Kam VedBrat just emailed me with congrats on the new job.  Kam is one of the PM's responsible for the way users will interact with the desktop in Windows Vista.  Robert Scoble links to Kam's roundup on coverage, including some surprising (and favorable) comments, in particular:

David Coursey at eWeek wrote:

Windows Vista is the best-looking OS Microsoft has ever produced and is competitive with, and in some ways better, than Apple's recently-introduced Mac OS X 10.4, aka Tiger.

John Clyman of PC Magazine did a write up on the UI changes alone. He wrote:

Our first impressions of the Aero interface are positive. We were particularly pleased to find that the visuals were engaging but not gratuitous. In fact, they often add information that makes using the PC faster, easier, and less error-prone, as well as more aesthetically satisfying.

Wow.  Even I'm a little stunned. PC sales are up, and the press are starting to actually sound optimistic. Maybe the post-DotCom hangover is starting to subside?

Just wait. There's more to come. :)