Windows Vista

Windows Vista RC2

First Take: We think the overall quality of this $399 Windows Vista Ultimate edition is not deserving of final release candidate status, and we expect to see at least one more interim build, or perhaps even another release candidate, soon.

Windows Vista RC1

First Take: Windows Vista RC1 (build 5564) should mark the final stretch for Microsoft's new operating system, but don't be surprised if Microsoft issues one more public release candidate before making Windows Vista final.

Wait for Vista not to be repeated nor guaranteed to end

Blog: Steve Ballmer announces that never again will you wait as long for a Microsoft OS as the five years (and counting) you've been waiting between Windows XP and Vista. Meanwhile, Bill Gates estimates that there's a 20 percent chance the wait for Vista will continue past January.

Windows Vista beta 2

First Take: Microsoft has released the first public beta of the new Windows Vista operating system. The tweaks appear to be aimed at a wider, consumer market, providing first-time users of the new operating system with a smoother install, a small selection of desktop gadgets, and a filled-out help section.

Windows Vista February CTP

First Take: Microsoft's latest release focuses on enterprise deployment, but there are some new features for the home user.

Semiofficial thoughts on MCE for Vista

Blog: Microsoft Media Center team member Matt Goyer has a popular blog about all the latest MCE comings and goings, and he's just posted a FAQ about Media Center on Windows Vista.

Microsoft revamps, renames Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor

Blog: The tool was supposed to tell you how well a PC would handle Vista, but because of kludgy graphics calculations and a confusing overall result, the consensus was that it was a nice but unhelpful attempt to inform the buying public.

Hybrid hard drives needed for Vista laptops

Blog: Microsoft has stated that laptops will need a hybrid hard drive if they are to run the Premium blend of Vista with all its bells and whistles enabled--the Aero interface and SuperFetch feature, to name two.

Vista hardware requirements

Blog: Vista's release might be more than six months away, but now you can plan for upgrades or configure a new PC with Windows Vista in mind. Microsoft has officially released the system requirements on its Web site.

Buy a new PC now or wait for Vista?

If you were scheduling your next PC purchase around the release of Vista, then this isn't the first time you've had to adjust your plans.

Will your PC keep pace with Vista?

How does Windows Vista love thy computer? Let it count the ways. Microsoft is building into the new operating system a tool that will rate a PC based on how well it is running and on how much it can take advantage of Vista's capabilities.

Microsoft showcases Vista for gaming

Blog: We met with Microsoft today and learned a lot about Vista, DirectX 10 and its plans for physics, and more.

The gorilla not yet in the room

The overarching story for PC gaming at E3 is Windows Vista--or the lack thereof. It's not so much the new OS's aero glass effects we're waiting for, but DirectX 10, the new multimedia instruction set that will only come with Vista and that's supposed to open up great possibilities for better-performing 3D graphics and more immersive PC gaming in general.

Vista won't show fancy side to pirates

Windows Vista plans to offer you spiffy new graphics, as long as you're not a pirate.

A gamer's inside look at Windows Vista

The new OS is designed to offer a shiny new user interface, better security, improved data organization, and near-instantaneous search. It will be a major gaming platform release because it includes DirectX 10, an upgraded and rebuilt collection of application programming interfaces (APIs) that, according to Microsoft, will offer six to eight times the graphics performance of DirectX 9.

XP and Vista to get new media player

Microsoft plans to jazz up its music player in Windows Vista, the company's next operating system. But at least some of the new features will debut much sooner.

Microsoft: Office 2007 to be late, too

Fresh on the heels of a delay in broad availability of Windows Vista, Microsoft confirmed late Thursday that it is also pushing the mainstream launch of Office 2007 to next year.

Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista

Review: With Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista, Microsoft shores up Internet Explorer's crumbling security status and takes aim at its biggest rivals.

CA releases Windows Vista beta 2 antivirus app

Blog: Although Microsoft is still days (or weeks) from making Windows Vista beta 2 available for download, security company CA is offering an antivirus product designed for the new operating system.

Forget Google, it's Symantec vs. Microsoft

Commentary: This week at the Symantec Vision conference in San Francisco, several top-level Symantec executives were openly challenging Microsoft on security. Despite considerable press coverage of the emerging Google vs. Microsoft battle, the way they were talking, you'd think Symantec was Microsoft's only competition.

Report: Vista to hit antispyware, firewall markets

New security features in Windows Vista will largely eliminate the need to run separate antispyware or firewall software, according to a new analyst report.