After spending a couple weeks with Vista on a few machines: I am both underwhelmed and impressed (for different reasons) at the same time. Underwhelmed, because of the immensely tough hardware requirement to run it so it works smoothly, and yet impressed by it's handling of dual processors and laptop power usage control (and flexibility). Good and bad will be mixed here mainly because I'm really not that organized.
First off, unless you bought your machine in the last 6 months, I wouldn't bother upgrading. If you have gobs of software dating back years like I do, you'll have more stuff that doesn't work than does work (Though all MS office versions back to 2000 install without a hitch, and even office '97 will work after you remove the Office 03 trial installed on many new boxes. With '97 You may also need to install some patches (mainly the ValuePack's on MS Office support site), for it to play nice with all the current Office file formats). Upgrade reports have been hit and miss, even on VERY new hardware, why bother if everything is working already.
I don't THINK I need to say this, but I will anyways: If you are a PC gamer, Vista is not in your immediate future, and probably not on your current machine (again, unless it's brand spankin' new with a PCI-E video card). Direct X 10 is supposed to make Vista a Gaming-first machine, but until there are gobs of DX10 games out there, I can't see the reason for upgrading. There are many reports of game crashes and play slowdowns for those gamers who have "stepped up" to Vista. It's another 'Get it on your NEW machine' kind of thing.
Anyone who buys Vista for a home machine will be disabling UAC (user account control): The Apple commercial hits it right on the head, you'll end up disabling it (unless you want to mouse click yourself into Carpal Tunnel in the first month). I'm sure corporate environments will love it, but I don't think a single user will (I would look for the whole UAC implementation to be changed/patched within a year). The good news, is once you disable it, you have more resources available.
Readyboost: Only if you have the latest high speed flash. A brand new Verbatim USB 2.0 flash drive right out of the package was deemed not fast enough (contrary to the package label) by Vista. A fairly new SD card was told the same, again, to use this feature, you'll be buying the latest hardware and accessories. It does work, but I was trying it on boxes with 1 and 2 gig of memory already, so there was no performance increase, If you have upgraded a older box with 512meg, I would IMAGINE you'd see something, but I'm not going to hunt one down to try.
Aero: Major memory hit with integrated graphics (like on most laptops), but looks so good, you probably will leave it on if you have 1gig of memory or more. Quite snappy with a dedicated graphic adapter, and if you have a PCI-E adapter you'll never look back. This is one of Vista's best selling points (IMO), so all those cheapo 512 meg desktops out there with Vista home basic: Don't bother. What's the point of having it if you can't experience what's coolest about it?
Desktop gadgets: Some cool ones (MS Live traffic is very slick), but also a resource hog....and of course Aero has to be running to have it enabled....a double resource hog, but if you have the right video adapter and the memory, very worth the hit. Of course you can turn Aero off and make it look like XP.....but WHY would you if you have the resources.
IE under Vista: It has never looked so good, but everything is moved around just enough to piss you off. I have the same complaint as IE7: I want my stop and refresh buttons on the command bar AND next to the address box (oh never mind....I'll just use the keyboard shortcuts).
WMP 11 under Vista: (Like WMP 11 for XP) no import/backup existing DRM licences, everything you do pushes you at Urge weather you want it or not....for MS haters, another reason to do so.
Wireless networking: No quick "repair" option like in XP until it analyzes the problem first, which takes about half a minute (and then another half to repair it), it's easier just to right click, disconnect and then reconnect (or cycle your Wireless button if you have one), but other than that...on the whole a very reliable and easy setup.
Vista Firewall: While I didn't have any problems with it as of yet, many folks have, to the point that many tech sites are already saying to disable it and install your own (almost a requirement on XP). Its setup is a tad on the vague side, and I imagine for gamers and home users who us VPN, it's probably more trouble than it's worth. I can say that wireless performance increases vastly when you disable it.
Other than Aero, the best feature of Vista is its laptop power handling. The options are myriad with some selections most folks haven't even thought of. Sleep and hibernation modes are vastly more reliable than on XP (but keep in mind, these ARE brand new machines), to the point that (at this point in time) I would actually recommend them (I've found sleep and hibernation so unreliable on XP, I by default disable them and force laptops to shut down when the battery gets low). What's also impressive is dual processor productivity and power handling. Operating on battery in the highest power saving mode, the performance hit with a dual processor unit is very small, for most tasks where you would operate on battery (at your local coffee house), you will be perfectly happy with performance in this mode (obviously not gaming though) compared to XP on similar hardware. I was fortunate enough to test the same mid-low end brand/model laptop with XP media center back in August and Vista this week (Turion X2 processor). Back in August, with max battery life options set under XP, the laptop made it about 1 3/4 hours on the battery with wireless on and the CD drive being accessed. The new Vista model (same hardware), came in at 2.5 hours with Vista's power saving. A similar Duo-Core Centrino model with the same rated battery ran for 4 hours under the same conditions. That alone is almost worth the price of admission.
So, if you're thinkin' Vista, you'd better be thinkin' the following:
Bare minimum version of Vista: Home Premium, opt up if it's cheap.
New Machine (preferred), upgrade only if your box is less than 6 months old.
Memory: 2 gig on any laptop, 1gig minimum on a desktop if you have a dedicated video adapter (PCI-E preferred), otherwise 2 gig on a desktop.
Processor: Dual Core if you can. At this point; Vista likes Intel better than AMD, especially in laptops.
Hard drive: Laptop: 80 gig min Desktop: 120 gig min. Massive Hard drives seem to be included by just about everyones machines except Dell. Pop for SATA if you have the option.
Video: Desktop 512 meg PCI-E Laptop: Any dedicated adapter, but if you go integrated (shared), make sure you have 2 gig of system memory).
NOTE: Vista does NOT like multiple monitors like XP did, so if you have a multi monitor setup, all cards must use the SAME DRIVER (same brand hardware) at this point in time. I'd expect to see a patch for this within a year.
Sound: Current integrated sound options will satisfy most folks, but upgrade if you are an audiophile.
CD/DVD: Just pop for the all-in-one burner will ya!
Ports: Serial/Parallel/PS2 are now a thing of the past. Most boxes are loaded with USB 2.0 ports. I like 'em on the front back, side, on the monitor or keyboard....anywhere you can get them, you'll be using them. Oh....and get a Firewire port so you don't have to call me to install a card. On a laptop: expect to see a VGA out, but it's also nice to see a SVHS and even a HDMI out as well.
All these Selections are not cheap, you're lookin' at minimum $900 for a desktop (sans monitor) and $1200 for a laptop to run Vista right.
or.....you could just buy a Mac ;)
