Show me the goodies

As with any long-delayed product launch, the critics -- and fans -- are leaping all over Vista.

I recommend: Some relatively even-handed looks at Vista can be found at Paul Thurrott's site, PCWorld's early review, an in-depth discussion forum on Vista, Wikipedia's concise-but-complete breakdown on the OS and, of course, Microsoft's own preview site,

Which Vista is for you? Good question

Always seeking to divide and conquer, Microsoft is pushing at least four flavors of Vista, ranging from a consumer version to something called "ultimate," which is beyond business-level but offers very little on top of that. Some versions seek to capitalize on home media like games and movies; others are strictly corporate.

I recommend: Try first with Microsoft's edition-chooser site. The company's "why upgrade" page written for IT professionals is a surprisingly easy read. If you know XP well, there are several side-by-side comparison articles on the web, including this one from Bent User,

Is your current rig a contender for Vista?

Probably not, especially if you bought it more than a year ago or if it came with the Windows XP OS installed. A few "enthusiast" users like videogame players might have installed enough hardware to handle Vista, but most business users would not have done so.

I recommend: Experts are recommending 2GB of RAM memory, a rare feature, even on new PCs. You can test your current machine at PCPitstop or at CNET.

If you're PC shopping now, read the fine print

Some PCs will come loaded with XP but say "Vista Capable" or "Vista Premium Ready." Since Microsoft had promised the new OS some time ago, PC and chip makers moved ahead to get ready, only to have to wait for the actual system to come out in early 2007.

I recommend: For instance, a new PC with 512MB of RAM -- the memory that allows you to run several programs at once -- will run Vista, but the company recommends double that, and they're probably being conservative. See definitions at Microsoft's TechCenter site. Some retailers are selling something called an Express Upgrade as well.

No more free ride

If you've been playing fast and loose with software, "borrowing" previous editions or just not asking questions when your nephew fixes your notebook, well, it's all about to come to an end.

I recommend: Microsoft is battling piracy by installing something called a Software Protection Platform. Put simply, updates and specific features just won't work if you didn't buy the OS. Read specifics on that in this company whitepaper [document link] and this public-relations announcement. (A cheaper version of Vista for developing countries, called Vista Starter, will be made available.) Also, Gates expects PCs to handle an increasing amount of digital content, so they've developed ways to keep people from copying, for instance, DVDs. See more about digital rights management.

Of course, it's not as simple as buying a new OS

If you're going to buy in to the idea of a fancy operating system with a nifty 3-D interface, why on earth would you keep banging away with your ordinary versions of Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint?

I recommend: You wouldn't, from Microsoft's point of view. So Microsoft Office got a complete overhaul as well to take advantage of the power of the OS. It's going to cost you, of course, but this is really a total revolution, including group collaboration through Groove, unified messaging with Communicator, and heavy-duty workflow software like SharePoint.