A new era is comming.

[INSTINCT]

are you ready ?..for windows Vista*? the next generation operating system from microsoft, will include tons of innovative new features and more importantly to us gamers..DIRECTX 10..it will promise a stiff jump in gaming tech and usher in another wave of games that as of now many of will not be able to run , as we get closer and closer to vista, some of the older spec computers that run win xp just fine right now will not be able to run win Vista!.

GPU> otherwise known as the grfx card will now be an major component by now you should be running a 128 or 256 meg card ati or nvidia .

if your computer is an integrated* grfx platform that you have bumped up to run pci grafx cards > now is the time to plan on upgrading to an agp or pci-e board, agp board prices have plummeted recently to very attractive prices, together with a modern GPU you will be ready.

if your computer is an agp platform and still has bite to it , you will want to make sure that you have at minimum 1 gig of ram and a modern GPU,prefferebly a 256 meg GPU.

CPU> microsoft is calling for "modern" cpu specs , read into this they mean at minimum "P4 class or AMD equal" @ 2.6ghz

modern GPU cards begining at the 6800>256 meg..,7800>256 meg(agp) or..ati x800gto >256 meg can be had for great prices. and will more than satisfy the Vista requirements .
we have about a calendar year to prepare for vista , pci-e owners should be fine ,providing the GPU is up to snuff,bear in mind the new vista "desktop" is touted as bieng fully 3D and using the grfx driver to run it, so what ever card you decide on make sure it has 256 meg memory onboard to handle the loads vista will put on it.

i know times are hard for lots of folk,but now is the time for forethought, i would say 500 dollars would be a reasonable sum to bring an aging machine into spec for Vista*,the time to prep is now saving ect, IMHO i would not reccomend a large out lay of cash on a new rig , agp or pci-e at this time 2007 will bring tremendous leaps and new tech , once vista is realeased and in the hands of developers we will see some stunning new computers and components that take full advantage of vista.,untill then a wise investment in your aging machines will do you fine , invest in infrastructure , dont go nuts splurging on this and that focus on

1.motherboards> intergrated? then move to agp or pci-e
2.graphics cards>256 agp or pci-e
3.memory modules> 2x512 0r 1gig

**CPU** for those pushing the boundaries on celerons.p3, ect.by now if you are still running an intergrated board look to upgrade it as a first step.

try to stay informed by keeping trak of conferences like .. WinHec and the various Developers conferences @ CESwinter @ vegas and siggraph as well as some of the new tutorials and info via the new DIRECTX april updates already posted on these boards.

http://www.gamespot.com/features/6143883/p-4.html     <--games related info*

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/winhec/  <---------- great reading here.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/default.aspx  <---------- stay informed.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/newsroom/winxp/VistaBeta1FS.mspx <------- win Vista will begin beta tesing this summer .
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2005/jul05/07-22LHMA.mspx  <------announced.

http://www.guru3d.com/  <----excellent site for the latest tech and info.


below is a sample image of the new 3D desktop still in beta.

im hoping that lots more of us can somehow find the resources to upgrade thier machine spec , a year in advance gives us time to work on this, there are several of us that are more than willing to help out those with questions , reccomendations and the like.

if we dont more and more of us will not be able to play the latest and greatest new games , frustration and "slide shows" will be more common place than even now.



S!


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[THEKATZ*{MEOW}*]

Have you heard what the reatail price of Vista will be?  That in itself will eat most if not all of that $500 for upgrading.  If it sells for less than $300 I will be impressed.  Microsoft is broke and it is up to us to keep them afloat.

Seriously, we do take for granted how much work goes into a program like this.  Windows XX for instance is actually a very nice tool.  With out it, you wouldn't have the ability to view the pages you see when on the internet let alone the graphics that we are so involved with in our gaming.  Windows, Linux and other operating systems allow us the ability to view, choose and use devices that normally a computer would have no clue as to what you have just connect to it.  Try and connect a printer to a computer with out an operating system.  Wont happen.   So when that little windows jingle comes up when booting, you have just opend a massive operating system that can cater to thousands of drivers, turns on the printer, monitor has those lush grtaphics and the sound from your audio card is just a fraction of what is involved in an operatings system. 
So when Vista is out and you see the price, don't fall over.  A lot was put in to it and it wont be perfect, nothing is. 

