Our second guest for the series of interviews we started last week is Joseph Fieber, the man behind ITsVISTA.com. Even though he is a very friendly character, many of you might not know him as he is not your typical internet VIP.

Joseph managed to build one of the best Windows Vista resources available on the internet. ITsVISTA.com has been a tough "competitor" and a source of inspiration for us since the very beginning. Joseph not only wrote quality content but he also managed to continuously update his site to include new features and services. If you would like to know more about him, just click on "Read more" to read the interview.

Who is Joseph Fieber?

Wow, that's a heck of a question! How do I define myself... The quick and easy answer is that I'm 38, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I work for a university doing computer support, primarily with Windows based servers and workstations. I'm a technology buff, always seeking to see what makes things tick. On a higher level, I'd have to say I'm a researcher, a problem solver, an educator, and an optimist.

What was your first job?

My very first paid job, beyond the occasional paper route sub, was construction. I did that for a summer while I was in high-school, and enjoyed it, as I've always been the 'do-it-yourself' kind of guy, which I picked up from my dad. I also picked up some work at a local pizza joint where I bused tables and washed dishes before moving on to building pizzas, and running the ovens.

If you were to choose another career, which one would it be?

I went to school for and received my Masters Degree in Architecture (I have no formal computer training). I worked in the schools computer lab as a work-study student, and learned about computers out of curiosity and boredom. I realized during my final year of school that I enjoyed the computers more than the architecture, and was able to stay on in a full-time position as the 'Mac Guy'. If I had to leave my career, I'd most likely try to make better use of that degree in architecture (though I'm sure I'd end up as the 'computer guy' at an architecture firm).

Except your job and publishing content on ITsVISTA.com, what else do you do? Do you have any other hobbies?

My hobbies come and go. I generally enjoy doing things with my hands and creativity, like woodworking, gardening and landscaping. I bowl for fun, competition and skill. At one time I built combat robots, 'BattleBots', until it got too expensive. In general, anything technological peeks my interest, and anything that can be taken apart, is worth taking apart.

What are your first memories of Windows?

Working at the university, we had both Macintosh (Mac Plus that ran from floppy) and PC's running Windows. I found the Macs to be much easier to use, so I gravitated towards them, though I'd occasionally mess with Windows if I had to. Windows 95 looked interesting when it came out, but it just didn't seem ready for the multi-user, CAD heavy environment we were running. It wasn't until Windows NT 4 that I started taking Windows seriously, and devoted more energy to learning how it worked. Eventually it became apparent that Windows could handle all of our needs, and trying to support a multi-OS environment was more effort than it was worth, so I switched from a 'Mac Guy' to a 'PC Guy'.

What about Windows Vista? When did you use it for the first time?

I actually didn't even try it until a few weeks before the RTM launch in November. I loaded the RC2 version to see what it was like, and quickly got the idea that this was going to be a more significant upgrade than the move from Windows 2000 to Windows XP.

What do you like and hate most in Windows Vista?

As a user, so far, I'd have to say Aero for both. I love the full motion thumbnails you get in the taskbar, but the transparent borders are a waste of time. I'm finding little things every day though, most good, so in general my impressions of Vista are favorable. As an administrator, I think the security improvements are probably the biggest selling point, though my users are already limited in what they can do by having only 'User' rights (so they can't install junk, which includes viruses), so it won't be as big a deal in my environment as it will in many others.

Would you recommend your friends to buy Windows Vista?

In general, I'd say if they buy a new machine, get it with Vista, if you already have a machine, stay with XP. For the amount you have to pay to upgrade to Home Premium, I'm not sure most of them would benefit enough from an upgrade, and Home Basic just isn't worth having.

Let's talk a bit about ITsVISTA.com. When did you create the site and why?

After installing Vista RC2 I started thinking about all the learning I would have to do to come up to speed on Vista. It's inevitable that I will eventually have to deploy it on the 600 machines I'm directly responsible for, so I'll need to know what my options are. I wanted to document what I was learning about Vista. I had also been considering a blog as a possible secondary source of income, but knew I needed something more focused than my personal blog. It was a few weeks before the RTM was coming out, and I thought why not start a Vista oriented blog? It could kill two birds with one stone. I only had about two weeks to make it happen, since I felt that coinciding with the release of the RTM would be a great idea. In those two crazy weeks, I came up with the name, built a theme, figured out the categories, and laid a little groundwork for the site. Initially I figured it would contain tips, and some articles describing the process I was using to deploy Vista. Since I haven't had as much opportunity to play with Vista at work as I would have liked, I've additionally added other resources to the site that I find useful, and thought others would as well.

What were your biggest challenges?

Time was and is generally the biggest challenge. Doing this site on my own, while having a full-time job, and plenty to do at home as well can definitely be challenging. I have so many ideas for material to add to the site and processes I'd like to try and then write about, it can sometimes be frustrating to not be able to get all of that out of my head and onto the web.

Up to now, do you feel that your efforts were worth it? Are you satisfied with your results?

From a financial viewpoint, the investment in time and effort certainly is nowhere near paying off, but I think I'm on pace to get to where I'd like to be. From a 'do good' viewpoint, I like where things are at so far, and I like where they are going. Most of the comments I've received have been positive, and I've found it to be very gratifying when someone thanks me for helping them with a problem they were having. The new chatroom on the site has not only been a new source of ideas for tips, but is an even quicker way to assist people, and to receive feedback. So, overall, yes, I'm satisfied, but still working towards and expecting more.

Do you have any interesting plans for the future?

One of my goals since I started the site, and one that I'm starting to focus on more is to make ITsVISTA a community. A destination where people come to share and learn. I'm adding and will soon be promoting a forum, as well as a social networking system (think Digg for Vista). I'm only one person, with a limited amount of knowledge to share. I can, however, bring together others with knowledge to share so everyone can benefit from each other. It's Win-Win for us all, so I hope to see you all there!

Thanks!

Thank you Joseph Fieber. We admire your work and we wish you success on all your projects.

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How-To Top Destinations on the web: ITsVista.com
Getting to know the Microsoft enthusiasts: Anand Khanse - winvistaclub.com
Getting to know the Microsoft enthusiasts: Vishal Gupta
Getting to know the Microsoft enthusiasts: James M. Fisher from Windows Talk