Windows Vista News

The arrival of Microsoft’s new upgrade is having a ripple effect on the industry, as software companies scramble to capitalize on new opportunities

by

Aaron Ricadela
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Configuring a PC around the minimum hardware requirements of an application or operating system is lot like agreeing to live in a basement apartment. Sure, it will work as a place to live — if you don’t mind damp and dim living conditions.

Such may be the case for Windows Vista’s minimum requirement of 512MB of RAM.

Microsoft’s on-the-box minimum RAM requirement “really isn’t realistic,” claims David Short, an IBM consultant who works in its company’s Global Services Division. He says users should consider 4GB of RAM if they really want optimum Vista performance. With 512MB of RAM, Vista will deliver performance that’s “sub-XP,” he claims.

Short has been beta testing Vista for two years and was at the IBM-oriented Share user group conference in Tampa, Florida., last week discussing some of Vista’s performance requirements. His XP system has 2GB of RAM, which he calls the “sweet spot” for that operating system, but on Vista, 4GB of RAM may be closer to its “Nirvana,” he said.

That’s due in part to Windows SuperFetch, which takes data from the hard drive, stores it in the available RAM and makes it readily accessible to the processor. SuperFetch depends a great deal on user predictability and takes snapshots of user activity. If SuperFetch determines that an application is launched at a particular time, it will have it loaded into the available RAM. With more RAM, there’s more caching and better software response, says Short.

Hardware vendors, of course, will offer systems built on Microsoft’s minimum hardware requirements called “Windows Vista Capable,” configured with 512MB of system memory and a processor that is at least 800MHz. But their heart may not really be in it.

Mueez Deen, director of graphics memory and consumer DRAM at Samsung Electronics, recommends 2GB of RAM, calling that amount the “optimal density for the complete Vista experience — economically and technologically.”

Microsoft on Tuesday released a host of software tools designed to allow businesses to more easily upgrade their computers to Windows Vista, including one that lets companies complete the process without transmitting potentially sensitive data to Microsoft.

Microsoft’s Key Management Service for Windows Server 2003 lets businesses host internally the software needed to activate Vista once a valid key number has been supplied. Businesses ordinarily need to transmit their Vista key numbers, along with machine IDs, to Microsoft for activation.

“We’ve found that there are a number of organizations, mostly in the public sector, that aren’t comfortable with that or have policies that don’t allow that,” says Shanen Boettcher, general manager for Windows product management at Microsoft.

Machine IDs are identifiers unique to individual computers or workstations that can be potentially used to identify a device’s location or information about the user when cross-referenced with other data such as an IP address. “If you want to keep your network completely closed you can still activate Vista without connecting directly to Microsoft,” says Boettcher.

Boettcher says Microsoft developed the tools after receiving a number of requests from business users.

Along with KMS for Windows Server 2003, Microsoft on Tuesday formally released several other upgrade tools — all available as free downloads. Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0 allows IT staffers to centralize the process of determining which of their company’s applications are Vista-compatible. It also helps resolve compatibility issues. An early release version of ACT 5.0 has seen about 30,000 downloads, Boettcher says.

For checking hardware compatibility, Microsoft has released Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 1.0. The network tool performs an inventory of all connected PCs and assesses whether they meet the minimum requirements needed to run Vista.

The new Solution Accelerator for Business Desktop Deployment 2007 is a collection of tools and guides that let businesses upgrade PCs to Vista or Microsoft Office 2007 remotely. About 60,000 early copies of the solution have been downloaded, says Boettcher.

Internet service provider Charter Communications is using a number of the new tools as part of an effort to upgrade 13,000 company-owned PCs and laptops to the business edition of Windows Vista, according Boettcher.

Change is difficult especially a change in technology that involves an upgrade, an installation, and a learning curve. But anyone who uses a Windows based computer is dependent on Microsoft.

So when Microsoft releases a new version of its Windows operating system, chances are most of us will migrate to it sooner or later. Welcome to Vista, the latest such operating system from Microsoft, released on Jan. 30.

Having seen the system demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, I can tell you the new features are definitely cool. The new search function is easy, intuitive and designed to shave many minutes off your day. I also like the new desktop, which allows you to play a home video of the kids playing or a moving image, like a waterfall as your background. It doesn’t make me more productive but I’m happier staring at my screen.

As with most new major operating system releases, early reviews are mixed, so it’s best you read some yourself to see if you should jump on board now based on your needs or wait a bit. But here is the 411 on what you need to know if you want to be an early adapter.

Vista will require more oomph than previous operating systems did. To check if your machine has the power to run it, an upgrade adviser can be found at www.microsoft.com/windows/products Download and run the files, and the adviser will tell you if your current computer running Windows XP has enough juice to run Vista.

Vista comes in multiple versions, including Home Basic and Premium, Business and Enterprise. The Home Premium has more bells and whistles than Basic and costs $239 for a full package, or $159 if you’re upgrading from another Windows operating system.

You’re computer will need 1GB of memory and 40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB available to run Vista Home Premium.

If installing a new operating system is as appealing to you as root canal, hire someone to do it for you. Best Buy’s Geek Squad www.geeksquad.com will do the deed for $129 in store or $249 at your home. Circuit City’s Firedog www.firedog.com will install it at home for $229.

But wait, extra memory, Vista software, installation services, it all adds up, which is why Albert Liniado, president of DataVision a computer superstore in New York City has another suggestion. “Why upgrade when you can replace a notebook with Vista Home Premium for under $999 or a desktop for around $500?” says Liniado.

DataVision offers a full line of Vista software and computers through its We site, www.datavis.com, and can ship anywhere. All the major manufacturers have released their new Vista ready computers so there are lots of models to choose from. To get the most out of any new computer, go for as much memory as you can afford, preferably 2GB and the largest hard drive as well. Happy shopping.

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