Though Windows Vista will require a modern PC, it will run much faster than XP on that hardware, and will keep running smoothly over months of use.

Fast Startup. Windows Vista will boot up from a dead stop far more quickly than XP thanks to new optimizations and synchronous startup application launching, which can occur after you've started working.

New Sleep mode. Combining the best features of Standby and Hibernation, the new Sleep mode in Windows Vista enables and disables your PC in seconds, but stores application state to disk, allowing you to resume work as soon as it's come out of Sleep.

More responsive user interface. The Windows Vista user interface has been written from scratch to be more responsive than that in previous Windows versions. Actions such as opening the Start Menu or displaying a menu happen much more quickly in Windows Vista.

Stability and reliability. Windows Vista will be demonstrably more stable and reliable than Windows XP.

Startup Repair Tool. If a Windows Vista PC refuses to start normally, the new Startup Repair Tool will attempt to recover the system.

More reliable services. In Windows Vista, all system services now include recovery policies that help them restart automatically or react in other logical ways. In many cases, you won't even be aware that a problem occurred: A stopped service will simply restart without any user notification.

Impending failure diagnostics. Windows Vista will include technology that can proactively detect hardware problems--such as an impending hard drive failure--and alert the user so that they can take action before the failure takes place. This will have huge implications for both home and business users: In managed corporate settings, administrators will be able to receive alerts about these impending failures and set up repair schedules remotely.

Fixes for common application hang issues. Windows Vista will behave differently than previous Windows versions, preventing one of the primary causes of an unresponsive system: An application that is waiting for input from a service, application, or resource that is otherwise busy or unreachable.

New driver model. Windows Vista will support a new, more reliable driver model that seeks to end most hardware-related instability issues.

Windows Feedback Services. An opt-in error-reporting service, WFS will provide Microsoft and application developers with information about crashes in their programs.

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Thanks to new file-based imaging tools and a more componentized architecture, Windows Vista will be the easiest to deploy version of Windows ever created.

Image-based setup. Windows Vista will install on a new PC in less than 20 minutes, according to Microsoft.

Windows Imaging (WIM) images. The new Windows Vista image format allows you to distribute an entire Windows installation in a single, compressed file.

New WinPE environment. The Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE) has been dramatically updated in Windows Vista to support both 32-bit and 64-bit computers, and can now run from a USB key or RAM drive.

User Assistance. A new User Assistance feature reduces support costs by allowing users to fix problems with built-in diagnostics. Windows Vista detects, diagnoses, and helps users with common problems.

Remote Assistance improvements. A new version of Remote Assistance adds built-in diagnostics support and can maintain a remote connection through a reboot.

Improved Windows Event logs. The new Event logs in Windows Vista are based on XML and can be viewed and filtered in a variety of useful ways through the new Event Viewer.

Improved Task Scheduler. The Windows Vista Task Scheduler will be able to trigger tasks based on events, not just time. So you can schedule a backup to happen when your disk reaches a certain percentage full.

Web Services for Management support. WS-Management support lets you run scripts remotely and perform other management tasks using Web services. These communications can be encrypted and authenticated, limiting security risks.

Microsoft Management Console 3.0. Windows Vista will include the latest version of the MMC, which supports much richer user interfaces than the current version.

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From the beginning, Windows Vista was envisioned as the next-generation platform that would define the next decade of computing. That goal hasn't changed.

WinFX. A programming model that will replace today's Win32 and .NET Framework APIs, WinFX takes the best features of both of its predecessors and offers a logical evolution to managed code.

Windows Presentation Foundation (codenamed Avalon). WPF is the unified presentation layer in Windows Vista and the foundation for the Aero user interface. It consists of a display engine and the associated WinFX-based code framework developers will use to exploit it.

