In order to run Vista itself, yeah; 1 GB is the "recommended." However, in order to run more than the OS (even to watch a DVD!), 1 GB is still inadequate. (Source)
All that eye candy in Vista is resource-intensive - and it really doesn't add anything that OS X doesn't already do more efficiently.
It's not "fear, uncertainty, and doubt" to note that the "recommended resources" are inadequate. It's not FUD to note that while WinXP Pro recommends a minimum of a 333 MHz processor and 128 MB of RAM, using it at that level would be quite unpleasant. These "recommended system requirements" are always at least one half to one third what you really need to run the software.
I have ripped DVD's and a bunch of music cd's with Vista with a AMD 3500+(2.2ghz) with 1GB of ram(With Aero enabled) Using an AGP Video card... ALL WORKED GREAT!