We have talked at length about the upcoming Windows Vista on our show and eluded to it here on the site. Microsoft says that it will come out in the first quarter of 2007 which leaves us about six months give or take. Adam and I had our first look at Vista during this year's Consumer Electronic Show (CES). We weren't impressed. Since then, I have read many Vista articles, reviews, blogs and even downloaded the beta version of Vista. I'm still not impressed.
All that being said, at some point you may want to upgrade to Vista (or its upgrade). I don't recommend waiting for Vista before buying a new PC because I truly believe that Vista will be a flop for the first six or so months (putting us into 2008). BUT, when you are buying a new computer or laptop, you might as well plan a little for the future. Here's what I'm telling callers and clients this month about what to look for in a new computer.
- Minimum of 1 gigabyte of RAM and strongly consider 2 gigabytes
- 150 gigabyte or larger hard drive (most new systems are shipping with 200 or larger now)
- For laptops, wireless is a must, but is pretty standard today on even sub-$500 laptops
- Dual Layer DVD Burner – will read and write any CD or DVD media (except Blo-ray,but we won't open up that can of worms yet)
- DO NOT buy an Intel Celeron or AMD Sempron processor. Although adequate for word processing, email and solitaire, these processors quickly become outmoded
- Optional, but not absolutely mandatory is a separate video card versus integrated video
OR, buy a Macintosh