Aero. The Windows Vista user interface will provide a tiered experience that will vary based on the underlying capabilities of the PC's display hardware. On the high-end, Aero Glass will provide the premium Windows experience, while Aero Express will resemble the graphics capabilities in Windows XP. For compatibility, Microsoft will also include a Windows Classic interface that resembles Windows 2000.

Windows [Only Registered users can see links . Click Here To Register...] Foundation (codenamed Indigo). Microsoft's next-generation Web services platform provides a simpler way for application and service developers to access logic on disparate systems.

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Longhorn Developer Preview (pre-beta)
April 2005 . Available to WinHEC 2005 attendees, MSDN subscribers, private beta testers only.

Windows Vista Beta 1
July 2005 . Available to MSDN and TechNet subscribers, private beta testers only.

Windows Vista Developer Preview 2
September 2005 (delivered at PDC 2005). Available to PDC 2005 attendees, MSDN subscribers, private beta testers only.

Windows Vista Beta 2
November 2005 (could slip to early 2006). Public availability. Microsoft is looking into delivering weekly builds to the public after Beta 2.

Windows Vista Release Candidate 0 (RC0)
February 2006. Public availability.

Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 (RC1)
April 2006. Public availability.

Windows Vista Release to Manufacturing (RTM)
June, 2006.

Windows Vista Launch (widespread public availability)
October 2006.

Longhorn Server RTM/ Windows Vista SP1 RTM
Second half of 2006/first half of 2007 (Client RTM + 6 to 9 months)

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The single most frequently-asked Windows Vista question I get is, "What are the hardware requirements?" To date, Microsoft hasn't yet answered that question, though arguably even the eventual answer will be useless anyway, since the minimum requirements for Microsoft operating systems are usually hopelessly weak. However, I can present the next best thing today for the first time: the hardware Microsoft will recommend for Windows Vista. That is, this level of hardware should present users with an acceptable experience, complete with all the graphical bells and whistles.

A few preliminary comments: First, Microsoft believes that the majority of Windows XP machines purchased in 2005 will be Windows Vista capable. That doesn't mean that they will be Longhorn-savvy, however. Instead, all 2005-era XP machines should at least provide an XP-like experience in Windows Vista. In order to get the full meal deal, so to speak, however, you'll want to ensure that your hardware purchases this year meet certain requirements.

Second, because of the advanced graphics technology in Windows Vista, you will need a graphics card that is supported with a Longhorn Display Model Driver (LDDM). In mid-2004, Microsoft described these cards as being DirectX 9 compliant, though it's unclear whether the requirements will increase. Microsoft will provide clearer graphics card guidelines during the Windows Vista beta testing cycle, according to documentation I've viewed.

Here are Microsoft's Windows Vista hardware recommendations:

Desktop CPU: 3 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor with Hyper-Threading Technology 530 (or higher) or 3 GHz Intel Xeon processor with 2 MB L2 cache, or AMD [Only Registered users can see links . Click Here To Register...], Sempron, or Opteron 100, 200, or 800 processor, single or dual-core versions.

Mobile CPU: 1.86 GHz Intel Pentium M processor 750 (or higher), or AMD Turion 64 [Only Registered users can see links . Click Here To Register...], Mobile Sempron, or Mobile Athlon 64 processor.

Memory: 512 MB of RAM or more, all platforms.

At WinHEC 2005, Microsoft did reveal a vague set of specifications for PCs that will run Windows Vista, and provide the advanced Aero Glass interface. A modern Pentium 4-based PC (or the AMD equivalent) with 512 MB of RAM and a dedicated graphics card capable of DirectX 9.0 compatibility will run Windows Vista just fine, I was told. Systems with fewer graphical resources--like most notebook computers and systems with Celeron processors--will default to the low-end Aero Express user interface, Microsoft says.

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Kool so I wont need to upgrade my Athlon 2000+ 512MB ATI 9700 Pro! But 3Ghz recommended seems TOO excessive requirements! How many people have access to that kind of hardware. Not many I think, too expensive at the moment!