Vista, the new operating system from Microsoft, is being marketed as a revolution for the personal computer. All the enticing benefits the new system

offers have spurred lots of people to download Vista Windows. If you’re contemplating upgrading your XP-running PC, here are some factors you need to address first.

1. Check your PC.

Before you download Vista Windows, check your computer if it’s ready for upgrades. To do this, you need to download and run the Windows Upgrade Advisor tool. This will assess your computer and give you a list of the Vista versions that are compatible with your unit. To be able to download Vista Windows, your computer must have at least 800MHz. Premium-ready PCs need at least 1GHz.

2. Make sure you have enough memory and hard drive space.

Another thing to note before you download Vista Windows your PC must have at least 512 MB of RAM. The minimum requirement for a premium-ready PC is 1 GB of system RAM. Plus, to be able to download Vista Windows, your hard drive size and free space must be no less than 40 GB and 15 GB, respectively.

3. Determine graphics adapter capability.

To enable you to download Vista Windows, your graphics adapter must be DirectX 9 capable. Premium-ready machines need at least 128 MB of video RAM to be able to download Vista Windows. Cards that are Vista-capable should have a minimum 64 MB of video RAM. These requirements need to be met if you plan to exploit the Aero Glass graphics. Otherwise, if your existing video adapter is Vista-capable, there is no need to upgrade it. It should be noted that a notebook computer with graphics card that is not compatible has a lesser chance of a successful upgrade to the new system.

4. Your computer must have a DVD drive.

So you can download Vista Windows, your PC should have a DVD drive in which you could install Vista.

5. Determine the version of Vista your computer is capable of running.

Before you download Vista Windows, determine first the version most appropriate for your computer. The five different editions are:

· Windows Vista Home Basic – provides basic operating system usability; suitable for average home users; will sell for $200 for new PCs, and $100 as an upgrade for those with existing Windows license

· Windows Vista Home Premium – offers more functionality than previous Vista Home Basic version; best choice for most PC users; features Aero and Media Center interface, DVD Maker, Movie Maker HD, backup scheduler, SideShow that allows use of auxiliary displays, comes with a Sync Center to synchronize files with other PCs over a home network, and parental controls; premium costs $240 for new computers and P160 as an upgrade if you have an existing Windows XP Home license

· Windows Vista Business - useful for standard business needs; comparable to Windows XP Professional; will be a staple on the corporate desktop.

· Windows Vista Enterprise – has advanced features like BitLocker Drive Encryption for laptops, application compatibility tools, and multi-language support

· Windows Vista Ultimate – has all the features of Vista Home Premium; features support for dual CPUs (multi-core are supported in lower versions), remote desktop host, file encryption (with full-drive BitLocker capability), faxing, domain-based networking for office networks, and web hosting; will sell for $400 for new PCs and $260 as an upgrade if you have an existing Windows XP Home or Pro license.

6. Existing applications must be capable of running under Vista.

To ensure that you can download Vista Windows and install it successfully, run the Application Compatibility Toolkit to help you distinguish the applications that may not be operate under Vista.

7. Back up your data.

Before you download Vista Windows, do not forget to back up your data. Prior to installation of the new operating system, be sure to check that you have all the installation media from your existing software and the proper licensing information.

The steps above are all essential requirements that you need to consider before you download Vista Windows. Also, notebook computers and desktop PCs should be able to meet all the hardware specifications.

.About the Author:

Get free tips and information on how to download Vista Windows at http://www.Vista-Windows.info.

Is Vista On Your Horizon?

After

a long wait, over six years, Microsoft’s newest release, Vista, is now available to the public. The January 2007 release of Vista will replace Microsoft Windows XP. Windows XP was released in 2001 and quickly became very popular with PC owners. This program is still very reputable and many PC owners do not want to replace this program with the newly created Vista. If you are someone that is filled with trepidation at the idea of leaving Window XP behind, you are definitely not alone.

The Decision To Upgrade to Vista Could Be A Costly One

There is a considerable amount of discussion as to whether or not a person should upgrade their computer to the new operating system. While Vista has many innovative features and a fancy new screen, it also has a high price tag and required hardware that requires many to upgrade more than just their operating system.

The general consensus is that a person would be wise to wait at least six months or more to allow other individuals to work out the “operating bugs” that always present themselves when a new operating system is introduced to the mass markets of home PC users.

New PC Users Have Multiple Choices If They Act Fast

If you are currently shopping for a new PC, and wonder whether it would be a good idea to buy a computer that already has Vista installed, you might consider another alternative. If you purchase a PC that is loaded with Windows XP but comes with coupons to get the Vista upgrades, you will actually get two programs for the price of one. In this situation, you can enjoy the Windows XP programs until others have had a chance to work out any problems with the Vista programs.

.About the Author:

Anmol Taneja is a Gadget enthusiast and critique. He has written several articles on various aspects of gadgets and the role they play in our day to day lives. Anmol is involved with several organizations involved in the evaluation and review of gadgets including gadgets.in thegadgetcast.com and gadgetenclave.in

Early up-graders to Windows Vista are reporting

annoyance by the loads of software and hardware incompatibilities coming to the fore as they use Windows Vista. For the record the Redmond, Wash., software giant launched Vista and a companion update called Windows Vista Application Compatibility Update to the market on Jan 30. Seems like they expected a lot of issues with the system because they made sure that Vista patches were available on the net even before the Compact disks of the operating system left the factory.

