***I was just starting to write up something along these lines when I saw this and thought I would save myself some work.*****

Admit it: You’re curious about Windows Vista Release Candidate 1. Now that Microsoft has made it available for download by the public (after giving technical beta testers a five-day head start), you can take it for a test drive.

There’s no doubt that RC1 is a huge improvement over Beta 2, which was released earlier this year. On the right hardware, it’s fast and a pleasure to use. (On the wrong hardware, it’s downright painful, but that’s a story for another day…) If you’re ready to give Vista a try, I’ve put together a list of 10 tweaks that will make the experience easier for you. This page contains a summary of the ten tips. For detailed instructions with illustrations for all the tweaks, visit the accompanying image gallery.

Tweak #1: Set up without a product key

The Windows Vista setup process makes it appear that you have to enter a product key to install the operating system, just as you do with Windows XP. But that’s not so. Regardless of how you start the setup program, you’ll quickly come to a dialog box that asks you to enter a product key. Leave it blank, and then click No in response to the “Are you sure?” dialog box. You’ll be presented with a list of all the different Vista versions available on the DVD. You can pick one and use it for up to 14 days without any hassle. After 14 days, though, you’ll need to enter a valid product key or do a fresh install……

Read the rest of this story at: Ed Bott’s Microsoft Report 

*** I am also going to add a link to Ed Bott’s Microsoft Report to the sidebar***

I’m continually amazed at just how much misinformation is out there when it comes to Windows Vista. Part of it, of course, is Microsoft’s fault. They’ve split the product into multiple versions, added and removed features, and generally done a terrible job of articulating why this actually will be a desirable upgrade for most people.

Oh, and there’s a large and vocal anti-Microsoft contingent that is only too eager to spread FUD if it will help their cause.

So, in the spirit of helping the community of Windows users make sense of the Vista landscape, I’m going to present a series of 10 myth-busting posts over the next two weeks. This is number 1:

Myth: You’ll need to spend a small fortune on hardware upgrades to run Windows Vista.

Reality: Most mid-range and high-end computers sold in the past three years will run Windows Vista just fine.

If you bought a bottom-of-the-line, loss leader system in 2004, you may find it unacceptably slow. But any mainstream system purchased after early 2004 should be just fine with Windows Vista. Here’s a case in point:

Read the rest of the story at: Ed Bott’s Microsoft Report

This is the second in my series on Vista myths. A pair of questions keep popping up in the Talkback section whenever I write about Windows Vista, so let’s deal with them right now.

Myth: Some versions of Windows Vista won’t support dual-core CPUs or 64-bit processors.

Reality: Every Vista version supports dual-core processors, and every version is available in a 64-bit native version as well.

Part of the confusion rests with the specifications for some fairly exotic hardware. If you have a PC with multiple physical CPUs - that is, two or more chips installed on the motherboard - you’ll need Windows Vista Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate to take advantage of both CPUs. If you install Vista Home Basic or Home Premium, the OS will only recognize one CPU. That’s similar to the way Windows XP works today - if have a dual-CPU machine, you need to install XP Professional to use both CPUs.

Read the rest of the story at: Ed Bott’s Microsoft Report

I can hardly believe this is a Microsoft Site

http://www.seewindowsvista.com/

Tom Skerritt takes you on a tour of what Windows Vista is going to offer…

Wikipedia has a great information site about Windows Vista HERE

Microsoft Windows Vista is designed to dramatically improve the computing experience of every kind of PC user—from people at home who use their PCs for simple web browsing, to business people who must organize and act on large volumes of data, to scientists who routinely perform complex mathematical analysis. To make sure that everyone has an offering tailored to meet their specific needs, Microsoft will deliver five different editions of Windows Vista. Each edition is focused on the needs of a specific type of person.

The five different editions of Windows Vista are designed to fit the way you intend to use your PC:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/editions/default.mspx

Click the Vista Graphic to Pre-Order Microsoft Windows Vista from Amazon.com

It’s been a long time coming, but Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 is finally here. As Microsoft starts to collect feedback from a broad spectrum of users in one of its largest test programs ever, the company will soon be in a position to decide whether the product is solid enough to meet announced ship dates of November for enterprise customers and January 2007 for consumers.

Earlier this week, I started using Vista build 5568, a version that Microsoft says should be virtually indistinguishable from the actual RC1 code. Since recent Vista revisions have been focusing on improving performance, compatibility, and stability rather than adding features, there’s not a lot to highlight that’s truly new. Instead, I’ve compiled a walkthrough of 100 screen shots recapping what Vista looks like from top to bottom.

The most pressing question for RC1 is whether it shows that Vista is good enough to ship. In my experience so far, it’s getting a lot closer, but it’s not quite there yet. Microsoft representatives acknowledge that the term “Release Candidate” might be slightly confusing, as it implies a non-zero probability that the code might be what actually goes into production—which clearly isn’t the case for RC1.

With build 5568, I’ve encountered recurring problems when resuming from sleep, anomalous network behavior, and some performance issues. That said, for the most part, the experience is remarkably good—enough so that I’m thinking I may finally be able to start using Vista as a production platform. Most of the flaws I’ve encountered are minor nuisances rather than showstoppers.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2012792,00.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/preview.mspx 

http://download.windowsvista.com/preview/rc1/en/download.htm

Go and get it for yourself - right now!

The Akamai download manager really seems to be doing a better job than it did for Beta2, they must really have a “BIG PIPE” hooked up to this one. I wonder how many thousands of GB’s will flow out of those servers over the next couple of days. Glad I’m not getting the bill for that bandwidth, but I guess if anybody can afford it Microsoft can….

Updated NVIDIA® ForceWare drivers for Windows Vista™ RC1 are available to download now.
These drivers are only compatible with Windows Vista RC1 build 5600.16384.060829-2230 and higher, and should not be used with other versions of Windows Vista.Release Highlights: