Microsoft’s Newest Windows: “Vista”

Yeah, but did it get rid of that annoying glitch in Spider Solitaire?

Microsoft Corporation has already released its newest version of Windows—entitled “Vista” (formerly codename: Longhorn)—in beta format to developers and IT professionals earlier this month. While there is no set launch date for the software giant’s newest project, I can only pray that they have left themselves enough time to re-think the greatest thing Windows XP had going for it: Spider Solitaire.



Yes, though it may have been hidden behind XP’s “highlights” such as a green “start” button, a nifty grass-covered hill desktop picture, and a soothing Windows start-up jingle, Spider Solitaire clearly became the reason to own the extremely expensive operating system.

Nevertheless, after my many winnings—including my 17 wins in a row (on beginner, I don’t like medium or hard, it’s too stressful)—I became frustrated by one of the drawbacks to Microsoft’s greatest gift to the computer public. At least once in every five games I would accidentally hit the face-down card in the lower right of the screen twice, thereby dealing out two consecutive sets of extra playing cards! Talk about your big BUM-ER!

It’s so frustrating. I almost always start the game on fire. Sometimes, I’ll get an entire King-thru-Ace set before I ever have to hit the first deal! But then somewhere along the lines I get frazzled and hit that dastardly card twice when I really only wanted to do it once. Then it’s a never-ending pileup of cards that I can’t move anywhere because all of a sudden, I have five 8-of-Clovers laying around with no 9’s to put them on.

Microsoft can talk all they want about updating the “network proxies” of this and integrating the “total information communication systems” of that, but if they don’t do anything about this horrific flaw in Spidey (I call it “Spidey” for short ☺), then they can just forget about selling their product to me. I fell for the glitz and glamour of Windows 2000 last time, and all I had to show for it was Minesweeper. Minesweeper! What a joke! I don’t understand that game at all. I click the little boxes, and I either see a number or a bomb. Either way, in the end, the little smiley face at the top always died—and I hate to see a little smiley face with X-ed out eyes ☺.

I should’ve stayed with my Tandy 1000.