For the past year, Microsoft has been advertising it's new operating system called Windows Vista.  The release date is officially set as Jan 30, 2007 for consumers. 

Do you know what the differences are in the four main versions of Vista? 

For home users:

• Home Basic
• Home Premium
• Ultimate

For small/medium business users:

• Business

(there are other editions for home (Vista Starter) and business (Vista Enterprise) but they are not available through normal routes)

Microsoft has information on each edition so you can decide what's best for you -

Can your computer handle the new OS?

For the basic editions of Vista:

A Windows Vista Capable PC includes at least:

• A modern processor (at least 800MHz).
• 512 MB of system memory.
• A graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable.

For the a better Vista Experience:

Windows Vista Premium Ready PCs
To get an even better Windows Vista experience, including the Windows Aero user experience, ask for a Windows Vista Capable PC that is designated Premium Ready, or choose a PC that meets or exceeds the Premium Ready requirements described below. Features available in specific premium editions of Windows Vista, such as the ability to watch and record live TV, may require additional hardware.

A Windows Vista Premium Ready PC includes at least:

• 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor.
• 1 GB of system memory.
• Support for DirectX 9 graphics with a WDDM driver, 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum) Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel.
• 40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space.
• DVD-ROM Drive
• Audio output capability.
• Internet access capability.

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One of the biggest changes to the experience of the OS is the visual features, which require a Vista verison ABOVE Vista Home Basic!  The Aero user interface will consume a lot more video processing power than any version of Windows before.  This means that having a good video card is a must to run Vista Premium or higher at it's finest settings.

When talking about video cards we have to mention that with the introduction of Windows Vista, Microsoft is also introducing DirectX 10.  You may want to wait to upgrade your video card when the new DirectX 10 compliant video cards are more plentiful.  There are some cards that are DirectX 10 capable, but most (at the time of this article) are very expensive (over $400).  They will come down in price as more users start to upgrade in the coming months.

If you use your computer for work or for other very important purposes, it may be best to delay upgrading for a month or so until you can make sure your important programs are patched to allow use on Windows Vista.  For example, as of this article, HP's website did not have the Vista drivers for most of it's printers available.  No driver, no printing...

All in all, it looks like Microsoft has made this OS pretty solid.  Only time will tell.