After months of anticipation, Microsoft has unveiled it’s much hyped Windows Vista. So what’s all the fuss about? What can Vista do for you? Can your existing computer system even run the memory hungry operating system?  Vista represents one of the largest software projects ever undertaken. It is indisputably a milestone despite Microsoft’s having abandoned many of its most ambitious goals for the operating system.

As with everything Microsoft does, Vista is not without its detractors.  It’ll require significantly more processing power, graphics capabilities, and memory than is found in many existing machines. Software designers say Vista’s security features are, in fact, locking them out. Users may wonder if it offers enough that’s truly new to be worth the bother, particularly given that a number of Vista features and bundled applications are also available for Windows XP.

You can find out if your hardware has enough muscle to handle Vista at http://www.windowsvista.com/upgradeadvisor but the table below gives you a quick and dirty list of minimum requirements:

Vista is much more than Windows XP with a facelift. Although it is more of an evolution than a revolution there are significant improvements such as: stronger security, better built-in applications, networking enhancements, parental controls, and DirectX 10 graphics support. If you go to http://www.seewindowsvista.com/ you’ll be able to watch a slick little presentation by actor Tom Skerritt about what Vista can do for you

Among the new features:

Windows Aero an acronym for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open. The new interface is intended to be cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than those of previous Windows, including new transparencies, live thumbnails, live icons, animations and eye candy.

Windows Search or Instant Search provides significantly faster and more thorough search capabilities. Search boxes have been added to the Start menu, Windows Explorer, and several of the applications included with Vista.

Windows Sidebar: A nifty panel anchored to the side of the screen where a user can place Desktop Gadgets, small applications designed for a specialized purpose such as displaying the weather or sports scores.

Windows Internet Explorer 7: new user interface, tabbed browsing, RSS, a search box, improved printing, Page Zoom, Quick Tabs), Anti-Phishing filter, and a number of new security protection features. IE7 in Windows Vista runs in isolation from other applications in the operating system (protected mode) meaning exploits and malicious software are restricted from writing to any location beyond Temporary Internet Files without explicit user consent.

Windows Media Player 11, representing a major revamp of Microsoft’s program for playing and organizing music and video.

Windows Photo Gallery, can import from digital cameras, tag and rate individual items, adjust colors and exposure, create and display slideshows

Windows DVD Maker, a companion program to Windows Movie Maker, which provides the ability to create video DVDs based on a user’s content.

Never one to take the confusion out of making decisions related to computing Microsoft has come up with no fewer than six editions of Vista, roughly focused on two target markets: consumer and business. For consumers there is Home Basic for those on a budget with fairly basic needs, Home Vista Premium the up market version, and Ultimate for the hard core home power user. 

In the European Union, Home Basic N and Business N versions will come without Windows Media Player, due to EU sanctions brought against Microsoft for violating anti-trust laws.

Bottom line, if you are thinking of going Vista make sure your system has the muscle to run the operating system. If not you’ll have to decide whether it is time to upgrade your hardware, or buy new. It might be a good idea to wait until you are going to replace your PC.  On the other hand if you are due for a new computer you might as well go Vista as Microsoft is only expected to continue to support XP for another year or so.

For business customers, it makes sense to start evaluating Vista now, particularly since improved deployment, management, and security could lead to significant cost reductions in the long term. But you’ll want to be confident about compatibility and support before you make the transition.