Vista Hardware Assessment Tool Addresses Upgrade Dilemmas
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Perhaps the most oft-asked question by consumers with regard to whether they should adopt Windows Vista is whether their six-month-old or older hardware is too obsolete for Vista to make good use of it. This morning, Microsoft released for free download the XP version of its Vista Hardware assessment tool, whose aim is to tell consumers what they may need to upgrade in order to put the best polish on those heavily anticipated exclamations.
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Users running Vista can supposedly use flash memory sticks to improve boot-up times and boost the start-up speed of their most important software.
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By David DeKok, The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pa.  Feb. 1--Whether Microsoft Corp.'s new Vista operating system succeeds or  flops might depend less on what individual users think than on the opinions of  computer gurus at large institutions and corporations.
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Tycho:  I don't know whose fault it is exactly, mine or theirs, but I won't be installing Vista anytime soon.  I would like some crazy shit to happen when I minimize something don't get me wrong.  I want my windows to go Waja-wajow(!) is possible.  But if there's a great reason to "trade horses midstream" or whatever the going metaphor is I haven't discovered it.
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LicenseWise and Windows Vista Hardware Assessment help users navigate Microsoft offerings.
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An IT professional discovers a way of getting a full version of Vista for the cost of a simple upgrade.
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Kernel development is getting faster, and testing has to keep up. This early warning tool gives developers insight into changes that could hurt performance.
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If you still don't see a need to upgrade, you're not alone--many people are opting for XP even on new PCs. We'll show you how the Vista transition will become smoother.
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(InfoWorld) - Early feedback from testers already usingÂ Windows Vista Release Candidate 1Â (RC1)Â is that the OS is more stable than expected, which bodes well for Microsoft's plan to have Vista out according to its current schedule. Microsoft has said since March it willÂ release Windows VistaÂ to business customers in November, and consumers in January 2007. Though many have suspected the release will slip further, testers now say there's a good chance the company will meet its goal if the condition of RC1 is any indication. "Overall I think Vista is looking very good at this point....I think all the worries of Vista slipping went out the window," said Brandon LeBlanc, a writer for LonghornBlogs, via e-mail on Tuesday. LeBlanc said that Microsoft has made performance and stabilization tweaks that testers requested after Beta 2, and the latest test version of the OS -- which could be the final one before Vista is released to manufacturing -- is solid enough for regular use. LonghornBlogs can be found here: http://www.longhornblogs.com/ "RC1 is quite usable for everyday work, as I am currently doing myself," he said. LeBlanc said Vista is so far along in RC1, he does not think another release candidate will be required before final changes are made and the OS is sent off for manufacturing. The previous major client release of Windows, Windows XP, had two release candidates before it shipped to manufacturers. To no one's surprise, however, there are still bugs to be ironed out before Vista will be ready for its final release. LeBlanc said the OS needs some work in terms of its user interface (UI), for example. The test version "does lack some of the UI polish we were expecting at this point," he said. In Vista, Microsoft has completely revamped Windows' user interface with a new 3D interface called Aero. Another Vista tester, Andrew Brust, chief of new technology for New York consulting firm Twentysix New York, said the latest test release of Vista feels more "grown up," even on hardware that is not necessarily optimized for the OS. "Besides the fact that it's just a really nice OS, it feels very sprightly even on hardware that wasn't designed for it," he said. Even trivial applications such as Solitaire and Minesweeper games have a next-generation look and feel in Windows Vista RC1, Brust said. "It's a trivial example, but it shows a certain attention to detail [on the part of Microsoft]," he said. Harrison Hoffman, another Vista beta tester and one of the writers of theÂ LiveSide blog, agreed that the latest test version of the OS could be used as a person's main desktop OS, even though it definitely needs some fit and finish before final release. "Although, it might not be quite ready for prime time, if you really wanted to, you could use this build as your primary operating system, but be prepared for a few applications and devices to not work correctly," he said via e-mail on Tuesday. "The OS does not hang, lag or crash as consistently as it used to. The performance has been greatly improved." However, both LeBlanc and Hoffman noted that Windows Vista is still lacking driver support, a particularly sore subject because Vista has been billed as an OS in which devices will work as soon as you connect them without any further hassle, Hoffman said. "The philosophy of Vista has been to have things 'just work' when you connect them and right now, some things just do not," he said. "Obviously this issue is going to get better with time and as hardware manufacturers work closer with Microsoft to remedy these problems." LeBlanc sized up the hardware driver situation in Windows Vista RC1 this way: "Some work, some donât," he said. "Heck, Microsoft doesnât even have Vista drivers for some of their own hardware, including their new LifeCams." Twentysix New York's Brust called driver compatibility Microsoft's "biggest impediment" to getting Vista out in time. "Driver compatibility will be key for them," he said.
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Get a closer look at some of the new features in Vista Service Pack 1.
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Microsoft is staking everything on its new OS. What will work, and what won't? You tell us. In Monkey Bites.
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Microsoft releases a refresh of its first service pack for Vista to beta testers, indicating the final release might be near.
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Microsoft announced today that it will soon release -- to a limited number of testers -- a beta version of Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista. Here's what we know so far.
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Has Microsoft really hit the mark with forward thinkers? Comment A recent management-level survey on IT service delivery threw up the question, "when do you think you are likely to roll out Windows Vista in your organisation?"â¦
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Following their public availability on Microsoft's Download Center, two hotfix packs for Windows Vista that improve performance and reliability are now available as optional downloads via Windows Update. They will not, however, be delivered automatically to Vista users.
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Software giant Microsoft confirmed Monday that the first update to its Windows Vista operating system will be available as an official download in mid-March. Windows Vista Service Pack 1 will address various performance and stability issues and improve the desktop OS's hardware support.
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Microsoftâs description of the Windows Vista operating system is âClear, Confident, Connected.â But a more truthful motto would be âLooks, Locks, Lacks.â