[INSTINCT]

Windows Vista Home Premium
Whole home entertainment and personal productivity throughout the home and on the go. As a true superset of Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium will include everything from Home Basic, as well as Media Center and Media Center Extender functionality (including Cable Card support), DVD video authoring and HDTV support, DVD ripping support (yes, you read that right), Tablet PC functionality, Mobility Center and other mobility and presentation features, auxiliary display support, P2P ad-hoc meeting capabilities, Wi-Fi auto-config and roaming, unified parental controls that work over multiple PCs, backup to network functionality, Internet File Sharing, Offline Folders, PC-to-PC sync, Sync Manager, and support for Quattro Home Server, a Windows Server 2003 R2-based server product aimed at the home market. Windows Vista Premium is similar to XP Media Center Edition, except that it adds numerous other features and functionality, including Tablet PC support. My guess is that this will be the volume consumer offering in the Windows Vista timeframe (today, XP Pro is the dominant seller). This version is aimed at PC enthusiasts, multiple-PC homes, homes with kids, and notebook users.

Windows Vista Business
A powerful, reliable and secure OS for businesses of all sizes. Windows Vista Business will include domain join and management functionality, compatibility with non-Microsoft networking protocols (Netware, SNMP, etc.), Remote Desktop, Microsoft Windows Web Server, and Encrypted File System (EFS). Additionally, Vista Business will include Tablet PC functionality. Windows Vista Business is roughly analogous to XP Pro today. This version is aimed at business decision makers and IT managers and generalists.

The marketing message: Vista Business is a powerful, reliable, and secure operating system. It helps PC users be more effective at work and offers improved connectivity and access to information, so that companies can realize better return on their IT investment.

Windows Vista Ultimate
The best operating system ever offered for a personal PC, optimized for the individual. Windows Vista Ultimate is a superset of both Vista Home Premium and Vista Business, so it includes all of the features of both of those product versions, plus adds Game Performance Tweaker with integrated gaming experiences, a Podcast creation utility (under consideration, may be cut from product), and online "Club" services (exclusive access to music, movies, services and preferred customer care) and other offerings (also under consideration, may be cut from product). Microsoft is still investigating how to position its most impressive Windows release yet, and is looking into offering Vista Ultimate owners such services as extended A1 subscriptions, free music downloads, free movie downloads, Online Spotlight and entertainment software, preferred product support, and custom themes. There is nothing like Vista Ultimate today. This version is aimed at high-end PC users and technology influencers, gamers, digital media enthusiasts, and students.

The marketing message: Vista Ultimate is the "no compromises" version of Windows Vista. It provides the best performance, most secure and complete connection to the office, and is optimized for the individual. Everything you need for work or fun is included. It is the best operating system ever offered for the personal PC.

Windows Starter 2007
Windows Vista Home N (Europe only)
Windows Vista Home Basic
Windows Vista Home Premium
Windows Vista Business N (Europe only)
Windows Vista Business
Windows Vista Small Business
Windows Vista Enterprise
Windows Vista Ultimate

9 DIFFERENT SKU'S insures the price tags will hover between 200 and 400 dollars.

however i did not factor the price of the o/s in this thread, i meant only to approximate the hardware cost of prepping for this, one thing to consider regarding safety and stability out of the box is winxp was in production for 3 years prior to beta , Vista has taken 5+ so far and has been adapted around the failures of xp and built to compete with mac osx and linux. to there credit ms has hit the drawing board hard this time out.







