Posted on 05/18/2006 12:27:12 PM PDT by Mr. Blonde
On Thursday, the company kicked off a campaign aimed at helping customers prepare for the new operating system, which is set for a mainstream launch in January. As expected, Microsoft gave details of two programs. The "Vista-capable" program allows machines that meet a minimum set of requirements to tout themselves as able to run the new Windows. Computer makers who meet higher requirements will be able to tout their machines as "Premium Ready," indicating the PCs are able to take advantage of higher-end features, such as Vista's Aero graphics. "There's really no reason to wait until the launch of Windows Vista to start shopping for a PC that can deliver a great Windows Vista experience or to start thinking about upgrading your current PC to windows Vista," product manager Greg Amrofell said in a telephone interview. Microsoft also launched on Thursday a "Get Ready" Web site, which includes an Upgrade Advisor tool to help people determine just how Vista-ready an existing PC is. The downloadable program is designed to tell people which features and versions of Vista their PC is able to run, thereby abstracting some of the complex requirements of Vista. For example, Aero graphics require a certain amount of memory bandwidth--a measurement of PC performance that few people are likely to know about in their machine. The advisor tool will simply say whether a PC will work out or not, rather than focus on specific requirements. That way, customers "don't have to spend time in the footnotes of complex system requirements," said Mike Burk, the PR Manager, Windows Client. That said, Microsoft did publish official minimum requirements for Vista on Thursday, largely matching the Vista-capable specifications. Systems need an 800 MHz processor, 512MB of memory, a 20GB hard drive with 15GB of free space and a CD-ROM drive. That guarantees access to Vista's core features, but not Aero and other premium features. To be classified as Vista-capable, a computer needs an 800MHz processor, 512MB of memory and a DirectX 9-capable graphics card. Premium Ready machines need a 1GHz processor, 128MB of graphics memory, 1GB of system memory, a 40GB hard drive and an internal or external DVD-ROM drive. While Microsoft has provided some clarity on checking a PC for Vista, it's not a straightforward process, said Michael Cherry, an analyst at market research firm Directions on Microsoft. "I don't understand why it has to be this complex," he said. "Why can't this be written up on a one-page piece of paper in a manner that you don't have to be an electrical engineer to understand?" Most shipping PCs should be Vista-capable, Microsoft said. For example, all systems introduced by Dell this year are Vista-capable. The majority of Dell's Vista-capable machines will support Aero graphics and more than three-fourths of its models can be configured to run the fancier graphics. Dell is also offering 17 custom-configured systems that are designed to support Aero. "Our sense is that the vast majority of PCs do meet the requirements for the Vista-capable logo," Amrofell said. As for Premium Ready, he said that "a good number of PCs do meet the bar, and that's going to grow over the next few months." The marketing programs and upgrade tool are designed to ease some of the uncertainty around Vista well ahead of the back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons, the two biggest PC selling times of the year. Vista had long been expected to arrive by the 2006 holidays, but Microsoft said in March that it would not arrive on store shelves until January. Kevin Johnson, head of the business unit that includes Windows, said in an interview with CNET News.com this week that Microsoft is likely to have some kind of discount or upgrade program to help those who buy a PC this holiday season upgrade to Vista. "Yeah, there's likely to be something," Johnson said, without giving specifics.
Hostile Le Vista Baby.
Why would anyone want VISTA? What advantages does it bring to the table, if any? Are all my past software purchases compatible with it and, if not, why not?
Which ones?!
You're right. In those circumstances, it is beyond any OS's control. Kinda like just pulling the plug. No OS can help you if there ain't no power.
I like the way 2003 handles that though. It at least tells you your computer was shutdown unexpectantly when you reboot.
Yup. Some more recent versions of MS-windows ask you to type in a reason for a reboot when it either shuts down or restarts. Pretty good housekeeping idea, if the information is accessible.
It's FICTION, people! Geez!
I knew that was coming about 2 seconds after checking in here.
No thanks, I like the options with a PC better.
I build my own. They pretty much smoke any "store-bought" brand (except possibly the very top end Alienware stuff)
My PC will do more of what I need.
Also Nvidia SLI will smoke any Mac ever built.
dual physical processor support, and support for 128 GB of memory.
doesn't sound to shabby.
Alienware stinks, Falcon NW is the king.
www.falcon-nw.com
W2k and XP support multiple processors. I don't know if the consumer versions support two dual core CPUs, but I have seen screen prints of Task manager on a dual core hyperthreaded CPU systing displaying four processors.
There is nothing superior about apple hardware... they use the same components.
"I haven't seen a Windows BSOD since 1998 on any of my six computers that I've owned since 1998. They have all run with one form of windows or another."
I have a Windox XP Media Center box at home and XP Pro desktop at work as well as a Compaq (not HP) Laptop.
The Home PC is logged in to my Citrix serevr at work and all of my PC's have gotomypc.com on them. I can access all three boxes from anywhere. They all have MS Office 2003 Pro as well as Macromedia, Visio, Flash and a ton of other software on them. The home box has all of my games everyting from Flight Sim 2004 to Splinter Cell.
My uptime counters according to Citrix or Goto My PC are:
Home PC at 143 days, 16 hours
Work PC at 89 days 4 hours
Laptop at 17 days 2 hours
I haven't had a BSOD or forced restart since I can remember with these boxes.
Work PC is a Dell optiplex.
Laptop Compaq 3015US
Home PC Built myself but only use premium components - Soyo Motherboard, 2 gig Mushkin RAM, Boxed Intel CPU, Western DIgital Raptor Harddrives.
Build them right and they are like tanks. Just my experience.
I like Linux too the only problem I have is it takes too freaking long to install... :)
"except possibly the very top end Alienware stuff"
You mean Dell :)
It brings your money to Mr. Gates table.It also provide a predictable platform for microsoft to attempt to impose it's flavor of DRM on the world. You decide if that's advantageous.
I bet my machine still smokes em (or comes close)
I875, 965 processor, SLI 7900gtx cards, etc. :-)
WinXP Pro will support 2 processors(not XP Home) also WinXP only supports 4GB of ram.
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