Testkits: what will it cost you to be be compatible with VISTA?

[ahhaa]

M$ is offering some free tools to help evaluate your hardware & software for use with Vista:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeadvisor/default.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windows/appcompatibility/default.mspx#EOB

to get the full eyecandy effect, you'll need:

1 gig CPU or better
minumum 15 GB HD space (prior to the inevitable updates)
graphics adapter- minimum 128 MB of video RAM; but...
During Vista's early testing stages, the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro and the NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 were the only cards compatible with Windows Aero. Since then, support has been extended to most DirectX 9 graphics cards; as of Vista Beta 2 the NVIDIA GeForce FX family and later, the ATI Radeon 9500 and later, Intel's GMA 950 integrated graphics, and a handful of VIA chipsets and S3 Graphics discrete chips are supported. Though some XGI Technology Volari chips were DirectX 9 (including the Volari V3XT which was available in PCI cards), with XGI's exit from the graphics card business it appears none of its chips are supported as of Vista Beta 2. Microsoft has not specifically stated whether an AGP or PCI Express (PCIe) video card is a requirement for Windows Aero, but they recommend PCIe video due to their greater bandwidth. There are still some PCI cards available that are compatible with Windows Vista: According to NVIDIA, the GeForce FX 5200, FX 5500, FX 5700 LE, and 6200 (see below), all of which will work with Windows Aero, are available in PCI cards. BFG Technologies and its 3D Fuzion division state that their GeForce 6200 PCI cards, the only PCI cards with that GPU to date, are Vista-ready. Recently, VisionTek, a partner of ATI ported the Radeon X1300 for the PCI-bus.
Windows Aero requires WDDM driver support within any graphics cards and Vista will not allow more than one driver to exist in addition to a WDDM driver. This will particularly affect users of multiple graphics cards from different vendors who are seeking multiple monitor support.

installs from DVD
games must be DirectX 10 capable, 9 is not compatible

there'll apparently be 5 versions of Vista:

Windows Vista Home Basic. No advanced features, no Aero Glass. $199.
Windows Vista Home Premium. Described as part XP Home, part XP Pro. $239.
Windows Vista Business. Windows XP Pro level upgrade. $299.
Windows Vista Enterprise. Drive Encryption, compatibility for legacy apps, and multi-language support. (last 2 were previously free in basic Windows packages) multi-license only, no price stated
Windows Vista Ultimate. The Media Center version. $399.

The three retail editions (Home Basic, Home Premium, and Ultimate) of Windows Vista will ship on the same DVD. It is the license key purchased that determines which version will be installed. The features of the Home Premium and Ultimate editions may be "unlocked" at any time by purchasing a one-time upgrade license through a Control Panel tool called Windows Anytime Upgrade. The Business edition will also be upgradable to Ultimate. Such licenses will be sold by Microsoft's partners and OEMs, but not directly by Microsoft.

more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Vista

[mar-mar]

wow i will wait about 6 months to see how people react to the known bugs etc.. microsoft gettin folks to go highend on this edition

[waheed]

Im happy with Windows XP and will be sticking with it for a long while.

[Abbadon]

I say: wait at least one year, hopefully third party vendors will have figured out how to write compatible drivers (if they still exist), and Joe Six pack will had reported all the bugs.