Declan Kennedy at APC Magazine has written an interesting analysis looking at Microsoft's suspicious lack of advancement in OS boot technique. Put simply, Vista will still overwrite the master boot record with no regard for any other boot loader that may be present. But Kennedy also describes how, with the right boot loader configuration, you can setup a dual-boot system that allows you to switch between Windows and Linux without having to reboot either OS, using hibernation. Here's a bit:

Sheesh, Windows recovers ridiculously quickly from a hibernate, somewhere in the order of 10 seconds… I wonder if I'll ever shut it down again? It's kinda like virtualisation nirvana - today! Well, now that the hyperbole is out of the way, it's a great find, one which I assume many other Linux users who aren't so scared of the hibernate function have had the joy of discovering before me. It does also bring you a step closer to the end result of true virtualisation - fast switching between operating systems, admittedly not quite the ALT + TAB affair that the proponents of true virtualisation describe, but still very handy.

Now, the seriously ill informed amongst us may be wondering why the headline attacks Windows Vista, and I have yet to even mention it. Why, because of this blog post from late last year on MSDN about the Vista boot loader gentle reader, which explains that Vista will continue to wipe your master boot record on install. And so begins 'The case against installing Windows Vista (volume 658, 943)'. Nerfing a PCs master boot record (MBR) in order to install your operating system is, to put it mildly, somewhat unfriendly behaviour. And this line from Microsoft about their users finding the OS too complex to install if they are presented with an option to reveal advanced options is frankly the usual despicable buck passing and FUD I expect from the company behind 'Get the Facts'.

And who the hell runs an OS installer to repair their MBR? I just whip out Knoppix, mate. Sorry, hasn't anyone mentioned that your Sysadmin tools are a total joke?