Here is a list of available newsgroups for Windows Vista as of today:

microsoft.public.windows.vista.general

microsoft.public.windows.vista.music_pictures_video
microsoft.public.windows.vista.administration_account_passwords
microsoft.public.windows.vista.file_management
microsoft.public.windows.vista.hardware_devices
microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
microsoft.public.windows.vista.mail
microsoft.public.windows.vista.networking_sharing
microsoft.public.windows.vista.performance_maintenance
microsoft.public.windows.vista.print_fax_scan
microsoft.public.windows.vista.security

From Windows Vista Get Ready Website

 

"The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor is a small beta application that you can run on your current Windows XP-based computer to find out if it's ready for an upgrade to Windows Vista. When you run the Upgrade Advisor, it will scan your computer and generate an easy-to-understand report of any known system and device compatibility issues, along with recommendations on how you can get your PC ready for Windows Vista. Microsoft plans to add functionality to Upgrade Advisor, such as checking how your software applications will run with Windows Vista. Download the beta version today and check this site in a few months for a new version.

Before You Begin

Before you begin the process of finding out if your PC is ready for Windows Vista, please be sure to plug in any USB or other attachable peripheral devices (such as printers, external hard drives, or scanners) that are regularly used with the PC you're evaluating.

Download

Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor beta

Thanks to Brandon Leblanc for the tip!

From Windows Vista Get Ready Website

 

 

From eWeek

 

"Microsoft wants PC owners to be ready for Vista.

To that end, the software giant will unveil May 18 a campaign designed to help people ensure their PCs can run the forthcoming operating system.

The effort, which comes ahead of the annual WinHec (Windows Hardware Engineering Conference) that in 2006 kicks off in Seattle on May 22, will include the unveiling of a Get Ready Web site, which play host to an application that can assess PCs' readiness for the OS upgrade.

Microsoft will also unveil of a set of minimum PC hardware specifications for systems being upgraded—some of which call for 1GHz processors and 1GB of memory allotments for certain machines—persons familiar with the plan said."

Read the rest here 

I recently did a minor upgrade to my 64-bit system, installed a 2 year old nVidia Geforce FX 5200 128 MB AGP card and what a difference did it make when it came to using Windows Vista build 5381.1? I got Glass, got back all of my physical memory which was being used as shared memory (64 MBs) for the graphics. The install was very easy, opened up the case, inserted the card in the brown AGP slot, closed the case and I was good to go. I had downloaded the April 87.45 drivers for Vista x64 from nVidia's website though, since the native ones that came with Vista are quite crappy. But, the upgrade is very minor and I was able to to get all the richness that was available in the OS on a very cheap system.

Specs:
AMD Sempron 2600 - 1.6 GHz
512 MBs of DDR Memory
nVidia Geforce FX 5200 128 MB AGP
20 GB Partition

Vista was running just fine before, just that it was butt ugly without Glass and I knew I had to do something about it. Persons have reported though running Vista on 800 MHz systems, with Glass, but of course, they have a good GPU. So, ultimately, its really is up to users to decide if they want features over eye candy. For many users when it comes to Windows Vista and there are a lot of features in Vista that will justify the cost of upgrading for both businesses and consumers. The question is, how will Microsoft communicate that effectively to the different audiences, espcially with a lot of Vista features being made available for XP like Internet Explorer 7, Windows Media Player 11, Windows Defender and rumors that the Windows Sidebar might also be coming for XP and lets not forget the platform tools such as Windows Presentation and Communication Foundation and a BETA 1 Refresh of Windows Future Storage (WinFS) also available for XP. Vista definitely has its challenges ahead.

From Microsoft PressPass

 

"LOS ANGELES — May 9, 2006 — Today at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Microsoft Corp. and top publishers worldwide unveiled the highly anticipated games lineup for the Microsoft^® Windows^® and Windows Vista™ operating systems. Microsoft also announced plans to bring the Xbox Live^® game and entertainment network to the Windows platform.

Microsoft Game Studios and other leading publishers, including Electronic Arts Inc., NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., THQ Inc. and Funcom, will provide groundbreaking gameplay experiences for Windows Vista gamers across numerous genres, including role-playing games (RPGs), first-person shooter (FPS), real-time strategy (RTS), massively multiplayer online (MMO) and simulation.

Read the rest here

Not a gamer, so this is the least interesting part of Vista for me. Sorry, its just the truth.

I downloaded the beta 2 copy of Java Mustang which enables Glass support in certain Java based applications. I don't know if you have experienced this, when you open an app built around Java, it turns off DWM. With Mustang it does not and the app blends in beautifully.

