Paul Thurrott: And just like that, Windows Vista rebounds. Years of delays, broken promises, and reduced expectations have dogged the Windows product team, which has been portrayed as hapless, indecisive, and unable to ship. But the recent release of a surprisingly good pre-Release Candidate 1 (RC1) build of Windows Vista, combined with internal information about Microsoft's expected completion today of the actual RC1 build it will ship widely in early September, suggests that the doomsayers will suddenly have a lot less to talk about.

Given the lackluster quality of previous pre-release versions of Windows Vista, I wasn't expecting such a sudden turnaround. But Windows Vista build 5536, which Microsoft shipped late last Friday, rights most of the wrongs of the past, offering major performance, compatibility, and fit and finish improvements, along with a heaping helping of bug fixes.

Suddenly, I can use the phrase "it just works" in tandem with Windows Vista and not burst into sardonic laughter. It's real this time. And I have to say, it was quite unexpected.