Windows Vista or How I Spent My Christmas Vacation

Happy New Year!

This isn't about radio programming. This is about the thing we all spend too much time in front of: the computer.

Windows Vista will be released to the general public in less than two months. I have been working with Windows Vista for some time, but only recently did Microsoft freeze it in what will be the final "release to manufacturing" version.

I thought I'd share a couple of things with you, now that I have the final version running on my laptop.

First, the obvious question: Is it worth upgrading? Answer: Yes! in dozens of ways, it is superior to Windows XP. Microsoft detractors will point out that many of the improvements do nothing more than let us poor Windows users catch up with Apple. As if that is bad thing. Hey, I'm happy to reduce the "cool" gap, without having to actually go out and buy a Power Mac.

I won't waste time going over the features. You can always go to www.Microsoft.com/windowsvista or Google "Windows Vista" for all the detail you want. Frankly, some of the best features are under the hood and can't be seen. But what they do is make this thing rock solid. It just gets out of your way and stays out of your way. If this keeps up, I'll soon be dumping Windows 2003 Server off my desktop and flipping it to Vista, just like my laptop.

Tip 1: Windows Ultimate will be the version you want. All the others lack something you'll want.

Tip 2: You can download a tool that will tell you whether your current computer is ready for Vista. Download it at: http://ati.amd.com/technology/windowsvista/AreYouVistaReady.html

This one is from ATI, the video card company, now owned by AMD, Intel's rival chip company.

You can also download a tool from Dell at:

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/vista_support/en/vista_readiness?c=us&l=en&s=gen&redirect=1

There is a lot of additional information at that site.

And Microsoft has a tool for you at:

http://www.Microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeadvisor/default.mspx

Tip 3: If you download the Microsoft tool, it will add their DotNet Framework to your computer (the Framework is built into Vista). That will also make your computer ready to run the latest music analysis software from Steve Casey Research.

Tip 4: The two most important things: 1 gigabyte or more memory, and a graphics card with 128K or more memory. To get to "excellent" you will want 2 gigabytes of memory and a graphics card with 256K of DEDICATED memory.

Tip 5: My mainstream HP ZV6000 laptop, just under 2 years old, is very happy running Vista.

Tip 6: The speech recognition works! Amazing, you can talk, and it usually understands you. Not perfect, but obviously and usefully better than ever before.

Tip 7: Why do I always have to learn this the hard way? When you upgrade, back up everything, and then do a CLEAN install. Do not try to upgrade your existing system. I understand that you will waste many hours reinstalling your programs (your data files won't be touched, but your programs and XP will be moved to a folder called Windows.OLD where they will be worthless. Delete them once you're up and running).

Your time will be rewarded. I tried an upgrade, and it worked, after a fashion. But now, with a clean install, this thing sings. You owe it to yourself to not ask Vista to put up with every little thing that has gone wrong with your system while you used XP.

If my experience can be of help to you, let me know. And let's get you going this year with the best research tools on the planet. Your ratings will go up, and that is not a bad way to start the new year!