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[INSTINCT]

media center apps will be built into most variants of Vista , ms will discontinue the stand alone "media center edition" in favor of total integration. hardware and multimedia convergeance has been a fav of gates and company for some time now, you can see it building to this .

true HDTV capability as well as real time HD editing**

below are shots of the new media player, and the new game Halo3 wich will debut on 360 and eventually windows, Ms has doggedly been scaling the 360 architecture towards communication with windows.

some of the next generation directx 10 games

halo3

Battlefield 2125

Crysis, sequal to far cry

various half life 2 chapters and mods

Enemy terratory Quake wars

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[INSTINCT]

  hardware and infrastructre will be paramount concearns for winVista , did you know fully 2/3rds of corporate machines (**intergrated grfx**) will not be Vista ready!

grfx card vendors will be mopping up cash this time next year.......***buy stock in nvidia and ati*****lol

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[INSTINCT]

directx 10 enbled grfx !..., imagine a team firefight in the midst of this?.

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[Kat*{MEOW}*]

 Microsoft is broke and it is up to us to keep them afloat.

TK, you need to do some research.  MS is sitting on a huge pile of cash.  Yes the stock price is down, but they are far from broke.

MS needs to figure out what they want to be and how they are going to get there.  Vista, while very pretty, does not bring a whole lot of increased productivity to MS most important customers.  It's business users. 

A corporate user doesn't care if an employee can DL music easier, they want them to be able to work more efficiently.  And they don't want to upgrade every PC they own to accomplish that, unless you are giving them a HUGE increase in productivity.  Right now WIN XP allows the commercial office user to do everything that is required, and do it well.

Maybe it's time for MS to get out of the OS business and move on to other things

[INSTINCT]

well i am not one to think that Vista will enhance office or corporate tasking, however i do think better construction and coding will help the corporate world in regards to security threats and SQL administration.

but to be clear i think this o/s is clearly aimed at the home/power / enthusiast user, pc owners have been upgrading and investing in tons of modern spec gear for the last 4 years, the average """"""entry level"""""" pc spec is far better from what it used to be.

i do agree this just might be MS last hurrah , well at lest for the next decade. but it would be silly to think MS will ever abandon the o/s creation buisiness, a lot will depend on what transpires with MAC these next few years, then we will have a much clearer view of things, .....but for now folks Vista is comming..and it will be pervasive and the defacto standard o/s for the last part of this decade and possibly beyond.

so lets all be ready to add to bill gates retirement fund*

[THEKATZ*{MEOW}*]

Microsoft is broke and it is up to us to keep them afloat.

TK, you need to do some research.  MS is sitting on a huge pile of cash.  Yes the stock price is down, but they are far from broke.

Was mearly a sarcastic note on my part Kat.  I was making a point about what is actually involved in an operating system.  If there stocks fell to rock bottom, they would still be a float.  They are not hurting.  NVIDIA, Apple and a whole host of mother board manufactures pay big bucks to have that little Intel and MS logo as well as any type of MS intergration invovled with their product.

[Kat*{MEOW}*]

Boy, I just reread what I typed in last night.  I guess I wasn't as coherent as I thought I was.   :D

First, this is all my opinion and nothing more, so take it from the drug laced brain it's coming from.  The pain killers they give you during Chemo are some thing else.   

IMO, I don't see MS having as large an influence on the market as it once did.  MS is not the 800 lb gorilla it once was, it's now down to a svelte 500 lbs.  And while still large, it is no longer the unchallenged alpha male.  With what Apple is doing with MAC, and the constant threat of Google (talk about flush with cash) getting into the OS field.  I think MS needs to redetermine,  thier direction and thier corporate priorities. 

Vista will no doubt be a huge jump forward, I just don't think there will be that big a leap to go to a new operating system that will require significant hardware upgrades.  At least not from the corporate level.

As for the gamer,  I am one of those who has come to believe that the computer as a gaming machine is  reaching the end of it's life span.  As the capabilitiies of the consoles increase, they become more and more the future of gaming.

Okay, time for my pill and some sleep.  Good discussion.