That update, KB929427, makes good some of the more challenging application incompatibilities, but the nightmare is far from over, for the early bird upgraders. There is nothing new about

compatibility issues when a new operating system is launched, however, Vista is not only has a number of incompatibilities with existing applications but also lacks many drivers for critical hardware components and hardware peripherals. Support for Vista hardware is compounded by the fact that most vendors have not created drivers of their hardware that is compatible for Vista making support more of a headache. This is understood when it comes to peripherals such as printers and scanners but so far as critical hardware components such as hard drives, chipset controllers and video cards are concerned the lack of compatibility will crash the system. The manufacturers of primary components of the computer hardware system are just not ready with their wares to support Vista.

Early adopters of Vista have the following problems to contend with:

They will face a drastic lack of available drivers vendors leading to conflicts in applications.

New peripheral hardware components will lack compatible Vista drivers and the old components drivers will simply refuse to work in most cases.

New security feature often flags existing applications as suspicious and interrupts service

The OS automatically recommends which Vista versions is best for each PC’s configuration. This will cause small businesses to download different versions of Vista.

SO in the ultimate analysis, Vista may seem attractive in it’s packaging but it still has far to go.

.About the Author:

Anmol Taneja is a Gadget enthusiast and critique. He has written several articles on various aspects of gadgets and the role they play in our day to day lives. Anmol is involved with several organizations involved in the evaluation and review of gadgets including http://gadgets.in thegadgetcast.com and gadgetenclave.in

Ive been using Windows Vista on one of my computers for the past month. Rather than write about the experience before Ive had the chance to fully try

it out, I instead ran it through the paces. I used it almost exclusively for one month. So what did I think?

Not bad. Its definitely a different experience, although not too different. Its not a very far leap from Windows XP.

One thing that I was happy about, is that for once it seems that Microsoft has released a product that is stable from day one. I have been using Vista for over a month, and I have yet to see it crash. Compared to my Windows XP system which crashes at least once a month.

The most evident changes is the User Interface, its quite a bit different than the XP version. With the very tight integration with Internet Explorer 7, it seems that Vista is more capable than ever at multi-tasking. The gadgets are really cool too, and I cant wait to see what new and interesting gadgets are developed for Vista in the near future. You just have to get your hands on it, to see the difference, words cant really adequately describe it.

What I found surprising is the voice recognition capabilities of Vista. I hadnt expected that it would be so robust. It takes a little bit of getting used to, but you can effortlessly blend normal computer operation with voice control. Its not perfect, dont get me wrong, but it is a novel way to interact with the computer and has tons of potential.

The problem is hardware requirements. Vista is a beast when it comes to hardware. The more you got the better it performs. I find that Vista loves memory, and a fast video card is essential as well. I wouldnt bother with Vista unless I had a computer that was made in the last year or so that had at least 1GB of memory. I played with it, when I took most of my memory out, and left 256MB in the machine, and it almost ground to a halt.

All in all, I found Vista to be quite capable. A very nice upgrade from XP, surprisingly stable. I probably wouldnt upgrade an existing computer, but would feel fine with purchasing a new computer with XP already installed. Good luck, and enjoy Vista.

.About the Author:

For more information about computer repair, memory upgrades, and laptop repair visit his Jacksonville Computer Repair website. He provides quality, on site computer repairs throughout the Jacksonville, Florida area.

This is not about to turn out as an article on Ten Things I Hate About Vista. There is already a great number of technically enlightening pieces that

will do that for anyone. This article will instead focus on what basic common user observations point out as unfortunate Vista innovations from old XP features. Some of the items are humorously simple and superficial. They should not be ignored though because a great majority of people around the world are not technology experts and can only make basic observations. Sometimes though, basic observations are what can make or break a product simply because there are more average people than computer geniuses.

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Shockingly, some user tests show that .net applications simply run faster in XP than in Vista. If you have to process great amounts of data on .net applications, you may get frustrated with Vista. Users feel that in this respect, Vista only beats XP in the “looks” category. XP is still on top on the aspect of performance.

Shell

XPs Luna shell has now been dethroned by Vista’s Aero. The elegant 3D look and feel of Aero is probably an effective marketing strategy for average users. Experts point out however that a shell is still a shell and does not show real system capabilities. The Luna shell may have looked plain but it did not point to XPs real performance ability.

Battery Life

In another user comparative test, the battery life of laptops seemed to have held on much longer with XP than with Vista. Vista’s heavy graphics apparently drain more energy than the simpler XP graphics.

Icons and Tumbnails

XPs static icons have now gone six feet under with the introduction of Vista’s live icons and thumbnails. This is good right? Some users feel though that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the unresponsive icons of XP. Again, this is more an issue of superficiality. Live icons and thumbnails don’t mean anything on the performance arena.

Sounds

Users apparently put a lot of thought on system sounds. This is because some feel that sounds can better communicate computer generated messages like battery low or log on or off. XPs grand, booming sound is no longer around. It ha been replaced by more soft and subtle sounds that some users do not find indicative of whatever the system wants to say.

Boot

It is surprising to note that XP seems to boot faster than Vista in some cases. People, of course, want to know why and are wondering if there are also other things that are slower in Vista.

Hardware Requirements

The best thing that is in XP that is not in Vista is that it has lower hardware requirements. Vista is simply too high end in everything. This means that if you have a unit that cannot live up to what is required then you should just forget Vista unless you like having headaches. Users therefore who use their units for basic actions do not need to replace XP at all.

Mail

XPs Outlook Express is no longer around. It is still questionable however, if Windows Mail can really do any better as some claim it should.

Photos

The Picture and Fax Viewer of XP are no longer around. Vista now has Photo Gallery. For ordinary users however, there seems to be no sense in improving the Picture Viewer if all you wanted was to keep pictures. Major editing is still commonly done with other kinds of software.

Search

XP had no indexing feature to help with searches. XP is generally slow with searches. Computers for ordinary use however, do not always need the fast indexed searches provided by Vista.

.About the Author:

Get free tips and news on Microsoft Windows Vista at http://www.Vista-Windows.info.