: Upgrade: $249; Full Retail: $379)
• Windows Vista Enterprise will cater to the more complex business segment that needs an OS that can manage complex IT structures and file management.

Windows Vista and Office 2007 go on sale Jan. 30.