 

Here is the x86 version for those interested:
http://download.java.net/download/jdk6/binaries/jdk-6-beta2-bin-b83-windows-i586-04_may_2006.exe

 

x64 version here:
http://download.java.net/download/jdk6/binaries/jdk-6-beta2-bin-b83-windows-amd64-04_may_2006.exe

 

From CNET

 

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

Due out early next year, the next major release of Microsoft's flagship operating system promises not only to increase security for consumers, it will also dramatically affect the $3.6 billion market for Windows security products, according to a Yankee Group report scheduled to be published Monday.

"Yankee Group expects Vista to significantly shrink the aftermarket for antispyware and desktop firewalls," analyst Andrew Jaquith wrote in the report. Additionally, Microsoft's first new operating system release in five years may reduce the need for disk encryption, device control and certain types of host intrusion-prevention software, Jaquith wrote.

Read the rest here

I agree 100% that UAC (User Access Control) or UAP (User Account Protection) is annoying. I don't know what the Windows Team has in store for beta 2, but I do hope to see some changes to how the program works, too many built in components in the OS are requiring approval. Its protecting users from themselves really, which is conflicting, for a novice, this is really a great feature. The visual effects have gotten even more drastic with UAP in the most recent builds. It actually darkens the screen to put emphasis on the UAP dialog. I really hope I get to see a more smoother and less intrusive experience with UAP in BETA 2.

I am running 5381.1, released last Friday, its getting really better, drivers came down automatically for my Intel Half duplex modem, before I had the driver, the modem was causing a nasty BSOD on shutdown, that has finally been taken care of. The only issue right now is my USB Modem Cel phone is still not compatible (Motorola E398), Mobile Phone Tools crashes when trying to install the phone, driver failure when trying to Vista tries to install it. Overall, its good update, I can't wait to see what BETA 2 brings to the table. :)

From Jensen Harris

 

"A couple of months ago, I posted screenshots of the visual appearance of the Office 2007 Beta 1 Technical Refresh.

At the time, a number of you asked for pictures of what Office 2007 looks like on Windows Vista with glass enabled.

Your wish, my command. Here are a few pictures of what Beta 2 will look like running on a recent pre-Beta 2 build of Windows Vista. Note that you need a fairly recent build of Vista in order for glass to be enabled in Office.

Read the rest here

I don't know what usability studies said to use so much dark colours in the UI, but I feel uncomfortable with it. Why not replace the black/grey canvas with a blurred translucent canvas?

My understanding is the purpose of Glass was to put emphasis on the important elements of the interface, and I think the Translucent canvas would help emphasize that.

I created a concept of the UI I would like to see, it still uses the dark colours in a more subtle and attractive way that utilizes the Windows Presentation Foundation, emphasizing the important elements of the UI which the document page and the toolbars.

Check out the concept image here

From News.com

 

"Microsoft has shelved plans to include built-in support for RSA Security's tokens in Windows Vista, even though the company has been testing out the authentication technology for almost two years.

In February 2004, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said that Windows would be able to support easy integration with RSA's popular SecurID tokens. That meant businesses would find it far easier to deploy a two-factor authentication system for logging on to networks and applications.

However, almost two years after the SecurID beta-testing program kicked off, RSA's chief executive, Art Coviello, disclosed that Windows Vista will not natively support the technology.

"Microsoft had said they would include the ability to support all kinds of One Time Password (OTP) and challenge-response type authentication in Vista. But they were unable to get it in with all the other issues they have had, so it is going to take longer," Coviello said in an interview on Tuesday morning in Sydney."

Read the rest here

Well, I just posted that Vista might be delayed again, well here is some proof that Vista will be on time.

From Reuters UK

 

"SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp.'s long- awaited release of the upgrade to its flagship Windows operating system will likely be delayed again by at least three months, research group Gartner Inc. said on Tuesday.

The research note, released to clients on Monday, said the new Windows Vista operating system is too complex to be able to meet Microsoft's targeted November release for volume licence customers and January launch for retail consumers.

A Microsoft spokeswoman said the company disagreed with the Gartner report and it was still on track to meet its launch dates."

Read the rest here

This would definitely be disappointing if it were to be delayed again. But I have confidence it will make the targetted release date, simply because of the progress I am seeing in the most recent build 5365. We are nowhere near RTM to so its a bit too early to be assuming gloom and doom. Much of the focus now is on stability and the common bugs which should be panned out by RC1.