Is your PC Vista Ready?

[webmaster]

Count down for Vista has begun, with this month getting over so quickly JAN 30 is the expected release date of Windows Vista World Wide.

The Next Generation Operating system has Hardware requirements, hardware requirements for Vista seem are a little obscure -- and don't even get us started on that system analysis thing of theirs. And no, it looks like with Vista delayed into early next year, PCs purchased today still may not actually be Vista capable. Enter the "Windows Vista Capable" badge, friends, Microsoft's quick n' easy way to identify the Vista capable boxes from those sad, pathetic, sure-to-be-outdated-in-days "Designed for Windows XP" computers Microsoft sincerely hopes you'll avoid buying. But being that chances are your next computer might not be running Vista, for the general consumer, the Vista Capable badge only means it'll support the baseline version, Home Basic Edition -- which we'll be promptly ignoring, thank you very much -- and may not do fun things like run Aero or be able to use more "advanced" Vista features like HDCP. Normally this is the part where we'd get a little huffy and suggest Microsoft do it this way or that, but we're starting to feel we're in a little too deep here, you know?

Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor

Want to see if your Windows XP-based PC can run Windows Vista? Just download, install, and run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor.
This small software tool will scan your computer and create an easy-to-understand report of all known system, device, and program compatibility issues, and recommend ways to resolve them. Upgrade Advisor can also help you choose the edition of Windows Vista that best fits the way you want to use your computer.

Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor