Livin' La Viva Vista?

Last week, Microsoft decided it was to drop the tag "Longhorn" for its upcoming operating system. Instead, come 2006, everyone will prostrate themselves before "Windows Vista."

The Redmond folks have some real clever marketing planned for this puppy -- the software's tagline is "Bringing clarity to your world." Plus it also gets three very powerful keywords -- "Clear, Confident, Connected."

Can't you feel the confidence building inside you right now? (Maybe it's just lunch repeating on you)

Curious, I took a stroll over to the Mirriam Webster Dictionary online to scope out the definition of "Vista." This is what I found.

Main Entry: vis??ta
Pronunciation: 'vis-t&

Function: noun
Etymology: Italian, sight, from visto, past participle of vedere to see, from Latin vidEre -- more at WIT
1 : a distant view through or along an avenue or opening : PROSPECT
2 : an extensive mental view (as over a stretch of time or a series of events)

These definitions aren't all that far off I guess. After all, it seems like prospects of the software being released on time are distant. And when it does, it will leave us all feelng mental.